TRACK AND FIELD JUNIOR OLYMPICS : Confident Moore Gains 800 Final

Confidence is not a problem for Obea Moore, 13, of Highland Park.

“Next year I want to hold seven national records,” he said Thursday after qualifying for Saturday’s youth boys’ 800-meter final at the Junior Olympics track and field meet at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut.

His goal is to hold records in the 100, 200, 400 and, 800, and the 400, 1,600 and 3,200 relays.

Moore, who has records in the 400 and 800, in the bantam and midget age groups, is competing in only the 400 and 800 and the 1,600 and 3,200 relays in this meet. He also wants to run in the 1996 Olympics. He’ll be 17.

“I might even try that--whaddya call it--triathlon--sometime,” he said.

Confidence won’t be a problem for Moore. Mike Granville might.

Granville, 14 of Bell Gardens, is something of a track phenom. He holds the pending youth boys’ records in the 400 (48.5 seconds) and the 800 (1:56.3). Granville also will run against Moore in the 1,600 relay.

But Moore doesn’t have any special goal to beat Granville.

“I just treat him like everyone else,” Moore said. “I’m out there to win and he’s in my age group.”

His 2-minute 6.1-second time in the 800 qualifying heat Thursday was the sixth-fastest in his age group. “I had to save my energy,” Moore said.

His 1,600-relay team qualified in 3:32.82. He ran a 49.2 anchor leg.

Junior Olympics Notes

Michelle Hickman of New York set a national youth girls’ triple jump record with a of 38 feet 3 1/2 inches.

Several local athletes were high qualifiers in the 200 meters. Angela Williams of Ontario was fastest among midget girls in 25.21 seconds. Brice Montgomery of Compton led the midget boys’ class at 24.03. Dejuan Crockett of Los Angeles was second fastest in the bantam boys’ division, 27.89. Kevin Brown of Newhall was second fastest among youth boys at 22.98.

Kenneth Miles of Bakersfield finished second in the bantam boys’ high jump at 4 feet 5 1/4 inches. . . . Aminah Haddad of Inglewood had the best qualifying time (24.88) in the youth girls’ 200. . . . Aaron Mendonca of Riverside won the youth boys’ 3,000-meter race walk with a time of 15:54.64. . . . Dori Cracchiolo of Huntington Beach finished second in the youth girls’ 3,000-meter walk in 16:26.11.