Frank Greene had spent much of his life around a football field or in law enforcement when he was shot and killed at age 43 on Oct. 12, 1954.

Greene set the standing California high school record of 80 points in one game when he scored 11 touchdowns and 14 points after in a 108-0 Coronado victory over Sweetwater in 1929.

Greene, whose  death came 25 years and two days after his  feat, was a lieutenant on the Coronado police force, working the graveyard shift with Richard Lutsey, a Navy shore patrolman.

Newspaper reports said Greene had received a tip that a robbery was planned to take place at the Mexican Village Restaurant on Orange Avenue.

It was 1:25 a.m. when Greene and his partner noticed with suspicion a 1947  Ford sedan and signaled for the vehicle to pull over as it drove slowly down Coronado’s main thoroughfare.

…”THEN THE SHOT”

Three men were in the vehicle.  Greene approached the driver’s side and asked, ‘Where are you going?'” and motioned the occupants to step from the car.

“The fellow sitting next to the driver got out right away,” said Greene’s partner, shore patrolman  Lutsey.  “The passenger was facing me when the lieutenant made some remark, like he was insisting on identification papers from the driver.”

A moment or two passed.  “Then it happened,” said Lutsey.  “”I heard a slight scuffle and then the shot.”

Greene fell backward.  He probably was dead when he hit the pavement, from a bullet that entered below Greene’s right cheek and lodged in his neck.

The shooter, Roberto Rodriquez, 27, and Rafael Gruber, 22, a passenger in the backseat, fled.  Benjamin Brozowski, 39, who sat next to Rodriguez, was held at the scene by Lutsey.

KITCHEN EMPLOYEES

All three worked in the Hotel del Coronado kitchen as dishwashers, although Brozowski also was described as a “salad man.”

A manhunt involving peace officers from Coronado, San Diego, National City, Chula Vista, the Naval Air Station, and National Guard resulted in arrests of all three within 31 hours.

Officers went house to house, helicopters were deployed along beaches and the Coronado ferry slips were guarded. The community of 12,500 residents was sealed off.

Rodriguez was found days later huddled in the attic of the Hotel del Coronado annex.

Gruber had escaped to Tijuana by traveling on foot 10 miles down the beach on the ocean side of the Silver Strand, Coronado’s only outbound (and blocked) road.

Gruber turned himself in at San  Ysidro after reading in a Tijuana newspaper that he was accused of being the shooter.

Rodriguez was tried and sentenced to life in prison for first degree murder and given consecutive sentences for conspiracy to commit robbery and for possession of a gun by a felon.  Rodriguez had been in and out of prison since his teenage years.

Brozowski was given a life sentence for murder and five years to life for conspiracy to commit robbery. Gruber received five to life for robbery conspiracy.

MOCKS JUDGE’S ADMONITION

Rodriguez smiled and waved when the sentence was pronounced by Superior Court Judge John Hewicker, who criticized the jury’s decision, believing Rodriguez should have gotten the gas chamber.  A juror said the jury vote was 11-1 for death.

Gruber, who had testified against the other two defendants, attempted to hang himself while in the San Diego City Jail.  He said he feared prison and “friends” who would seek revenge on Rodriguez’ behalf.

Greene is the only Coronado policeman killed in the line of duty.  He was active in the community as a founder of Coronado’s Little Theater and as a coach of the semipro Coronado Colts football team.

Greene had been screen tested by the RKO Radio Pictures studio.

PLAYED AND COACHED

Greene received all-America honorable mention as a kicker and single wing blocking quarterback under the legendary “Gloomy” Gus Henderson at Tulsa University.

Greene played  for the Chicago Cardinals of the NFL in 1934-35 and was a player-coach with the Los Angeles Bulldogs of the American Football League in 1936.

Greene scored 164 points for the 8-1 Coronado Islanders, whose only 1929 loss was to Southern California champion Long Beach Poly, 20-7.  He held the school season scoring record for 74 years, until J.R. Roggin bettered the mark in 2003.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hoover principal Floyd Johnson was thinking of making a change when he met with football coach Bob Kirchhoff before the 1954-55 school year.

Johnson was dissatisfied.  A 1953 season that began with much promise was sullied by a 4-4-1 finish that included a 39-0 loss to rival San Diego High.

Johnson would retire after the 1955-56 school year. He had been at Hoover since it opened in 1930 and had guided the East San Diego school as it  became one of the most respected academically and athletically in Southern California.

The Cardinals had their share of victories against San Diego High in all sports but football.

After an 0-8 beginning in 1948, Kirchhoff had built a strong program, including a 28-13 win over the Cavers in 1949.  Five successive losses followed.

“Floyd Johnson hated San Diego with a passion,” said the late coach Walt Harvey, who remembered Johnson as a powerful community figure who would sit on the players’ bench during basketball games and walk the sidelines at football games.

Johnson, possibly thinking of retirement in a couple years and that this marked his school team’s best chance to beat the Hillers, posed a direct question to Kirchhoff:  “Are we going to beat San Diego this year?”

Kirchhoff, now aware of a tenuous position, was confident, answering in the affirmative that yes, this was going to be the Cardinals’ year.

Hoover was returning more than 30 players and a letterman at every position.

Johnson would give Kirchhoff one more chance.  “If we don’t win it, I’m going to make a change,” Kirchhoff years later said the principal promised.

Rumors had circulated that Kirchhoff’s line coach, Herbert (Hub) Foote, a 1941 Hoover graduate, would be the next coach of the Cardinals.  Foote thought he had a promise from Johnson.

But events that began a couple years before would work against Foote…and Kirchhoff.

