Nellum casts giant shadow, but L.B. Poly boys step out of it at Mt. SAC
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The Long Beach Poly boys’ track and field team was better known last season as Bryshon Nellum & the Jackrabbits.
With most of the attention directed at Nellum, who capped his high school career last June by becoming the first athlete to win consecutive California state titles in the 200 and 400 meters, it was easy for runners like Joey Hughes to get lost in the shuffle. Now that Nellum is running for USC, Hughes and his fellow teammates are taking advantage of the opportunity to make names for themselves.
At the Mt. San Antonio College Relays on Saturday, they took another big step out of Nellum’s shadow.
Hughes guided Poly’s 1,600-meter relay team to a come-from-behind victory in the meet-ending event, turning the final lap in 47.6 seconds to give the Jackrabbits a winning time of 3:18.94. Earlier, he helped Poly win the 400 relay in a state-leading 41.36 and finished second in the 200 in 21.40, the third-fastest time in the state this season.
Hughes, who finished third in state in the 400 last year and was on both state championship relay teams, said these Jackrabbits don’t have a superstar like Nellum, but they have better depth and cohesion. “It’s actually a more together team because it was kind of a one-man show last year,” he said. “Now, this year, it’s all of us together — more united.”
Hughes was speaking specifically of fellow seniors Eric Vaughn and identical twins Ellon and Evant Orange, with whom he has run since they were freshmen. Coach Crystal Irving is even more impressed with the team’s overall depth this season. “From our top kids to our alternates,” he said.
The Poly girls’ team also displayed its top-end speed, winning the 400 relay in 46.92. Akawkaw Ndipagbor anchored the one-lap relay, then came back to win the 200 in 24.11.
Another top girls’ mark belonged to the Saugus distance medley relay team, which won in 11:51.58 to lower the nation-leading time in the event by more than 14 seconds. Katie Dunn ran the final 1,600 in 4:55.1.
Karyn Dunn of Pomona Diamond Ranch leaped a wind-aided 20 feet 4 1⁄4 inches to win the girls’ long jump, one of the top five marks in the nation under any conditions.
Camilla Dencer of West Hills West Valley Christian won the 800 in a state-leading 2:09.61, the second-fastest time in the nation this season.
Another top mark on the boys’ side came from DeVron Walker of Compton Dominguez in the 110 hurdles. He won in 13.88, one of the top marks in the nation under any conditions, but the time was deemed illegal for record purposes became there was no wind reading from the race.
-- Dan Arritt