Watts Opens the Tap, Leads Taft to Title

After Quincy Watts of Taft High ran 10.36 and 20.87 at the Pepsi Invitational two weeks go, Nick Newton, his coach, said that Watts hadn’t come close to running his best times.

“He’ll run a lot faster before the season’s through,” Newton said. “He hasn’t come close to tapping his potential.”

Watts tapped a little more of the potential that Newton spoke of at Saturday’s City Section track championships at Birmingham High.

He won the 100 in a wind-aided 10.17, the 200 in a personal best of 20.69 and anchored Taft’s 400- and 1,600-meter relay teams to victory.

Although Watts’ 100 time was wind-aided, only six other high school sprinters have ever run faster. His 200 is the fastest high school time in the nation this year.

Led by Watts, Taft became the first boys team from the Valley to win two straight City titles and the first boys team to repeat in six years.

Taft scored 58 points to outdistance runner-up Carson, which had 40. Dorsey (38), Reseda (36), University (35) and Belmont (32) rounded out the top five.

Watts’ performances overshadowed some outstanding efforts by teammates Daryle Smith and Sean Roberts.

Smith won the triple jump with a personal best of 45-6 3/4 and Roberts placed third in the 100 (10.62) and fifth in the 400 with a personal best of 48.84.

David Flores, David Feinstein, Roberts and Watts comprised the victorious relay teams, which ran 41.08 in the 400 and a school-record 3:16.06 in the 1,600.

Watts ran a blistering 45.3 anchor leg in the 1,600 relay but was most satisfied with his time in the 200, a City record.

“I changed my game plan today,” the soft-spoken Watts said. “Instead of blasting the curve I decided to wait and blast the straightaway.

“Before today, I was tying up in the last 75. But today I felt strong.

“I’m happy with my time,” he added. “I knew I had it in me. It was just a matter of doing it in a race.”

Another team title didn’t hurt, either.

“It feels great,” Roberts said. “Last year was fun but I think I appreciate this one more.”

Taft Coach Tom Stevenson didn’t have a preference.

“It’s great to win it again but I don’t value one over the other,” he said. “Last year the kids came through and this year they did, too.”

Several Valley athletes also came through at the City finals.

Shelton Boykin of San Fernando came into the meet as one of the City’s best hurdlers. He’s now one of the nation’s best.

The muscular 6-4, 220-pound Boykin won both the 110-meter high hurdles (13.84) and the 300-meter intermediate hurdles (37.47).

Boykin’s times were both personal bests and his effort in the highs ties him for second-best time in the nation this year. Derek Russell of Central High in Little Rock, Ark., has run a hand-timed 13.5.

Sven Haug, a Birmingham senior, won the 1,600 with the the fastest time in the Valley area this year. The native of Stuttgart, West Germany, upset favorite Tefere Gebre of Belmont.

Haug trailed Gebre by 12 meters with a lap to go, then surged past the fading Ethiopian with 50 meters left to win in 4:14.67. Gebre placed second (4:15.93).

“I was worried after the third lap,” Haug said. “After I fell behind I thought he might have me. But when I started to pull on him my confidence grew.

“With 200 meters to go I knew I had it won. I was confident in my kick.”

So was Ian Alsen of Granada Hills, who won the 3,200 meters. The Highlander junior ran his typical race, letting Jeff Korn of Birmingham set the early pace before surging into the lead with 400 meters remaining and winning easily with a 9:18.02 clocking. Korn placed a distant second (9:25.4).

Frank Bray of Van Nuys won the pole vault at 14-0. Bray, who has a personal best of 14-6, was the only vaulter to clear that height.

The girls meet was dominated by non-Valley teams as Locke defeated Dorsey, 71-69, to win it’s fourth consecutive title. Fremont (40), Crenshaw (27) and El Camino Real (24) followed.

The lone Valley-area winner in the girls division came in the shotput, where Taft’s Tracy Wilson (40-7) upset El Camino Real’s Vicki Gurney 40- 1/2.