Stan Williamson, the coach of San Diego’s Naval Air team, had completed a military deployment and was returning to his pre-Korean War position as head football coach at Santa Barbara State.

The Gauchos’ football and baseball  coach since 1950 was Roy Engle, who would be out of a job.

Engle was a Johnson favorite.

Engle scored the Cardinals’ first touchdown against San Diego and was the pivotal figure in their first victory over the city rivals when Engle led a fourth-quarter touchdown drive to a 7-6 victory over the Hilltoppers in 1935.

After graduating from USC, Engle returned to Hoover.  He was the 24-year-old head coach of the 1942 baseball team that was led by future major leaguer Ray Boone and won the CIF Southern Section championship.

Engle now returned to Hoover a second time in 1953, appointed by Johnson to teach science and biology.  Kirchhoff’s coaching assistants were Bill Matthie, Don Henson, and Hub Foote.

It was with this backdrop that Hoover and Kirchhoff  embarked on the 1954 campaign.

CARDINALS OFF FAST

Hoover passed its first test, a big one.  The Cardinals fell behind, 13-0, at Santa Monica, then rolled to a 34-20 victory over passing ace Lee Grosscup and dealing the two-time defending CIF champion Vikings their first loss since 1952.

Point Loma, middle of the road but tough, also took a 13-0 lead, but  John Adams, the 6-foot, 2-inch, 215-pound fullback who was the prized recruit in Southern California prep circles, and quarterback Gene Leek brought the Cardinals back to a 20-13 victory.

Adams, a member of Hoover’s City Prep League-champion 880-yard relay team could cover 100 yards in 10 seconds.

Adams bruised  La Jolla for three touchdowns and 160 yards rushing and ran his Southern California-leading scoring total to 101 points in a 27-0 victory.

(Adams’s La Jolla thrusts were preceded by  equally explosive efforts in routs of Kearny, 45-0, St. Augustine, 66-0, and Pasadena Muir, 39-14).

—Hoover now was 7-0 and its destiny, and ultimately Kirchhoff’s future as football coach, would be decided against the 6-1 San Diego Cavemen.

—A crowd of more than 15,000, largest in the series since 1949, turned out on a damp evening and braced for the most compelling battle in the history of the rivalry.

(Although contested in Balboa Stadium, next to the San Diego campus, the game was the feature of Hoover’s Homecoming Day).

—The Cardinals and Cavers sparred through the first half, Hoover stopping San Diego on its seven-yard line in the second quarter, while Hoover did not strike beyond San Diego’s 37 until the third quarter, when the game changed.

—On third down from the Cardinals’ 29 halfback Dan Bonetti raced to the 35, then lateraled to big Adams, who took off down the sideline.

—San Diego’s Leonard Kary made what Jim Trinkle of The San Diego Union described as a “desperate, diving tackle” on the 2-yard line, bringing down Adams after a 63-yard run.

—San Diego linebacker Tom Collins stopped Adams at the one-foot line on the next play. .

HOLDING AND NO PASS INTERFERENCE

—Trinkle wrote:  “The next two maneuvers—in the mind of Hoover coach Bob Kirchhoff—will live in infamy in Hockerville.”

—Denny Hill crossed the goal line at right tackle but Hoover was penalized for holding, pushing Hoover back to the 15.

Kirchhoff contended the penalty was called after Hill scored and should have been assessed on the subsequent kickoff, which meant that Kirchhoff was misreading the rule book or the newspaper report was inaccurate.

You can’t have a holding penalty on  a scoring play, count the touchdown, and then assess the penalty.

—The next play was a pass into the end zone from Leek to John Vanderlinde.  “If there was interference, it wasn’t detected by the officials,” wrote Trinkle.

—A photograph of the play was in the column next to Trinkle’s report on the front page of the Union‘s sports section.  The right arm of San Diego’s Art Powell is clearly inside the left arm of Vanderlinde’s.

—The official on the play was Jack Garner, a friend of Kirchhoff’s who worked with Kirchhoff and former Hoover star George Stephenson as part of the chain crew at Chargers games for more than 20 years.

—“He told me, ‘How could I make a call in that situation against San Diego  High?’” Kirchhoff said years later.

—Joe Banks pushed over from the one-yard line with 6:16 to play for the game’s only score, set up by Pete Gumina’s 25-yard completion to Powell.

—Hoover moved to the Cavers’ 12 late in the game, but tackle Don Hiler sacked Leek for a 16-yard loss and and the Cardinals were done.

—The favored Redbirds were beaten on the scoreboard and in the statistics.  San Diego led, 9-5, in first downs and in total yardage, 238-127. Adams had 103 yards in 16 carries.

Willie West led San Diego with 108 yards in 13 carries.  Leek was 0 for 7 passing and Gumina completed 5 of 9 for 87 yards.

—Hoover beat neophyte Lincoln, 14-7, in its final regular-season game the next week.

The Cardinals’ somnambulant performance was partly influenced by Kirchhoff’s  playing the game under wraps, with scouts from potential CIF Southern Section playoff opponents on hand.

—Leading, 12-0, at halftime, Hoover dropped a 20-18 decision to Compton in a first-round playoff  shrouded in fog at Hoover the next week.

—The fog was a sadly prophetic omen for Kirchhoff, who had coached his last game and would be replaced by Engle.

CONFIRMATION

News of Kirchhoff’s being out didn’t surface until May of the following spring.  Evening Tribune reporter Jerry Brucker contacted Johnson after rumors began to circulate.

