Jerry Culp starred on a vanishing stage.
The Oceanside High senior became the eighth prep high jumper to clear seven feet, scaling the height three times and winning the state championship with a leap of 7 feet, ¼ inch.
But since an Oregon State high jumper had perfected a new, drastically event-changing style and won an Olympic gold medal in 1968, jumpers were moving away from what had been tradition for about 15 years.
Culp used the “Western Roll” technique which had evolved from the “Standing” high jump of the early 1900’s to the scissors, which gradually became a straddle and which gave way to the form Culp and predecessors, such as 1956 gold medalist Charlie Dumas had perfected.
Castle Park’s Greg Gorsuch was one of the practitioners adopting the “Fosbury Flop” introduced by Dick Fosbury, who won the gold two years before with his revolutionary, “back first” approach.
Gorsuch cleared 6 feet, 6 1/2 inches and was an object of attention as he competed as a Class C jumper and low hurdler in league and CIF meets.
Almost all jumpers eventually flopped.
4/17/70
Oceanside’s Jerry Culp for the first time cleared 7 feet in the high jump, negotiating 7-1/4 on his first try as the Pirates won their 49th consecutive dual meet, 86-32 over Vista.
Otis Hailey from Wasco in California’s San Joaquin Valley reportedly cleared 7-1 ¼ in 1968.
“It’s what we’ve been hoping for since he cleared 6-10 in his first meet last year,” Pirates coach Tom Shields told Jack Williams of the Evening Tribune. “Now we’re just sort of all quivery and excited.”
Culp did not make another attempt. “Anything else seemed like anti-climax,” said Shields. “I asked Jerry if he wanted to continue jumping and he said, ‘Not unless you want me to, coach.’”
—San Diego was ready for its Eastern League showdown with Lincoln next week after the Cavers’ 69-49 win over Patrick Henry, which tied the Hornets earlier, 59-59.
The Cavers set the pace from the outset with a :43.4 victory in the opening, 440-yard relay. Henry’s Jim Howe ran the 100 in :10.
—Helix turned back Monte Vista, 69-66, to win its third straight Grossmont League dual-meet championship, but the biggest splash was by Billy Joe Winchester, who set a County record of 180 feet, 2 inches, in the discus and won the shot put at 62-7 ½ in Mount Miguel’s 92 ½-43 ½ win over Santana.
—Jesse Davis, with the obligatory Castle Park wind behind his back, ran the 180-yard low hurdles in :19.4 and a leg on the winning, 440-yard relay team (:44.2) in Sweetwater’s 64-56 win over Castle Park.
Mike Ruiz was even more important in the Red Devils’ victory, winning the 220 in :21.8, long jump at 21-10, and anchoring the meet-clinching mile relay triumph (3:32.2).
Greg Gorsuch “Fosbury flopped” 6-5 for the Trojans to win the high jump and future NFL first-round draft choice Steve Riley hurled the shot 51-6 1/2.
4/18/70
Helix’ Ed Mendoza won the two-mile run in 9:14.5, nearly 40 seconds faster than the nearest runner, and was named outstanding athlete at the Compton Cup Invitational.
4/22/70
Bill Smith of Morse, running in front of the friendly breezes at home, sped to a :09.5 100-yard dash, took the 220 in :22.3 and anchored Morse to a :43.3 win in the 440-yard relay, but Crawford won the Eastern League dual, 60-58.
4/23/70
“It used to be that Lincoln was so strong the coaches in our league wondered if they could put together an all-star team good enough to beat them,” said San Diego’s Martin Pedigo.
But Pedigo’s squad defeated Lincoln, 61-57, for the Cavers’ first win over the Hornets since 1963. The Hornets lost two dual meets, including their first in the Eastern League in seven years and were tied by Patrick Henry, 59-59.
—Coronado’s Robert Mansueto raced the 120-yard high hurdles in :14.8, tying the school record, set by Charlie Love in 1956, but Hilltop won the Metropolitan League dual, 63-55.
4/24/70
SAN ANTONIO INVIATIONAL, @WALNUT
Jerry Culp cleared 6-4 in the high jump, missing three times at 6-6.
El Cajon Valley’s Dean Owens won the event at 6-8. “I know I can beat these guys,” Culp said of the competition. “I don’t want to make any excuses but the takeoff area was sloped. I didn’t like it.”
