Latest news with #BirminghamHigh
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Lifestyle
- Yahoo
Prep talk: Birmingham's Antrell Harris reaches peak form with 10.24 in 100 meters
On Feb. 22, Antrell Harris of Birmingham High started the track season running the 100 meters in 11.07 seconds. Then, at last week's state championship, on the first day of qualifying, he ran a stunning 10.24 seconds to finish third in a race Jaden Jefferson of Concord De La Salle set a state record at 10.01 seconds. Harris, the City Section champion, ended up eighth in the final on Saturday, but his 10.24 100-meter time would have broken the City Section record held by Quincy Watts (the record has to happen at the City finals). Advertisement Asked how he made so much improvement (his previous fastest time was a wind-aided 10.62 at Mt. SAC), Harris said, 'To be honest, I don't know. I had a great start and trusted everything Coach Carruth put me through.' Yes, there's always a coach behind someone who makes dramatic improvement, and the arrival of Kertic Carruth in March made a huge difference. He noticed Harris was fast but not strong. He got him working in the weight room, had him gain 10 pounds and made him run the 400 instead of sprints leading up to the City finals. He kept telling Harris to 'trust the science.' With a 4.1 grade-point average and having been a star receiver for Birmingham's successful football teams, Harris would appear to be a top college prospect for track programs. But he said on Monday he had received no calls after his 10.24 performance. Advertisement Carruth said it will happen. Harris just needs someone to believe that he's getting faster and faster. Times don't lie. His grades don't lie. His work ethic is outstanding. "He's an easy sign," Carruth said. This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email Sign up for the L.A. Times SoCal high school sports newsletter to get scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Lifestyle
- Los Angeles Times
Prep talk: Birmingham's Antrell Harris reaches peak form with 10.24 in 100 meters
On Feb. 22, Antrell Harris of Birmingham High started the track season running the 100 meters in 11.07 seconds. Then, at last week's state championship, on the first day of qualifying, he ran a stunning 10.24 seconds to finish third in a race Jaden Jefferson of Concord De La Salle set a state record at 10.01 seconds. Harris, the City Section champion, ended up eighth in the final on Saturday, but his 10.24 100-meter time would have broken the City Section record held by Quincy Watts (the record has to happen at the City finals). Asked how he made so much improvement (his previous fastest time was a wind-aided 10.62 at Mt. SAC), Harris said, 'To be honest, I don't know. I had a great start and trusted everything Coach Carruth put me through.' Yes, there's always a coach behind someone who makes dramatic improvement, and the arrival of Kertic Carruth in March made a huge difference. He noticed Harris was fast but not strong. He got him working in the weight room, had him gain 10 pounds and made him run the 400 instead of sprints leading up to the City finals. He kept telling Harris to 'trust the science.' With a 4.1 grade-point average and having been a star receiver for Birmingham's successful football teams, Harris would appear to be a top college prospect for track programs. But he said on Monday he had received no calls after his 10.24 performance. Carruth said it will happen. Harris just needs someone to believe that he's getting faster and faster. Times don't lie. His grades don't lie. His work ethic is outstanding. 'He's an easy sign,' Carruth said. This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email
Los Angeles Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Prep softball: City Section and Southern Section division championship results
CITY SECTION FINALS FRIDAY'S RESULTS At Birmingham High DIVISION III #5 North Hollywood 10, #2 Rancho Dominguez 2 DIVISION IV #1 Westchester 12, #7 LACES 9 SATURDAY'S RESULTS At Cal State Northridge OPEN DIVISION #1 Granada Hills 11, #3 Carson 2 DIVISION I #2 Legacy 4, #1 Port of Los Angeles 1 DIVISION II #6 Taft 8, #1 Marquez 3 SOUTHERN SECTION FINALS At Bill Barber Park, Irvine FRIDAY'S RESULTS DIVISION 2 Los Alamitos 3, JSerra 0 DIVISION 3 Marina 8, Westlake 1 DIVISION 6 University 4, Rio Hondo Prep 1 DIVISION 7 Rancho Mirage 7, Culver City 3 SATURDAY'S RESULTS DIVISION 1 Norco 3, El Modena 0 DIVISION 4 Long Beach Poly 6, Warren 2 DIVISION 5 St. Bonaventure 8, West Ranch 7 DIVISION 8 Hueneme 1, Cathedral City 0
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Nathan Santa Cruz takes aim at City Section 400 title