Johnson and Kirchhoff had met the previous week, according to the principal, and Johnson told Brucker, “It wasn’t a complete surprise.  He told me at the start of the season he thought he might coach just one year.  He had a good team coming up and wanted to see them through, then would probably hang ’em up.”

Kirchhoff, at times volatile in practice and in game situations, allowed only that the timing  was not to his advantage. “I had a pretty good job offered me about three months ago.  Guess it’s too late now.”

Kirchhoff could have stayed at Hoover, he said.  “I wouldn’t do any coaching.  I’d be a classroom instructor.”

Johnson continued to be vague when asked by Brucker about a new coach.  “We’ll be looking around, I guess,” said Johnson. “We have no definite plans for the non-uniform spring training.  It might be someone on our physical education staff now or someone from the outside.”

Bob Kirchhoff coached again, as head coach at Brown Military Academy in 1957, and accepted the position of track coach after Clairemont High opened its doors in 1958, Clairemont stunned favored Point Loma and the Chieftains won the Western League dual meet championship in 1959.

The man appointed by Johnson to replace Kirchhoff was Roy Engle.

Kenny Hale, one of the last surviving members of San Diego State’s 1940-41 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics basketball championship team, passed away at age 90.

A 1938 San Diego High graduate, Hale eventually went into coaching and had winning records at Hoover and Mission Bay.

Led by superstar Bill McColl, Hoover was 20-8 in Hale’s first season as coach and second in the Coast League in 1947-48.

Hale’s last team at Hoover was 23-3 in 1951-52 and won the City Prep League with an 11-1 record.

Hoover’s overall record under Hale was 76-45, with other years of 9-11, 10-16, and 14-7.

Kenny took over the new Mission Bay program in 1954-55 and built a winner before retiring from coaching after the 1957-58 campaign and going into administration.  Hale later  was principal at Horace Mann Junior High.

Hale’s record with the Buccaneers was 53-45.  They were 8-16 and 10-16 in the first two seasons and then got rolling with successive seasons of 17-7 and 18-6.

The Buccaneers won the prestigious, 32-team San Diego Kiwanis Tournament in 1956-57 and 1957-58.  They tied for second in the City Prep League in each of the last two seasons.

John Carroll got some good news the day before his Oceanside Pirates were to meet Carlsbad for what would be the title-deciding game in the Avocado League.

Coach John McFadden of Eastlake called Carroll and told the Oceanside mentor that Eastlake had used an ineligible player in the 23-19, season-opening victory over the Pirates.

Instead of an 8-1 record, the Pirates were 9-0 the next night after they defeated Carlsbad, 17-7, in the annual battle of North County titans at Swede Krcmar Field, named after the  Lancers’ first coach.

Carlsbad was ranked No. 1 in the County and had come into the game with an 8-0 record.

The forfeit “is a win on paper, but that’s all it is,” said Carroll, downplaying the Dreaded Administrative Glitch regarding Eastlake eligibility protocol. Carroll had his eye on  another target, a seventh trip to the big stadium in Mission Valley.

OCEANSIDE  ON MOVE

Oceanside clinched the league championship the next week with a 32-0 triumph over cross-town rival El Camino.

The Pirates’ momentum was snowballing.

Oceanside rolled through the playoffs, defeating Steele Canyon, 34-10, Castle Park, 52-14, and Helix, 27-10 for the Division II championship.

NORTH COUNTY CLOUT

Oceanside, Torrey Pines, Vista, Valley Center, and Santa Fe Christian were champions in Divisions I, II, III, and IV, a four-of-a-kind winner by teams located  North of the Ted Williams Parkway, also known as State Highway 56.

Torrey Pines, which shared its crown with Vista, generally was recognized as part of this group because of its league affiliation, but was located within the San Diego City Limits.

The combined record of the four squads was 46-4-4.

Oceanside was 13-0 with a fifth championship in John Carroll’s 16 years, all coming in the last nine seasons.

Vista (10-2-1) and Torrey Pines (10-2-1) played to a 14-14 tie for the D-I title, and Valley Center (11-0-2) outlasted Brawley 39-33 for the D-III championship.

SHIFTING SANDS

Three of eight playoff semifinals venues were changed days before the games.

Monte Vista (11-0), the top-seeded D-III squad, was to meet Valley Center (9-0-2) at Escondido High.  The Monarchs appealed for a more centrally located site and were granted a switch to Serra High.

Advantage, Monarchs?  Hardly. Valley Center, forced to travel an additional 25 miles from its location fairly close to Escondido, took it out on Monte Vista and surprised the Monarchs 24-22.

Helix (9-2) and Grossmont (8-3), blood enemies for more than 50 years, agreed that they didn’t want to play at Serra, Grossmont going even further by acquiescing to meet the Highlanders on Helix’s turf, which for years also was Grossmont’s.

COACHES AGREE

In this case, both coaches, David Napoleon of Grossmont and Donnie Van Hook of Helix, preferred to play on the Highlanders’ artificial layout after playing all of their home games on an ersatz surface.

Helix won 23-17 in overtime to advance to the D-II finals for the fifth season in a row.

The playing field was not affected by rainy weather which persisted throughout the game, although Helix missed a 20-yard field goal attempt as regulation play ended. The Highlanders stopped Grossmont on the first possession of the overtime, then scored for the victory.

RIDE SHORTENED FOR BLYTHE

Palo Verde Valley of Blythe (9-1), sitting in the furthest reach of the San Diego Section, got a break when its matchup with Horizon (6-4), was moved from La Jolla to El Centro Central.

The trip ticket for the Riverside County team was downsized from about 225 miles to slightly more than 100 and Horizon’s was lengthened from about 10 miles to 120.