—Billy Joe Winchester lost his first shot put competition of the season, reaching 60-11 ¼ and finishing third behind Roger Friberg of San Marino (62-8 ¼) and Dave Schiller of Long Beach Millikan (61-9 ¼).
Winchester won the discus toss at 166-10 ¼, short of his County-record 180-2.
—Helix was second in the four man, four-mile relay to Manhattan Beach Mira Costa as a team of Robin Schulz (4:33), Rich Stump. Dennis Rodgers, and Ed Mendoza (4:16.4) bettered the County record with a time of 17:46.2. Clairemont had run 17:46.8 a month earlier.
Helix was third with a team of Dave Raney, Steve Pitt, Don Moore, and Bob Bishop in the four-man, two-mile relay in 8:01.2
—Clairemont defeated Mission Bay, 77-41, to claim the Western League dual meet title as David Harper ran 4:18.5, the season’s fastest mile; George Chandler took the 100 in :09.9, and Steve Spiewak the 180 low hurdles in :19.6.
–Oceanside won the Avocado League team title in the Vista Relays for the seventh consecutive year with 81 points to 74 for second-place Escondido. Orange Glen’s Jerry Matlock set a record with a time of :13.1 in the 120-yard high hurdles.
4/28/70
St. Augustine’s Jesse Ochoa clocked a wind-aided :09.6 for the 100-yard dash at Patrick Henry, which won the dual meet, 79-38. El Cajon Valley’s Richard Norkunas cleared 14 feet, 3/4 inch, in the pole vault, and the Braves beat Monte Vista, 71-65.
4/30/70
Wesley Babcock’s :14.6 clocking in the 120-yard high hurdles was a milestone in Lincoln’s 16-year track history. Babcock was the 15th Hornet to run :14.8 or better. Ted Scales, David Edwards, and Marion Franklin each shared the school record at :14.1.
—Vincent Breddell won the 100 in :09.8, 220 in :22,5, and anchored Kearny to a :42.3 victory in the 440 relay but Point Loma won the mile relay in 3:31.9 and the Western League dual, 61-57.
5/1/70
Billy Joe Winchester won the shot put at 60-2 and whirled the discus 194-6, fourth longest distance in California this season and more than 14 feet further than Winchester had accomplished when he set the County record of 180-2 on April 17.
Chris Adams of Los Altos (201), Bob Stoecker (Los Altos), 195-4, and Tom Birtwhistle (Palo Alto), 195-4, rank 1-2-3.
El Cajon Valley won the Grossmont League dual meet against the visiting Matadors, 74-62.
—Robert Mansueto of Coronado broke the school record he tied the previous week when Mansueto scaled the 120-yard high hurdles in :14.7 and won the 180 lows in :19.7.
—Mesa College coach Dick Coxe provided a wind gauge for the Eastern League meet between Morse and San Diego.
There was wind, 7 miles an hour, more than the allowable 4.473, when Morse’s Bill Smith won the 100-yard dash in :09.7, but the setting was not the gusty plane on which the Tigers and others ran their fast times.
The 5-foot, 6 ½-inch Smith ran his century in usually mild Balboa Stadium and he followed with a :22 victory in the 220, after anchoring Morse to a :42.5 win in the 440 relay.
San Diego stayed unbeaten in league meets, winning, 65-53, over the Tigers. Cavers high jumpers Hubert Everett and Albert Mills each cleared 6-4 ¼ and Everett won the long jump at 22-5 ½.
5/8/70
WESTERN LEAGUE TRIALS, @MADISON
Kearny led with 14 qualifiers, followed by Clairemont and Mission Bay, 11 each; Point Loma and Madison, 10 each, and La Jolla and University, 5 each.
Point Loma junior John Willson, whose late father, Jimmy Willson was the state sprint champion for San Diego High in 1929, ran the fastest 440 trial, :50.2.
EASTERN LEAGUE TRIALS, @BALBOA STADIUM
Lincoln’s Milton Mitchell ran :47.7, the second fastest 440 in County history, and equaled the state’s fastest this season as Lincoln led all qualifiers with 17.
Jesse Greene of Lincoln (:49.6) was given the win in a dead heat with San Diego’s Melvin Jones (:49.6) in the other quarter mile trial. Lincoln’s Bobby Odom was second to Mitchell at :49.8.
Crawford and Morse qualified 13 each, Patrick Henry 10, San Diego 8, St. Augustine 7, and Hoover, 3.
