Three claim state titles




SPENCER BROWN/DyeStatCal.com HE'S THE MAN- Agoura's Derek Johnson won the boys' discus event at last weekend's state meet.

SPENCER BROWN/DyeStatCal.com HE’S THE MAN- Agoura’s Derek Johnson won the boys’ discus event at last weekend’s state meet.


Three area athletes won individual titles during last weekend’s CIF State Track and Field Championships at Sacramento City College.

Cory Primm of Westlake High defended his 800 meter state championship in convincing fashion.

By finishing in 1:50.95, Primm, who entered the event as the national leader in the 800 and will attend UCLA, bested his nearest competitor, Ryan Martin of Santa Margarita, by almost two and a half seconds. Martin finished in 1:53.23.

Agoura High’s Derek Johnson was victorious in the boys’ discus.

Johnson, who will attend Cal State Bakersfield, logged a pair of throws that traveled farther than 201 feet, including a state titlewinning toss of 203 feet, 6 inches.

“It was a good day. I had a great time,” Johnson said. “My season pretty much boiled down to peaking at the state meet and being able to do well there.”

Like Primm, Johnson dominated the competition. The secondplace finisher in the boys’ discus, Dayshan Ragans of Foothill, threw 18805, a number Johnson surpassed on half of his six attempts.

“Starting in the summer, I really thought I was going to (dominate),” Johnson said. “I’m not trying to put myself high above everyone else, but training the whole summer and being as technical as I try to be, I had no doubt in my mind that I wasn’t going to be super consistent.”

Hudson Andrews of Royal High claimed the boys’ 1,600 crown.

The Princeton-bound mile runner finished in a school record 4:07.59, edging Universal City’s Max Fleet (4:08.09) by the slimmest of margins.

It was the Highlanders’ fourth individual state title in as many seasons.

Although she didn’t win a championship, Simi Valley’s Anna Sperry was brilliant once again. Sperry finished second in the girls’ 1,600 with an eyeopening 4:42.52. She was third in the 3,200, finishing in 10:28.75.

Sperry’s valiant effort in the 1,600 was upstaged by junior Christine Babcock of Woodbridge, who ran 4:38.85, a mark that ranks second all-time nationally.

Tayler Johnson, a freshman at Oak Park, tied for fifth in the girls’ high jump with a mark of 5 feet, 5 inches.

Calabasas junior Brittany Harper was seventh in the girls’ 400-meter dash. Harper posted a time of 55.14.

After winning back-to-back boys’ 3,200 state titles in 2005 and 2006, Royal’s Michael Cybulski was sidelined for much of the season with a hip injury. The UCLAbound senior rebounded late in the year and finished a respectable eighth.

According to the website www.dyestatcal.com, 18,116 fans attended the two-day event, with 11,171 in attendance for Saturday’s finals.

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