Coach George Dagnino’s squad prevailed over the Panthers 40-27, thus guaranteeing at least one 200-miles-plus junket for the Yellowjackets, to Qualcomm Stadium, where they were beaten by Santa Fe Christian in the D-IV finals, 20-12.

BLYTHE, BRAWLEY BREAKTHROUGH

With Palo Verde Valley and Brawley, the Imperial Valley League, which joined the San Diego Section in 2000, was represented in the Qualcomm Stadium championships for the first time.

Palo Verde Valley, Brawley, Calexico, El Centro Southwest, and El Centro Central followed Holtville, Calipatria, Imperial, and Winterhaven San Pasqual, which took on the San Diego designation in 1980.

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

St. Augustine and University of San Diego High…Uni or University to most locals…were playing for the last time.

Not exactly, but Uni was leaving its campus near the University of San Diego and moving to an opulent, new facility in Carmel Valley and beginning in 2005 would be known as Cathedral Catholic.

Marketing-oriented officials at both schools were calling it “The Final Showdown” and the 9,759 sold tickets guaranteed an overflow crowd at Southwestern College.

The Dons shot down their parochial school rivals 45-34. Junior running back Demetrius Sumler, who rushed for 224 yards in 30 carries and scored three touchdowns, summed up his feelings to Steve Brand of The San Diego Union:

“I expect Cathedral versus St. Augustine to be just as intense,” said Sumler.  “I try to just do my job, whatever it takes, and not think about who we’re playing.

“But this was St. Augustine, so it means a little more.”

DÉJÀ VU

Oceanside,  gradually moving up after losing its opener (before Eastlake forfeited to the Pirates) and its preseason No. 1 ranking, won the battle of State Highway 78 over top-ranked Vista,17-15, on Sergio Valdez’ 38-yard field goal with 33 seconds remaining.

Valdez had toed the winning kick in the Pirates’ 27-24 win over their old North County rival in 2003.

“I would have preferred that we would have blown them out,” said Valdez.

LONGHORNS HAVE THEIR CORRAL

“We have realized our dream,” said Rancho Buena Vista athletic director Dave Whiddon as he surveyed a crowd of 5,000, which helped dedicate the Longhorns’ new, campus stadium.

RBV teams’ home games had been at neighboring Vista since the school opened in 1986.

The visiting Colton Yellowjackets spoiled the inaugural, 30-14.

TORRES REGROUP

Coach Jeff Hutzler’s La Jolla Country Day squad shook off a discouraging, opening-game loss to Canoga Park Faith Baptist to win 11 in a row and earn the San Diego Section 8-Man championship.

The Torreys and Faith were tied at the end of three quarters but a 24-point fourth quarter gave the Contenders, the top-ranked Southern Section squad, a 38-14 victory.

PARKER RALLIES

A Johnny Unitas-Joe Montana replay?

Francis Parker quarterback Matt Morrison connected on five passes in a row on a 68-yard drive that ended with Ian Yoder’s 21-yard field goal with 18 seconds remaining, lifting the Lancers to a 10-7 win over Calexico Vincent Memorial.

HAUSER MOVES TO MISSION HILLS

Chris Hauser, 34-14 in five seasons and with a 2001 championship at Vista, moved to the new Mission Hills High in San Marcos. Without a senior class, the Grizzlies started 10 sophomores in their first game, a 21-0 loss to Madison, and began a 1-10 learning experience.

As a welcome (?) to Hauser, the field sprinklers went off during the game at Madison.  District officials finally figured out a way to shut off the water.

SUCCESS FOLLOWS OTAY’S FIRST COACH

Gene Alim, 98-23-3 in twelve seasons and with two championships at Sweetwater, returned to the sidelines for the first time since 1994 and led the first-year Otay Ranch Mustangs to a 8-2 record.

GIVE ME AN H…GIVE ME A T…

H-Town Christian opened in Paradise Hills, coached by Frank Henry, former Patrick Henry athlete with coaching experience at Utah, San Diego City College, Laguna Beach, and Horizon.

The Lions would be on the football scene for three seasons.  Henry, who also served as principal, was succeeded by Ray Toilolo in 2005 and the campus moved to the Encanto community, competing in the Pacific League.

BURKE CONCISE

Discussing Torrey Pines’ victory over Castle Park, coach Ed Burke (“Defense won it for us”) kept his counsel regarding  play of the Falcons’  special teams after Torrey trailed 4-0 at halftime—yes, 4-0—before overcoming Castle Park 24-4.

It was one of the more unusual coaching nights for Burke, who won 243 games in a legendary career at King City, Taft Union, Torrey Pines, and San Dieguito.

The Falcons’ kicking teams were in for some additional work and pointed observations the next week from the veteran mentor, who looked on peevishly when a low snap and botched punt resulted in a second quarter safety that put the Trojans in front 2-0.

Burke’s jaw dropped a few minutes later after a high snap botched another punt and stunningly resulted in two more points for Castle Park.

TIGERS’ MERRY-GO-ROUND

Morse released head coach Mike Moran in July, eight months after the Tigers finished the 2003 campaign with a 1-9 record. Moran’s replacement, Stewart Roper, was replaced after 13 days because of problems with his job application.

Robert Savage was named interim coach, then was joined by co-coach Tony Valencia, a school district veteran of almost 40 years who had been hired as Morse’s athletic director.

Savage was 1-1 as the sole head coach but was not a credentialed teacher.  Valencia’s addition would allow a head coach to be available to students during the academic day.

Morse topped Kearny 38-0 in the first game with co-head coaches and posted a 6-5 record overall and earned their first playoff berth since 1998.

