Newport boys claim championship

Tony Altobelli

NEWPORT BEACH - Newport Harbor High boys track and field coach Bim

Barry remembers the last time the Sailors won a league championship. He

was a part of the 1979 squad that won the Sunset League Title.

Twenty-one years later, Newport Harbor does it again, winning the Sea

View League title with a solid 115 points, 41 points better than

runner-up Irvine’s 74 points.

“It was a great all-around team effort that made the difference,” Barry

said. “The regulars performed like they should have and we got some

support from our youngsters. It’s a nice feeling.”

One of Barry’s “regulars” equaled a mark even longer than the Sailors

league title drought.

Senior Trevor Jones became the first Sailor since Brian Theriot in 1974

to win four league titles.

Jones won the 100-meter dash (11.22), the 110 high hurdles (14.76), the

300 intermediate hurdles (37.42) and joined Richard Weber, John Peschelt

and Dan Moyer in the winning 1,600 relay squad (3:21.39).

“I was a little nervous about the 100,” Jones said afterward. “In the

prelims, it came down to the wire and I knew that I had to go all out.

Near the finish line, I really found it.”

To add to the accolades, Jones’ 300 IH time broke the Sea View

League-record time of 37.59, set by Irvine’s Al Williams in 1997.

“I remember running against him as a sophomore,” Jones said. “I found out

that what his time was right before the race. When I got my hand time, I

knew it was gonna be pretty close. I was on the edge of my seat when they

announced the time.”

Peschelt defended his league title in the high jump with a mark of 6-2

and also won the 800 (1:58.27), holding off Laguna Hills’ Chris McGlone

(1:58.66).

In the triple jump, Ryan Brill saved his best jump for last. Not even in

the top-three, Brill ripped off a stellar final jump of 42-8 3/4, moving

him to the top of the heap.

Brill also qualified for the long jump with a third-place mark of 19-9

1/4.

“That third-place mark was huge for us,” Barry said. “He really stepped

up for that event and it really helped us.”

Another strong performance came in the shot put where Rion McKinney threw

a personal-best 48-1, winning the title over Laguna Hills’ Ryan McMillian

(47-5 1/2) and teammate Nathan Caldwell (47-4 3/4).

For his third-place mark, Caldwell qualified for the CIF Southern Section

preliminaries, set for Friday at Mt. San Antonio College. He also

qualified in the discus after taking second at 144-0.

Doug Dukes qualified for CIF in both the 1,600 (4:26.81) and 3,200

(9:51.34) with a second-place finish in each.

Taking first in the 1,600 was teammate Chris McMillen with a 4:25.31.

The Sailors will be will represented in the hurdles events. Joining Jones

in both events is Dan Moyer who took third in the 110 highs (16.18) and

had a qualifying time of 39.35 in the 300 intermediates.

“I was really proud of Dan tonight,” Barry said. “He had a big night for

us.”

The Sailors 400 relay squad of Brill, Weber, Adam Kearns and David

Spregner took third with a 44.63.

“David battled for us out there,” Barry said. “He’s been very sick, but

he decided to compete anyway.”

Despite a couple of setbacks in certain events, the Sailors still stake

claim to the league title, something that Barry didn’t quite predict in

the beginning.

“I knew we were strong, but I didn’t know how our younger guys would do,”

Barry said. “We had a mix of athletes as far as age and experience goes.”