GROSSMONT LEAGUE, @SANTANA
Five-foot, 10-inch, 240-pound Billy Joe Winchester continued his late-season run of records in the discus, sending the platter 195-8, bettering his County record, set eight days before.
“I love throwing the discus at Santana,” Winchester said. “The wind’s like a tornado there. I threw 157 there as a freshman.”
Helix’ Gunnars Valkirs (168) and Dick Comber (159-9) also reached season highs, as did Granite Hills long Jumper Daryl Guthridge, 23-0.
Lloyd Kaster of El Cajon Valley and Art Evins each doubled in the hurdles, Kaster in :14.8 and :20.1, Evins in :15.1 and :20. Dean Owens, Kaster’s teammate, led qualifiers with a 6-4 high jump.
Helix sent 22 to the finals, followed by El Cajon Valley, 18; Monte Vista, 14; Granite Hills, 13; Mount Miguel, 11; Grossmont and Santana, 10 each, and El Capitan 6.
High jumpers continued to excel. Orange Glen’s Jerry Kiley went 6-6 ¼ in the Patriots’ 62-56 loss to Vista and Dave Stigen of Chula Vista cleared 6-4 in a 99-19 win over Bonita Vista.
5/12/70
METROPOLITAN LEAGUE @CASTLE PARK
Greg Gorsuch made history with his Fosbury Flop, clearing 6-6 ½ in the Class C field event finals, breaking the County C record of 6-3 1/4 by Eddy Hanks of Hoover in 1962 and the CIF Southern Section record of 6-3 ½ by Randy Fulkerson of Santa Fe Springs Santa Fe.
Also shattered by Gorsuch was the league record, 5-10.
The usual Castle Park breezes aided Mar Vista’s Valley Coleman, who ran :14.4 in the 120-yard high hurdles; Sweetwater’s Jesse Davis, :19.1 in the 180 lows, and Jim Eaves, who raced the 220 straight course in :21.6, fastest in the County this season.
5/15/70
EASTERN LEAGUE FINALS, @BALBOA STADIUM
San Diego won its first team championship since 1963, edging Lincoln, 57 ½-55, with Crawford third with 41 points. Morse had 30 1/2, St. Augustine 22, Patrick Henry 15, and Hoover 1.
Bill Smith of Morse won the 100 duel with Jesse Ochoa of St. Augustine in :09.8 and Ochoa evened the score in the 220 in :21.8.
San Diego won the 440 relay in :42.2, followed by Morse, :42.4, and Lincoln, :42.6. The Cavers had four more individual winners, Hubert Everett, 6-3 high jump, 21-10 ¾ long jump, Robert Leyba, 9:54.8 two-mile, and Roy Manriquez, 4:37.6 mile.
Lincoln’s Milton Mitchell won the 440 in :47.7, followed by Clifton Smith of Crawford in :49.3, and Jesse Greene of Lincoln, :49.5. Mitchell and Greene were on the winning mile relay team that ran 3:22.7.
WESTERN LEAGUE, @MADISON
Three meet records were set and two tied and Clairemont outscored Kearny, 52 ½-47, for the team championship. Following were Mission Bay (45), Madison (32), Point Loma (30½), University (8), and La Jolla (7).
Steve Spiewak of Clairemont set two hurdles records, :14.7 in the 120-yard highs, bettering the mark of :14.8 by Mission Bay’s Dee Hayes in 1965 and Kearny’s Dennis Downes in 1968, and :19.4 in the 180 lows, which erased :19.6’s by Point Loma’s Charles Streeter in ’63, Mission Bay’s Sam Fernandez in ’65, and Point Loma’s Steve Noall in ’68.
David Harper of Clairemont logged a 4:15.4 mile, making Harper the sixth fastest four-lap runner in County history and better than his 4:19.5 in 1969.
The only milers to have run faster than Harper were Tim Danielson (3:59.4), Armando Valencia (4:08.8), Tom Davidson (4:09), Thornton Bigley (4:10.8), Lloyd Apgar (4:11.8), Steve Becker (4:13), Otis Martin (4:14.3), and Dave Funderburk (4:14.4).
METROPOLITAN LEAGUE, @CASTLE PARK
Valley Coleman of Mar Vista beat Robert Mansueto of Coronado in :14.7 in the high hurdles, but Jesse Davis of Sweetwater defeated both in the low hurdles in :19.6 and anchored a :43.1 victory in the 440 relay.