FORFEITS OKAY WITH COACHES

Hilltop, 1-9 with three forfeits for using an ineligible player, was in the D-II playoffs.  El Cajon Valley, 4-6 and “clean”, was out.

Coaches doing the seeding correctly  followed existing criteria and were essentially unconcerned about forfeits, according to Bill McLaughlin, San Diego Section assistant commissioner.

“Letting a team that is one and nine with three forfeits into the playoffs is sending the wrong message,” said El Cajon Valley coach Joe Hubarth.

Hubarth said he didn’t address the Hilltop situation when he made his team’s presentation to the coaches’ committee because he didn’t think Hilltop was in the conversation.

“It was shocking,” said Hubarth.  “If they were 6-4 and dropped to 4-6, sure, but not 1-9.”

San Pasqual sent the Lancers home early, winning the first-round game, 31-7.

TRUE GRID

Quarterback  Jason Forcier, who resided in Carlsbad and was an Amtrak veteran, commuting to  Mater Dei in Santa Ana, transferred to St. Augustine…Forcier passed for 35 touchdowns and 2,641 yards in a 7-5 season…Oceanside defeated Marian Catholic, 34-12, in Week 2, ending the Crusaders’ 27-game winning streak,  third longest in San Diego Section history…Jack Neumeier, who coached John Elway at Granada Hills High and, after retirement, moved to Fallbrook and helped turn the Warriors into an offensive powerhouse in the 1980s, passed away at age 86 at his home in Camarillo…eight different Helix running backs rushed for a combined 403 yards as new coach Donnie Van Hook celebrated his first game with a 47-0 victory over Patrick Henry…not to be outdone, St. Augustine rushed for 419 yards in a 33-13 victory over El Capitan in its opener…Hoover rushed for 477 yards in a 59-0 win over Army-Navy…Bonita Vista’s well-traveled Barons  scored the final 14 points to win at  Linganore of Frederick, Maryland,  27-21…the Barons played La Jolla in Havana, Cuba, in  2003…Oscar Fernandez kicked a 19-yard field goal as time expired and Clairemont surprised Mission Bay, 13-10…with five seconds remaining Chris Schearing of Madison kicked a 40-yard field goal to give the Warhawks a neighborhood bragging rights win over Clairemont, 23-20…Silver Strand rivals Coronado and Mar Vista battled for the Adrian Taufausau Trophy, named after the Coronado quarterback who died in 1996…the Islanders honored their fallen graduate with a 47-7 victory…Serra lost its first four games and was outscored 206-52, then won five in a row and made the playoffs, finishing 5-6…La Jolla Country Day’s first-ever night game at home resulted in a 62-20, eight-man victory over Tri-City Christian…the Torreys won  the eight-man title, defeating San Pasqual Academy, 53-12….

San Diego Section athletes in both genders stepped up in the Saturday finals of last week’s state track and field championships.

The college-like campus at Clovis’ Buchanan  High was a wonderful venue for the 95th Boys’ championship and 40th Girls’ meet and drew more than 17,000 persons over two days.

Saturday’s finals began under a late-afternoon sun, in heat that reached 100 degrees, and after many from the local contingent of 90 entries were  eliminated  in Friday’s trials.

My Saturday favorites:

1–Hannah Labrie-Smith, Cathedral Catholic.  She revealed a strong competitive edge when the sophomore battled back from a potentially disastrous mid-race crisis.

Leading coming into the homestretch turn, Labrie-Smith was thrown off stride when she struck a hurdle and fell back to fifth place.  Composing herself, Hannah knocked off two runners near the finish line  and nudged into third place in :42.58, after coming within 1/10 of a second of Gale Devers’ 1984 Section record of :42.26 on Friday.

2–Poway’s 4×400 relay team.  San Diego teams almost never post a good time in this event before the Section finals or, more often,  the state trials.  Maybe it’s because coaches are trying to win dual meets and enter their best runners in multiple events each week.

Poway was sixth in  a very strong field but its time of 3:15.78 was almost six seconds better than what it was running a month ago.  The Titans overcame a terrible pass on the first exchange.  They had virtually lost contact with the field halfway into the second lap but rallied and finished with the 13th best 4×400 in Section history.

3–Alex Grigoriev, Rancho Bernardo.  At one point Grigoriev was running in 11th place but he didn’t panic, climbing the hill to third  with a career best  of 1:51.61, No. 8 all-time in  the section.

4– Dotun Ogundeji, Madison.  I feel that winning a state championship is not always the ultimate. Ogundeji has to feel good about himself.

An unheralded junior, Ogundeji was the only local athlete to qualify for two finals events.

A two-way lineman on Madison’s 2012 State III championship football team, Dotun added more than a foot to his previous best, coming in at  58-11 3/4 for sixth in the shotput and was out of the money in the discus but still managed an excellent 175-2.

5–Melissa Mongiovi, West Hills.  She let the field get too far ahead but blazed a finish that got Mongiovi a fifth-place medal.  Melissa’s 54.70 400 meters is No. 7 all-time in San Diego and she has two more years and enough time to get over the habit of  having too much left at the finish.

6–Brenden Song, West Hills.  The San Diego Section’s only gold medalist, Song won the discus by three inches at 188-8 after finishing second in 2012 and third in Friday’s trials.

7–All of the others who got to Saturday and earned medals or came up with personal bests.

Includes State Meet, May 31-June 1.

