The Preps / Pat Cannon : Kim Ojeda Gives Her Mother Reason to Listen

Esther Ojeda sat in a wheelchair, off to the side of the track, listening to the sounds of the City final of the girls’ 3,200-meter run. Her husband served as her eyes, reporting on the ebb and flow of the race.

It was a dramatic finish. University’s Amanda Marks took the lead in the last lap, and Eagle Rock’s Kim Ojeda battled valiantly to hold on. The two girls ran the last 200 neck and neck. Ojeda dove for the tape, edging Marks by two-tenths of a second.

“That little Amanda is tough,” Esther Ojeda said. “The crowd got excited, too. It was a good race to hear. I can’t see Kim, but I love to come out and hear her run.

“I had to scold Kim after the 1,600 when she took second. I wasn’t mad at her, just a little upset that she hadn’t stretched properly. I told her you can’t run when you aren’t warm.”

Kim, however, said her mother’s tongue-lashing wasn’t quite so genteel.

“She really chewed me out and she was right, too,” Ojeda said of her mother, who suffers from a form of diabetes, which gradually robbed her of her vision. “So I couldn’t let Amanda beat me in my last race. I was surprised she was still there. I kept on thinking to myself, ‘What’s that little punk still doing up here?’ I’m just kidding because I like her, but I sure couldn’t shake her.

“But I think my mom would have killed me if I lost, so I had to really push at the end. Amanda ran a good race. I was lucky to beat her.”

Asked if she would come up to Sacramento this weekend for the State meet, Esther Ojeda shook her head no.

“I’d like to go and watch her run, but that is a long trip,” she said. “I probably should be there to make sure she doesn’t forget to warm up. She’s my baby, but that girl can be stubborn. You have to watch her all the time.”

Senior Roman Gomez led Belmont to its first City track title last Friday night by winning the 800-, 1,600- and 3,200-meter races. But although the defending State champion in the 1,600 and 3,200 would like to attempt the grueling triple this weekend at Sacramento, he admits it would be too much.

“I’d like to try it, but there are too many heats,” Gomez said. “I’ll be happy if I can defend my titles. The heats wear you down. If it was just races, maybe I could do it. But it’s been my goal to win back-to-back, and that’s what I’m going for.”

Banning’s Lisa Bautista is at it again. Earlier this season, the talented senior fired seven straight no-hitters, a national record. Well, she’s currently riding a string of six and will be going after No. 7 Wednesday against Chatsworth, in the City 4-A softball quarterfinals. Bautista struck out 18 batters in a 12-0 opening-round victory over Taft.

Coach Jack Trigueiro of Santa Barbara has won 17 straight Channel League tennis titles but never a Southern Section championship. But Wednesday at Knowlwood Tennis Club in Montecito, that statistic could change when the Dons take on South Torrance for the 4-A championship.

No. 1-ranked Santa Barbara, led by Trigueiro’s son, Tim, and Alex Nizet are expected to have the edge, but don’t count out the Spartans and their top player Forrest (Woody) Hunt.

In other team finals, Calabasas takes on Los Altos at Industry Hills in 3-A; Indio travels to Mt. San Antonio College to take on Dimaond Bar in 2-A, and in 1-A, Santa Ynez meets Carpinteria Cate. The 1-A doubles will be played at Alisal Ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley, just south of Solvang, while the singles will take place at Hans Christian Anderson Park a few miles away.

Cate Coach Bob Bonning promised his players he would shave a 10-year-old beard, if it won the title.

Speaking of tennis: How about Corona del Mar giant-killer Mike Briggs, who knocked off the No. 2-seeded Hunt in straight sets, en route to the Southern Section individual title. Briggs is only a sophomore and was bothered by a case of tendinitis in his elbow, but he got past Mira Costa’s Jeff Tarango in the final. Tarango, a junior, stunned everyone when he upset the No. 1-seeded Trigueiro in straight sets.

Speaking of upsets: How about Huntington Beach Ocean View stopping No. 1-ranked Santa Ana Mater Dei, 4-1, in the Southern Section 4-A baseball quarterfinals.

Coincidentally, the game featured the same teams that played for the 5-A basketball title last March. At that time, No. 1 Mater Dei cruised to a 69-58 victory. This time, Ocean View had the upper hand and one of keys to the victory was a leadoff home run by catcher Blaine DeBrouwer, a starting guard in basketball.

This afternoon at 3:15, Ocean View will take on Fountain Valley at Santa Ana College.

Speaking of Ocean View: How about junior pitcher Jackie Oakley, who ran her record to 29-0 with a 5-0 win over Newhall Hart last week in the 4-A quarterfinals? Oakley has thrown 25 shutouts and has struck out 344 batters in 188 innings.

Oakley will take her next shot when Ocean View meets Cyress at Cypress Arnold Park, today at 3:15.

Prep Notes

Did you know: Jefferson, with 17, has won the most City boys’ track titles. Coach Harry Edelson won his first title in 1935 and then reeled off five straight from 1937 to 1941. Estel Johnson and Joe Barry duplicated the feat for the Democrats, winning five straight from 1949 to 1953. Jefferson’s last title was in 1964 under John Childress. . . . That the winning time of 9:11.38 by Saugus’ Darren Stonerock in last Saturday’s 3,200-meter run was the slowest since 1965, when the eight-lap event was won by Encino Crespi’s Mike Kearns.