Boys track and field: CdM boys roll, but ...

Barry Faulkner

CORONA DEL MAR - At this point in the high school track and field

season, uneventful dual meets are actually the goal.

But when Corona del Mar High senior Travis Beardslee limped off the

track after unleashing a frenetic kick to pass Estancia’s Humberto Rojas

and win the boys 800 meters, Thursday’s Pacific Coast League tuneup for

Saturday’s Orange County Championships took a potentially serious turn.

“He has had some Achilles tendinitis and a sore calf all week,” said

CdM Coach Bill Sumner, whose host Sea Kings won, 106-30, to improve to

4-2, 3-0 in the PCL. “I wasn’t going to let him run today, but he said it

felt fine before the meet. Now, I’m very concerned. If it’s at all sore,

he’ll miss the Orange County Championships (at Trabuco Hills High).”

Beardslee erased a five-meter stretch deficit to the Estancia

sophomore, who, in order to save energy for Saturday’s prestigious meet,

did not run he 1,600 or the 3,200, as he usually does. But, the price of

running one of the more eventful races of the day, left Beardslee

grimacing in pain.

“It doesn’t hurt, unless I get up on my toes,” Beardslee said. “Last

week, I had a problem with my calf and now it has spread down to my

Achilles. It’s a bad time of year to be hurting, because I don’t want to

take time off and get behind. But, if I keep running on it, I may really

hurt myself.”

Spirited competition was the exception Thursday, as both coaches

admitted they were holding back in order to promote optimum performance

Saturday.

CdM earned 14 of 16 possible victories, including two each by Taumata

Grey (shot put and discus), Erik Knuppel (triple jump and pole vault) and

Chris Carpenter (110 high and 300 intermediate hurdles).

Alex Vinson added a leg on both winning relays to a victory in the

200, while 100 winner Geoff Collier also competed on the 400 relay.

Grey, a senior, showed a flair for the dramatic in the shot put, using

his final throw (40-7 1/2) to outdistance Estancia’s Bobby Arroyo by an

inch.

Knuppel went 36-11 in the triple jump and 12-0 in the pole vault and

his busy day also included earning second in the high jump (5-6) and

third in the long jump (17-6).

Additional CdM winners were Chris Ringstrom (high jump), Dan Marshall

(long jump), and Josh Yelsey (1,600).

Rojas topped the field in the 400 (52.7), while teammate Mike Casillas

won the 3,200 and was second in the 1,600.

Mike Whitaker and Michael DiSano (400), as well as Blake Hacker, Eric

Stranberg and Dillion (1,600) contributed to winning relays.

Estancia fell to 1-3, 1-2.