BOYS

100—(Fully automatic) Brown (Valhalla) 10.76, Smith (Mount Miguel) 10.80, Ardis (La Costa Canyon) 10.81 (10.70w), S. Pater (Mt. Carmel) 10.83, Molton (Hilltop) 10.84, Doan (StA) 11.07 (10.84w, Lucas (Poway) 10.85 (10.78w), Lewis (San Marcos) 10.88, Le (Scripps Ranch) 10.93, McNair (Morse) 10.94, Mayberry (Francis Parker) 10.94.  Southern California & State–Muhammad (Sherman Oaks Notre Dame), 10.22aw.

200—Ardis (La Costa Canyon) 21.35, Lucas (Poway) 21.55, Lewis (San Marcos) 21.95, Molton (Hilltop) 21.96, S. Pater (Mt. Carmel) 22.03, Gross (Poway) 22.05, Brown (Valhalla) 22.09, Morgan (St. Augustine) 21.9, Doan (St. Augustine)  22.18, Gibson (Olympic) 22.20, Ricks (Valley Center) 22.20, Thomas (Scripps Ranch) 22.20. Southern California & State–Muhammad (Sherman Oaks Notre Dame) 20.73.

400—Thomas (Scripps Ranch) 47.82, Howard (Steele Canyon) 48.65, Grigoriev (Rancho Bernardo) 49.54, Gronotte (Westview) 49.63, Dehaven (Granite Hills) 49.67, Smith (Eastlake) 49.88, Ozenbaugh (Poway) 49.89, Johnson (Helix) 49.91. Southern California & State–Kurtz (Etiwanda) 46.53.

800—Grigoriev (Rancho Bernardo) 1:51.61 (Section #8 all-time), Gronotte (Westview) 1:53.13, Senese (Mt. Carmel) 1:53.67, Hernandez (Helix) 1:53.98, Lawson (Cathedral) 1:54.23, Alvarado (Sweetwater) 1:55.69, Soto (El Cajon Valley) 1:55.76, Freeman (Carlsbad) 1:56.06, Snow (Carlsbad) 1:56.07, Greer (VC) 1:56.23. Southern California—Thompson (Riverside Sherman Indian), 1:51.76.  State–Hamilton (Oakland Bishop O’Dowd) 1:50.19.

1600–Freeman (Carlsbad), 4:11.89, Fahy (La Costa Canyon) 4:13.88, Braude (Torrey Pines), 4:15.12, Ryan (Westview) 4:15.89, Sindel (Mt. Carmel) 4:16.30, Sweet (Point Loma) 4:17.02, Morton (Mt. Carmel) 4:18.16, A. Masayesva (Serra) 4:18.40, Jafek (Torrey Pines) 4:18.53, Schaefer (Carlsbad) 4:19.01. Southern California—Tamagno (Brea-Olinda), 4:09.43.  State— Haney (Bakersfield Stockdale), 4:06.91.

3200—Freeman (Carlsbad) 8:52.65, Fahy (La Costa Canyon) 9:02.61, Braude (Torrey Pines) 9:05.26, Schaefer (Carlsbad) 9:11.09, Martin (Carlsbad) 9:11.55, Riley (Ramona) 9:17.31, Gomez (El Capitan) 9:20.16, A. Masayesva (Serra) 9:21.33, Bourke (Cathedral) 9:21.44, Lepe (Monte Vista) 9:21.99. Southern California–Gonzalez (El Toro), 8:54.01. State–Haney, 8:48.58.

110HH—(Fully automatic) Hartinger (San  Pasqual) 14.39, James (Granite Hills) 14.60, Washington (El Camino) 14.63, Zebold (Cathedral) 14.70 (14.44w), Nelson (Del Norte) 14.78, Kenney (Carlsbad) 14.80, Battig (Mira Mesa) 14.92, Trieu (Mira Mesa) 15.01, LaChica (Mt. Carmel) 15.20, French (Poway) 15.23 . Southern California—Sicard (Gardena Serra), 13.92aw.  State—Morris (Concord De La Salle), 13.90.

300IH— Howard (Steele Canyon) 37.65, Washington (El Camino) 38.0,  Hartinger (San Pasqual) 38.44,  Nelson (Del Norte) 38.61, James (Granute Hills) 38.6 (38.89), Zebold (Cathedral) 38.93, French (Poway) 38.96, Hernandez (Castle Park) 39.19, Wilson (Orange Glen) 39.36, Riley (Rancho Bernardo) 39.47. Southern California & State–Sicard, 37.06.

4x100R—Poway 42.05, Steele Canyon 42.15, Mt. Carmel 42.38, Helix 42.39, Granite Hills 42.73, Oceanside 42.82, Olympian 42.85, Eastlake 43.00, Monte Vista 43.07, University City 43.12.  Southern California & State–Gardena Serra, 40.73a.

4x400R—Poway 3:15.78, Mt. Carmel 3:19.27, Steele Canyon 3:20.44, Westview 3:22.04, Rancho Bernardo 3:22.11, Granite Hills 3:22.37, Helix 3:22.40, Valley Center 3:24.35, Olympian 3:24.42, Del Norte 3:24.46. Southern California & State–Gardena Serra, 3:10.59.

HJ— Bush (Poway) 6-7, Rush-Dunigan (Point Loma ) 6-6, Pritchett (University Center) 6-6, Pavlovics (Rancho Bernardo) 6-5 ½, Williams (Mission Hills) 6-5, Patmon (Patrick Henry) 6-5, Benson (Point Loma) 6-5, Hilliard (Rancho Buena Vista) 6-5, Five at 6-3. Southern California & State–Howell (Antelope Center), 7-0.

