Granville’s 800 Erases First National Mark

National records in high school track and field aren’t safe in the Southland.

For the second week in a row at Cerritos College, one was set. This time it was Michael Granville of Bell Gardens, who ran the 800 meters in 1 minute, 46.41 seconds during a qualifying heat at the state meet Friday before 9,000.

That broke the record of 1:46.58 established by George Kersh of Pearl, Miss., at a meet in Sacramento in 1987.

The newly surfaced track at Cerritos College is proving a hit with runners. At the Southern Section Masters Meet last Friday, Kim Mortensen of Thousand Oaks shattered the national record in the 3,200 meters with a time of 9:48.59.

With Mortensen and Granville both competing into today’s state meet finals, which start at 4 p.m., more records could fall.

Granville, a UCLA-bound senior, has been the state’s premier 800 runner for most of the last four years. He won it as a sophomore and finished second last year. He also holds four national class records.

At the Southern Section divisional finals two weeks ago, Granville won his division with a personal best time of 1:47.94, the top high school time in the country this season.

His goal coming into the state meet was to break the national record and qualify for the Olympic Trials in Atlanta in two weeks. He got both wishes after bettering the Olympic qualifying standard of 1:47.50.

“I figured I only had two more races left in high school and it was now or never,” Granville said. “I wouldn’t complain if I did this again tomorrow. It’s all like a dream.”

Granville’s father and coach, Michael Granville Sr., said he set his stopwatch at 1:45.7 on Thursday night, the time he wanted his son to shoot for.

“We’ve been on a four-year plan and our goals have been high,” he said. “But they’ve also been within reach and realistic. We’re not done yet.”

In the team competition, Pasadena Muir qualified both its relays and individuals in the 200, 400 and 110-high hurdles and 300-intermediate hurdles and should roll to its third consecutive boys’ team title.

Union City James Logan and Long Beach Wilson qualified most of their entries and will battle for the girls’ title.