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South Pasadena High’s Kai Dettman set a new school record last Saturday during a winning performance at the CIF-Southern Section Track & Field Divisional Championships at El Camino College in Torrance.
Dettman crossed the finish line first in the 800-meter Division 3 finals and now is preparing for this week’s Masters Meet where he hopes to qualify for a chance to compete at the 101st CIF State Track & Field Championships May 24-25 in Veterans Memorial Stadium at Buchanan High School in Clovis.
He’ll return to El Camino College Saturday in hopes of putting together another top effort. In a race he finished third a year ago, Dettman had a solid performance to win the divisional championship with a personal best. Staying with the lead group, the senior burst ahead with about 400 meters to go and held on to win, clocking 1:53.49, the seventh fastest time of all four divisions in the competition.
“It was a good field, the best from a lot of really good schools,” said Dettman’s coach, C.B. Richards. “It was great to see him run his all-time best.”
Dettman joins two other South Pasadena High athletes who will compete at the Master’s – pole vaulter Lucas Tailin and triple jumper TH Wei, a finalist a year ago at the state championships.
Tailin finished second in the pole vault to La Canada’s David Miketta, who captured the Division 3 title by going 15 feet. Tailin was next at 14-06.
Wei heads into the Masters with a third place Division 3 finish, eighth overall on the day. He missed going in the long jump, despite a second place finish in Division 3.
“He had his hamstring cramp up on his second triple jump, so we passed on his final three jumps of the day,” South Pasadena coach C.B. Richards explained of Wei, saving the talented athletes knowing it was likely enough to get him into this week’s competition.
South Pasadena finished 4th overall in Divison 3 team competition, placing first in the boys’ 800, second in the boys’ long jump, second in the boys’ pole vault, second in the girls’ 800, third in the boys’ triple jump, fourth in the boys’ 4×400, sixth in the girls’ 4×400 girls, and sixth in the girls’ triple jump.
Gianna Beasley took second girls’ 800-meter competition and Terrel and Ferrel Mansano helped the Tigers’ 4×4 relay to a fourth place finish in the Division 3. All three are returning next season.
“I’m very happy with everyone’s efforts and results,” said Richards, who sent 15 athletes to Saturday’s CIF championships. “The coaches were very proud as were the athletes of their performance. I like our chances next year. We should be pretty good. We’re pretty good.”