PV— *K. Pater (Mt. Carmel) 16-6, Law (Otay Ranch) 16-0, Bush (Poway) 15-4, Elder (Escondido) 15-3, Poole (Poway) 14-4, Drammissi (El Capitan) 14-4, Wagenveld (Calvin Christian) 14-4, Miller (Patrick Henry) 14-2, Ash (Valhalla) 14-2, Holstrom (Rancho Bernardo) 14-2. Southern California & State–K. Pater.

LJ—Rush-Dunigan (Point Loma) 24-3 ½, Simpson (University City) 23-6 ½, Nasser (Sweetwater) 23-2 ½, LeBlanc (University City) 23-1, Walker (Mount Miguel) 22-9, Adair (Rancho Bernardo) 22-7 1/2, Carter (Serra) 22-7, Holder (Oceanside) 22-6, Nelson (Del Norte) 22-6, Miller (Oceanside) 22-3 ½. S. Pater (Mt. Carmel) 22-10w. Southern California & State–Jackson (Gardena Serra), 25-0.

TJ—Dodds (Oceanside) 48-8, Esteban (Otay Ranch) 46-4 ¾ (47-6w), Simpson (University City) 46-3, Jackson (Mount Miguel) 46-1 3/4, Rush-Dunigan (Point Loma) 45-10, Boulware (Eastlake) 45-7 ¾, Wilson (Granite Hills) 45-5 ¼, Tuff (Steele Canyon) 45-3 ½, M. Holder (Oceanside) 45-3, Carter (Serra) 45-2. Southern California— Spencer (Hesperia Sultana) 50-0 1/4w. State—Moore (Castro Valley), 50-11 ¼.

SP—Ogundeji (Madison) 58-11 ¾,  Higuera (Sweetwater) 55-2 ½, Santos (Imperial) 54-7 ¾, Braddock (East) 53-9 1/2, Hendrickson (San Pasqual) 52-11, Maneval (Torrey Pines) 52-8 ¼,  Wyatt (Helix) 52-4, Quessenberry (La Costa Canyon) 51-10, Newman (El Camino) 51-8, Barker (Rancho Bernardo) 51-7. Southern California & State–Ponzio (Temecula Great Oak), 66-2 1/2.

DT—Song (West Hills) 194-4, Ogundeji (Madison) 179-10, Newman (El Camino) 178-2, Maffei (Escondido) 166-4, Navarrete (University City) 160-9, Savage (Morse) 159-8, Hampton (Helix) 155-1, Braddock (Eastlake) 154-7, Barker (Rancho Bernardo) 152-4, Wyatt (Helix) 152-0. Southern California & State–Song.

GIRLS

100—(Fully automatic) (Mission Hills) 11.85, Johnson (Cathedral) 12.14, Labrie-Smith (Cathedral)12.12 (11.97w), Rehm (San Pasqual) 12.23, Zlatic (La Jolla) 12.30, Gillon (Hilltop) 12.36, Hernandez (Mt. Carmel) 12.40, Lawson (Eastlake) 12.41, Patterson (Rancho Bernardo) 12.41, Three at 12.43. Southern California & State–Washington (Long Beach Poly), 11.22aw.

200—Acolatse (Mission Hills) 24.30, Mongiovi (West Hills) 24.44, Johnson (Cathedral) 24.61, Zlatic (La Jolla) 24.78, Hernandez (Mt. Carmel) 24.80, Gonzalez (Mater Dei) 24.83, LiDrazzah (Olympian) 25.23, Burrell (Chula Vista) 25.24, Lawson (Eastlake) 25.26, Carrillo (Steele Canyon) 25.1, Labrie-Smith (Cathedral) 25.40 (25.00w). Southern California & State–Washington, 23.18.

400—Mongiovi (West Hills) 54.70 (Section #7 all-time), Armitage (Clairemont) 55.58, Lopez (Carlsbad) 55.98, Hernandez (Mt. Carmel) 56.28, Smith (Eastlake) 56.44, Zlatic (La Jolla) 56.55, Leonard (San Pasqual) 57.47, Bell (Morse) 57.52, Schroeder (Bonita Vista) 57.77, Garces (Eastlake) 57.85. Southern California—Ezumah (Gardena Serra), 54.15.  State–Dorner (Rancho Cordova) 53.00.

800—Gillespie (Otay Ranch) 2:10.70 (Section #9 all-time), Sammer (Rancho Bernardo) 2:12.28, Harbison (Westview) 2:13.85, Miller (Pacific Ridge) 2:15.14, Seamans (Torrey Pines) 2:15.28, Charles (Canyon Crest) 2:16.0, DeBrosse (El Camino) 2:16.13, Bernd (Canyon Crest) 2:16.26, Shade (Patrick Henry) 2:16.32, Fierro (San Dieguito) 2:16.39. Southern California–Huebner (La Quinta) 2:11.94.  State—Smith (Clovis North), 2:08.39.

1600—Emma Abrahamson (La Costa Canyon) 4:51.33, Bernd (Canyon Crest) 4:54.19, Sorensen (Torrey Pines) 4:56.74c, Charles (Canyon Crest) 4:57.70, Seay (Mt. Carmel) 4:57.90, Lawson (La Costa Canyon) 4:58.68, Ellie Abrahamson (La Costa Canyon) 4:59.44, Kay (Patrick Henry) 5:00.88, Miller (Pacific Ridge) 5:00.92c, O’Connell (Torrey Pines) 5:01.07. Southern California–Smith (Newport Beach Newport Harbor), 4:49.61.  State–Maxwell (San Lorenzo Valley), 4:43.01.