Sitting in the Birmingham High bleachers wearing headphones before running the 400 meters at the City Section track and field prelims, 17-year-old senior Nathan Santa Cruz looks like a teenager comfortable and confident. Teammates gravitate to him. Maybe it's his smile. Or maybe they want to be near someone enjoying each and every day. A traumatic experience changed his outlook on life in the fall of 2022 when he suffered a brain injury in the opening football game for Venice High and underwent emergency surgery to stop bleeding. Advertisement 'We don't know if he's going to make it,' his mother, Crystal Clark, remembers being told at the hospital. Santa Cruz recovered so well that he played two more years of football, but his real love was using his speed in track. Last season he finished second in the City Section 400. This year, he ran a career-best time of 47.74 seconds at the Arcadia Invitational. On Thursday, he'll have a rematch against Justin Hart of Granada Hills in the 400 final. They ran one-two last season. 'I think it's going to be a real competitive race,' Santa Cruz said. 'I'm going to try to come out on top.' If he doesn't finish first, he's already won. He has a track scholarship waiting for him at Cal Poly Pomona, where he plans to study business or criminology. And he has grown up fast because of what happened to him. He's no normal teenager when you listen to what he believes. Advertisement 'At the end of the day, it's God giving you another chance to wake up,' he said. 'Make sure I'm better than yesterday. That's what I do.' His competitor, Hart, has his own story to tell. He's the son of Kentucky basketball assistant coach Jason Hart, who spent 10 years in the NBA. An older brother, Jason II, also played basketball but Justin was different. Justin played lots of sports, including basketball, but when he was 7, he told his father, 'I don't want to do this anymore. I don't want you to waste your money." He wanted to run. "I didn't want to be in my dad's shadow. I wanted to create my own identity in my own sport," he said. Advertisement He won the 400 and was second in the 200 at last year's City final. He's going for a sweep on Thursday and is just getting started. "I think the ceiling is really high," Granada Hills coach Johnny Wiley said. He'll welcome his father and mother in the bleachers cheering loudly. There really won't be any losers when Hart and Santa Cruz square off. They come from great families and have learned lessons that will help them succeed for years to come. Santa Cruz makes it clear he runs to make his mother proud because he'll never forget a memory from his hospital experience. 'Seeing her cry at the hospital, I knew I had to go make an impact in her life, make it so she didn't have to pay for her kid to go to college,' he said. 'Seeing her smile, that's why I do it." Advertisement And when days don't go as well as he might like, Santa Cruz said he has learned, 'It's just the way life goes. I think God gives his toughest battles to his strongest soldiers.' Sign up for the L.A. Times SoCal high school sports newsletter to get scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Nathan Santa Cruz takes aim at City Section 400 title
Sitting in the Birmingham High bleachers wearing headphones before running the 400 meters at the City Section track and field prelims, 17-year-old senior Nathan Santa Cruz looks like a teenager comfortable and confident. Teammates gravitate to him. Maybe it's his smile. Or maybe they want to be near someone enjoying each and every day. A traumatic experience changed his outlook on life in the fall of 2022 when he suffered a brain injury in the opening football game for Venice High and underwent emergency surgery to stop bleeding. 'We don't know if he's going to make it,' his mother, Crystal Clark, remembers being told at the hospital. Santa Cruz recovered so well that he played two more years of football, but his real love was using his speed in track. Last season he finished second in the City Section 400. This year, he ran a career-best time of 47.74 seconds at the Arcadia Invitational. On Thursday, he'll have a rematch against Justin Hart of Granada Hills in the 400 final. They ran one-two last season. 'I think it's going to be a real competitive race,' Santa Cruz said. 'I'm going to try to come out on top.' If he doesn't finish first, he's already won. He has a track scholarship waiting for him at Cal Poly Pomona, where he plans to study business or criminology. And he has grown up fast because of what happened to him. He's no normal teenager when you listen to what he believes. 'At the end of the day, it's God giving you another chance to wake up,' he said. 'Make sure I'm better than yesterday. That's what I do.' His competitor, Hart, has his own story to tell. He's the son of Kentucky basketball assistant coach Jason Hart, who spent 10 years in the NBA. An older brother, Jason II, also played basketball but Justin was different. Justin played lots of sports, including basketball, but when he was 7, he told his father, 'I don't want to do this anymore. I don't want you to waste your money.' He wanted to run. 'I didn't want to be in my dad's shadow. I wanted to create my own identity in my own sport,' he said. He won the 400 and was second in the 200 at last year's City final. He's going for a sweep on Thursday and is just getting started. 'I think the ceiling is really high,' Granada Hills coach Johnny Wiley said. He'll welcome his father and mother in the bleachers cheering loudly. There really won't be any losers when Hart and Santa Cruz square off. They come from great families and have learned lessons that will help them succeed for years to come. Santa Cruz makes it clear he runs to make his mother proud because he'll never forget a memory from his hospital experience. 'Seeing her cry at the hospital, I knew I had to go make an impact in her life, make it so she didn't have to pay for her kid to go to college,' he said. 'Seeing her smile, that's why I do it.' And when days don't go as well as he might like, Santa Cruz said he has learned, 'It's just the way life goes. I think God gives his toughest battles to his strongest soldiers.'
