Few Surprises Remain Possible for Woodward

Middle-distance runner Bryan Woodward of Long Beach Poly High would like to be able to catch people by surprise.

He doesn’t mind being overlooked whenever the top prep 800-meter runners are rated. He likes to do his talking on the track.

At the Arcadia Invitational last Saturday, Woodward made a strong statement when he ran away from the field for the second consecutive year, winning the 800 meters in 1 minute 50.76 seconds, the fastest prep time in the nation this season.

Woodward defeated Vondre Armor of Bakersfield and Korrey Henderson of Philadelphia Central by nearly three seconds and came within 0.7 seconds of the meet record of 1:50.04, set by David Mack of Locke in 1979.

“That really felt fast,” Woodward said after the race. “ . . . I figured that I might run in a 1:50 or 1:49 by the state meet, but not this early in the season.”

Surprising the track community at Arcadia is nothing new to Woodward. He upset heavily favored Louie Quintana of Arroyo Grande in the 800 last year in 1:52.9, then a personal best.

“Up to that point, I was mainly a 400-meters runner,” Woodward said. “They stuck me in the 800 early in the season, and my best time going in was only a 1:57. Then, I burst on the scene by winning in 1:52.”

Woodward, who at 9 was a national age-group 100 champion, dominated his 800 competition most of last season. He finished sixth at the state meet in 1:54.89.

This season, Woodward knows he will not be able to sneak up on anybody, but he finds a different motivation in trying to gain respect as one of the top middle-distance runners in the area.

He already is ahead of his pace of a year ago, thanks in part to a good cross-country season last fall.

One goal for Woodward is to run more open 400 races, an event he believes might be important to his track career later. For now, however, he does not plan to run both races at the state meet.

“That’s too tough of a double for me,” he said. “I will only run the 800 meters at state.”

Woodward, who says that Georgetown and UCLA are his top college choices, now has to deal with the pressure that comes from being the favorite in the 800.

“Everybody has slumps, and I’m sure I will go through mine,” he said. “But my goal is to be ready to stay at this level for every race.

“I like laying low because I know that there is always somebody out there better than you. You just have to be ready. I see myself and what happened at Arcadia last year as a perfect example.”

Marion Jones, the two-time defending state 100- and 200-meters champion, has the fastest times in the nation in the 100, 200 and 400 this season.

But don’t look for the Thousand Oaks junior to attempt to triple at the state meet because she is committed to running on the Lancers’ 400- and 1,600-meter relay teams.

Even though Thousand Oaks is overmatched in both relay events and does not look like a favorite to do well at the state meet, Jones said that winning individual races is not as important as helping her teammates.

At Arcadia, Jones won the 100 and 200 for the second consecutive year, anchored the Lancers’ fifth-place 400 relay team and ran the first leg on the fourth-place 1,600 relay team.

Jones, who transferred this year from Oxnard Rio Mesa, plans to concentrate on the 400 this weekend at the Mt. San Antonio Relays.

Jones has defeated defending state 400 champion Janice Nichols of Bakersfield this season, at the Pasadena Games.

The Mt. SAC Relays will be run Friday and Saturday at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut. Unlike previous years, most of the top high school events will be on Friday. The schedule was changed because the college and invitational portion of the meet was moved from Sunday--Easter--to Saturday.

Competition begins Friday at 8:30 a.m. with the long jump and concludes at 7 p.m. with the four-mile relay. Saturday’s events will start at 1:20 p.m. with the 400 relay and end with the mile relay at 5:10 p.m.

The Simi Valley baseball team had a rough time last week. First, it lost an eligibility appeal for standout pitcher Bill Scheffels. Then it was upset by Agoura, 6-5.

The loss of Scheffels hurt the most, however. The sophomore pitcher had transferred from Mission Hills Alemany, where he spent his freshman year. The Southern Section ruled him ineligible because it said his family had not changed its residence before the transfer.

Prep Notes

Granada Hills Kennedy and Chatsworth both had to forfeit baseball games last week because coaches were present during player workouts on Sunday, April 5. , which is prohibited under City rules. . . . The first-ever Easter Action Relays will be held take place Saturday at Jackie Robinson Stadium, featuring the top track and field teams in the City. Field events will start at noon, while the running events will begin at 1 p.m. . . .