Davis also won the 100 in a shockingly slow :11.6.
Not to worry, Red Devils. Davis was forced to run 120 yards. Bosses forgot to move the finish line after the 120-yard high hurdles final.
Sweetwater outscored Mar Vista, 70-43, for the team title. Chula Vista (28), Castle Park (20), Coronado (20), Hilltop (7), Bonita Vista (6) and Mar Vista (0) also were on the card.
AVOCADO LEAGUE, @ESCONDIDO
Oceanside won five events in the non-scoring event, led by Leonard Willis’ :19.4 victory in the 180 low hurdles and a San Diego Section leading 23-4 ¼ in the long jump.
Jerry Culp high jumped 6-10 and had three misses at what would have been a national record of 7-1 ½.
GROSSMONT LEAGUE, @GRANITE HILLS
Billy Joe Winchester heaved a career best 62-11 in the shot put and a personal third best 193 feet to share double honors with Helix’ Art Evins, who won the high hurdles in :14.8 and set a meet record of :19.5 in the low hurdles.
Pole vaulter Rick Schultz of Helix cleared 14 feet, 7 ¼ inches, higher than all but El Cajon Valley’s Jim Cochran, 14-10 ¾, in 1968, and El Capitan’s Andy Steben, 14-9 in 1965.
El Cajon Valley’s Dean Owen upped his meet high jump record from 6-4 to 6-9. Helix’ Ed Mendoza set a record, 9:10.2 in the two-mile.
Helix scored 69 points, followed by Granite Hills, 37; El Cajon Valley, 32; Santana, 28; Grossmont and El Capitan, 24; Mount Miguel, 22.
SOUTHERN LEAGUE
Mountain Empire won the team championship with 52 points.
5/21/70
SAN DIEGO SECTION TRIALS, @BALBOA STADIUM
Billy Joe Winchester led discus qualifiers in Balboa Stadium with a toss of 170-3. Helix’ Gunnars Valkirs, 168-3 last week, was second at 154-6.
5/22/70
Jerry Culp of Oceanside cleared 7-1/4, but declined when asked if he would be aiming for a prep record of 7-1 ½ in the CIF finals the following Thursday.
“I just want to win,” Williams told Jack Williams of the Evening Tribune. “I don’t care if I win at 6-6 or 7-5. So long as I win.”
Helix had the best chance of winning, qualifying 11, followed by Oceanside, 10, and San Diego and Lincoln, 9 each.
Milton Mitchell’s :47.3 440 set a meet and County record, bettering the :48 by San Diego’s Michael Singletary in the 1965 Section finals and the :47.6 Singletary ran in the state meet that year.
Mitchell also anchored Lincoln’s mile relay to an easy win in 3:19.5, the Hornets’ best time of the season and stamping themselves as potential state meet medalists.
5/27/70
SAN DIEGO SECTION FINALS
Jerry Culp won his event at 6-10 and missed three times at 7-1 ¼.
Billy Joe Winchester was a double winner (59-5 shot put, 180-6 discus). Kearny’s Vincent Breddell won the 100 in :09.7 and finished first in the 220 but was disqualified for running outside his lane.
Morse’s Bill Smith, ahead of Breddell after 40 yards, was second in the 100 in :9.8, same time given teammate James Milton and Escondido’s Richie Hunt.
Clairemont’s David Harper won the mile in a season-best 4:12.5. Mission Bay sophomore Rory Trup out dueled Helix’ Bob Bishop, 1:55.3 to 1:55.9, in the 880.
Sweetwater, thanks to Jim Eaves’ powerful second leg, was a surprise winner at :42 in the 440 relay. Milton Mitchell won the 440 in :48.2 and then left the Stadium to attend Lincoln’s prom. The favored Hornets then went unplaced in a controversial mile relay when they claimed that one of their runners was tripped during the race.
Helix outscored Oceanside, 30-23, for the team championship, followed by Orange Glen, 17; Mount Miguel, 14, El Cajon Valley and Kearny, 13 each, and Lincoln, 11, among others.