3200—Emma Abrahamson (La Costa Canyon) 10:36.01, Lawson (La Costa Canyon) 10:44.00, O’Connell (Torrey Pines) 10:44.24, Sorensen (Torrey Pines) 10:45.48, Seay (Mt. Carmel) 10:45.91, *Miller (Carlsbad) 10.54.75, Ellie Abrahamson (La Costa Canyon) 10:57.94, Bosler (La Costa Canyon) 10:59.08, Sanborn (Cathedral) 10:59.85, Ortlieb (San Pasqual) 11:06.59. Southern California & State–Baxter (Simi Valley), 10:06.74.

100IH—(Fully automatic) Labrie-Smith (Cathedral) 14.39, Hancock (La Jolla) 14.64, Johnson (Cathedral) 14.64, Rehm (San Pasqual) 14.78, Lyons-Walker (Morse) 14.80, Chang (Otay Ranch) 14.92, Johnson (Poway) 15.09w, Young (Serra) 15.16, Magdalena (Olympic) 15.20, Murray (Poway) 15.21. Southern California–Graham (Corona Roosevelt), 13.79sw.  State–Baxter (Castro Valley), 13.43.

300IH—Labrie-Smith (Cathedral) 42.27 (Section #2 all-time), Hancock (La Jolla) 42.59, Lyons-Walker (Morse) 43.80, Rehm (San Pasqual) 43.99, Garcia (Rancho Bernardo) 43.91, Johnson (Cathedral) 44.08, Van (Steele Canyon) 44.66, Spencer (San Diego) 44.83, Young (Serra) 45.57, Bell (Morse) 45.5. Southern California & State–Miller (Temecula Great Oak), 41.02.

4x100R–Cathedral 47.77; Mission Hills 48.34; Morse 48.45, Rancho Bernardo 48.64, Eastlake 48.66, University City 48.73, La Costa Canyon 48.81, Poway 48.84, San Pasqual 49.13, Olympian 49.16. Southern California & State–Long Beach Poly, 44.93.

4x400R— La Jolla 3:53.98, Carlsbad 3:54.91, Bonita Vista 3:55.40, Rancho Bernardo 3:56.23, Del Norte 3:58.81, Mt. Carmel 3:59.10, Cathedral Catholic 3:59.57, West Hills 4:00.57, University City 4:00.70, Eastlake 4:01.26. Southern California–Long Beach Poly, 3:43.62.  State—San Jose Piedmont Hills, 3:41.14.

HJ—Curry (University City) 5-9, Callahan (Coronado) 5-6 ½, Slack (Vista) 5-6, Rowlett (Carlsbad) 5-5, Yates (Rancho Buena Vista) 5-4, Smith (Coronado) 5-3, Gorman (Rancho Bernardo) 5-3, Vanderhoff (Valhalla) 5-3, Eight at 5-2. Southern California & State—McCoy (Fontana Miller), 6-0 ¾.

PV—Tolda (Cathedral) 12-0, Farr (Patrick Henry) 11-9, Lian (Rancho Bernardo) 11-6, Bartsch (Coronado) 11-5, *Jackson (Ramona) 11-3, Madigan (Scripps Ranch) 11-0, Moss (Otay Ranch) 10-6, Fox (Valhalla) 10-6, Girley (Carlsbad) 10-6, Six at 10-3. Southern California & State–Merritt (Rancho Santa Margarita), 13-8.

LJ—Zlatic (La Jolla) 19-0 ¾, T. Dozier (Mount Miguel) 18-7, Cromer (University City) 18-2, Staab (Scripps Ranch) 18-0, Hopson (Coronado) 17-8, Kennedy (Serra) 17-7 ¼, Van (Steele Canyon) 17-6 ¾, Rackley (La Costa Canyon) 17-6 ¼, Muhammad (La Jolla Country Day) 17-6, Slack (Vista) 17-5 ½. Southern California & State–Corrin (Studio City  Harvard-Westlake), 20-11.

TJ—Cole (Del Norte) 38-1 ¾, Van (Steele Canyon) 38-0, Kennedy (Serra) 37-6 ½, Muhammad (La Jolla Country Day) 37-4, Madsen (Carlsbad) 37-3 ½, Noiseaux (Eastlake) 37-2, Haselhuhn (Carlsbad) 36-8 ¾, Nash (Calvin Christian) 36-6 ¾, Mathis (Scripps Ranch) 36-2 ¼, Garcia (Sweetwater) 36-0 ½. Southern California–Tolliver (Inglewood St. Mary’s), 40-1 1/2.  State–Wallace (Castro Valley), 42-4.

SP—Ward (Hoover) 43-2 ½, Sierra (El Capitan) 42-3, Walker (Rancho Bernardo) 41-6 1/2, Tausaga (Mount Miguel) 40-2, Cheadle (Escondido) 39-8, Mohamed (Imperial) 38-9, Osby (Escondido) 38-5, Helgeson (El Camino) 38-4, Ellis (Westview) 38-2 ¼, S. Dozier (Steele Canyon) 38-2. Southern California & State–Scarvelis (Goleta Dos Pueblos), 51-11.

DISCUS–Smith (Helix) 136-10, Osby (Escondido) 129-11, S. Dozier (Steele Canyon) 128-4, Haury (Scripps Ranch) 128-4, Jackson (Francis Parker) 125-1, Sierra (El Capitan) 122-3, Anderson (Rancho Buena Vista) 122-3, Panebianco (Helix) 121-0, Helgesen (El Camino) 120-0, Nofadgi (Hoover) 118-3. Southern California–Jacobs (Arroyo Grande), 163-11.  State–Okwelogu (Clovis West), 173-09.