LJ track: 'Speed merchants'

Ebony Crandle (#1, in red jersey, near right),

Payton Smith (in braids, third from right),

and teammate Maddie Lyons (far left)

take off in the 100 meters March 3

against Sage Creek. (Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

The ladies of La Jolla High--sophomore Payton Smith and senior Maddie Lyons--had a lot to say through their burning sprinting speed Sat., March 26, at the Mt. Carmel Invitational.

Smith fried an egg on the track, it was so hot (figuratively), with a 12.06-second wind-aided time in the 100 meters for fifth place in a celebrated field of sprinters from L.A., Orange County, and San Diego.

Lyons, who has been doing this now for four years for the Vikings, wasn't too far back at 12.42 seconds (again, the wind component was higher than allowable) in ninth place.

What was remarkable was that La Jolla head coach Paul Byrne made the call two days earlier to run Smith, Lyons, and senior teammate Ebony Crandle in the same race at home against the San Diego Cavers. He made the call based on the team points the Vikings might need to win that track meet.

On Thursday, on the home synthetic, the three burners dominated San Diego to go 1-3-4 in the 100. Partly as a result of that dominance, the La Jolla girls team won the meet, 97-38.