LJ track: Opening salvo

By Ed Piper

With La Jolla High track already in gear, I notice a few things:

--The Jim Cerveny Invite VIII March 21 is a great way to view some excellent high school track and field in a relaxed atmosphere, and near to home (Mission Bay). Jim was a personal friend of my wife and myself years ago. He makes his appearance at each meet in his name.

And--the Cerveny Invite is a good way to check in with Chris Abramson, the Buccaneer runner who is blind and runs with his guide, David Cervantes, in the 100 and 200, and sometimes throws the shot put. Chris is a "people" person more than an athlete, so interacting with him is a friendly experience, and very uplifting, considering all the challenges he has met and overcome--including skiing downhill.

--At the Dick Wilkins Frosh/Soph Championships at Del Norte High April 25 (no one uses the term "frosh" anymore--it never caught on), a track fan can check in on younger athletes who don't get the full spotlight because of their upperclass teammates. I've been to one, and hope to go to another this Spring.

--Thank God for the time change. The day is now long enough to view track (and baseball, and any other outdoor sport), without worrying if darkness is going to descend and force the meet or game to be called. We were in Arizona for Spring Training, and the heat just about did us in. We are very grateful to be back and enjoying cooler temperatures, even though the temp is supposed to go up again here this coming week.

The Santa Ana winds are very unusual in San Diego. I grew up with them in Camarillo (Ventura County), where Santa Ana conditions mean wind blowing. I could chart each three- or four-day stretch with Santa Ana's on my calendar, due to the hot, blowing air around me, causing sinus/allergy problems/sinus headaches.

--Canyon Hills is going to be the full-time track host for the Eastern League Finals May 8, plus the Division 3 Championships May 16. The week before the league finals, the Rattler facility will also host the JV City Conference Championships. More power to them.

The long period of construction, it seems, has been completed, and Coach John "Red" Pisapia and his fellow track colleagues at Canyon Hills can do what they do best: carry out track and field events on the "field below ground level". The giant tower that enables handicapped persons to access the field apparently will be operational, and the fence around the track (I got caught between it and the stands two years ago) is no longer hanging people up (I'm saying that humorously).

--The La Jolla High list of track athletes is always a delight for us "name" people. It includes a lot of student-athletes, because track is a big deal at LJHS, and there are all sorts of patterns in the names:

   

   --multiple Lily's

   --You can't figure out siblings/families easily, because the names are listed in order by first name.

   --A last name we would spell with a "y" often ends in "iy" for Russian/Ukraine names (I've had a bunch of students substitute-teaching in Poway and San Dieguito with this).

   --I can recognize siblings using last names as a guide--then covering all the LJHS teams helps me make such connections.