6/5/70
52ND STATE TRIALS, @EDWARDS FIELD, BERKELEY
(First three in each of three heats and first 12 in field events qualified).
| EVENT | NAME | SCHOOL | RESULTS | PLACE |
| 100 | Vincent Breddell | Kearny | :09.7 | First |
| Bill Smith | Madison | :09.8 | Third | |
| 220 | Jesse Ochoa | St. Augustine | :22.8 | Seventh |
| Richie Hunt | Escondido | Scratched | ||
| 440 | Milton Mitchell | Lincoln | :48.2 | First |
| Clifton Smith | Crawford | Scratched | ||
| 880 | Rory Trup | Mission Bay | 1:55.1 | Fifth |
| Bob Bishop | Helix | 1:57.1 | Seventh | |
| Mile | David Harper | Clairemont | 4:17.1 | Second |
| Ruben Heredia | Oceanside | 4:17.5 | Second | |
| 120 High Hurdles | Valley Coleman | Mar Vista | :14.8 | Fifth |
| Robert Mansueto | Coronado | :15.2 | Eighth | |
| 180 Low Hurdles | Jerry Matlock | Orange Glen | :19.5 | Third |
| Leonard Willis | Oceanside | :20 | Seventh | |
| 440 Relay | Sweetwater | :42.3 | Fifth | |
| Orange Glen | :43 | Seventh | ||
| Mile Relay | Escondido | 3:22.1 | Seventh | |
| Mar Vista | No Time | Ninth | ||
| High Jump | Jerry Culp | Oceanside | 6-4 | 1T |
| Dean Owens | El Cajon Valley | 6-4 | 1T | |
| Long Jump | Willis | 22-11 ½ | Ninth | |
| Daryl Guthridge | Granite Hill | 22-1/2 | 19th | |
| Shot Put | Billy Joe Winchester | Mount Miguel | 60-7 | Fifth |
| Gunnar Valkirs | Helix | 55-11 | 15th | |
| Discus | Winchester | 160-8 | T11 | |
| Valkirs | 157 | |||
| Pole Vault | Richard Norkunas | El Cajon Valley | 13-6 | 1T |
| Rick Schultz | Helix | 13-6 | 1T |
6/6/70
52ND STATE FINALS, EDWARDS FIELD, BERKELEY
| EVENT | NAME | SCHOOL | RESULTS | PLACE |
| 100 | Breddell | :10 | Fourth | |
| Smith | :10.1 | Eighth | ||
| 440 | Mitchell | :48.7 | Sixth | |
| Mile | Harper | 4:15.8 | Fourth | |
| Heredia | 4:19.7 | Eighth | ||
| Two Miles | Ed Mendoza | Helix | 9:01 | Third |
| Steve Israel | El Capitan | 9:55.6 | 24th | |
| 180 Low Hurdles | Matlock | :19.9 | Ninth | |
| High Jump | Culp | 7-1/4 | First | |
| Owens | 6-6 | Fifth | ||
| Long Jump | Willis | 21-4 1/4 | 12th | |
| Shot Put | Winchester | 61-11 ½ | Second | |
| Discus | Winchester | 185-9 | Second | |
| Pole Vault | Schultz | 14-6 | Fifth | |
| Norkunas | 13-6 | T12 |
Said Culp: My legs were a little tired from jumping two days in a row. The shin splints didn’t bother me. I’ll probably jump once more this year (he did 6-10 ¼ at the Sacramento Golden West Invitational) then rest the leg the rest of the summer.”
Said Winchester: “The wind never was right after I threw 197-3 in the (discus) warmups. In the shot, a lot of guys threw hard in the prelims…I’m glad I saved my best for the finals.”
Said Harper: “Running twice in two days was harder than I expected. I never had good position after the first lap. I kept getting boxed and bumping into people. Actually I asked somebody to move over and (then) squeezed through a couple guys.”
Said Breddell: “I didn’t have my usual pickup. The track seemed real slow. I couldn’t get any bite with my spikes.”
Said Mitchell: “I was ahead coming off the last turn, but the straightaway is longer here. I couldn’t hold out.”
6/14/70
Billy Joe Winchester prepared for the upcoming Golden West meet by putting the 16-pound shot 49 feet, 9 inches, and whirling the 4-pound, 6.4-ounce college and Olympic-sized discus 150-11 in an all-comers meet at San Diego State. Eddie Moeller of San Diego was unofficially reported to have reached 151-4 in 1926. Two others, Pete Shmock of San Dieguito (53-1/4 in 1968) and Grossmont’s Jim Wade (50-6 in 1957) had gone further in the shot put.
6/20/70
Winchester went just 176-6 in the Sacramento Golden West Invitational but tied Pete Shmock’s County record of 64-11 in the shot put.
