Williams Doubles Crowd’s Pleasure

It wasn’t hard to figure out when Angela Williams of Chino High was running in the Mt. San Antonio College Relays on Saturday.

Williams, Track & Field News magazine’s 1997 girls’ national high school athlete of the year, settled into the starting blocks once in the 100 meters and once in the 200 and each time the crowd quieted.

The hush was soon followed by the collective oohs and aahs of those in attendance as Williams roared to victorious times of 11.50 seconds in the 100 and 23.64 in the 200.

The 100 time was the fastest in the nation this year, but such is Williams’ talent that it dimmed in comparison to her personal best of 11.14 set last year.

That time was only a hundredth of a second off the national high school record of 11.13 set by Chandra Cheeseborough of Ribault High in Jacksonville, Fla., in 1976.

“I didn’t get a good start,” Williams said to friends as she walked past the starting area after the 100. “I’m disappointed.”

Williams seemed more pleased with her time in the 200, which was only .15 seconds off her best and the second-fastest in the nation this year behind the 23.29 of freshman Erica Whipple of Suncoast High in Riviera Beach, Fla.,

Chaniqua Ross of Elk Grove Laguna Creek, the defending state champion in the discus, won that event with a throw of 170 feet 7 inches to defeat state leader Stephanie Brown of Arroyo Grande, who threw 161-7.

Brown came back to win the shotput, however, as her personal best of 47-11 1/2 defeated Ross by eight inches. It was the best mark in the state this year and third-best on the national outdoor list.

Long Beach Poly’s Aaron Smith, Darrell Rideaux, Sammie Parker and Kareem Kelly ran 1:24.79 in the 800 relay to move to third on the all-time national list.

Yucaipa’s girls clocked a nation-leading 20:57.73 in the 6,400 relay and 12:13.48 in the distance medley, the No. 2 outdoor time in the nation this season.

Mission Viejo ran a nation-leading time of 10:13.52 in the boys’ distance medley.

Playa del Rey St. Bernard won the girls’ 400 relay in 45.96, the No. 2 time in the nation, and the 1,600 relay in 3:48.67, the No. 2 time in the state.