THE MASTERS MEET : Williams Flying High Again : Orange’s Senior High-Jumper, Who Overcame Academic Setbacks This Season, Hopes to Pass the 7-Foot Bar Tonight

Myron Williams’ rise to status as the Southern Section’s premier high jumper came swiftly and unexpectedly.

Williams, a senior at Orange High School, began competing only a month ago after he had been ruled academically ineligible for the third quarter. He finished seventh in the section’s championships as a junior, but his personal best was only 6-feet 4-inches.

So it came as quite a surprise when Williams, 17, won the 2-A division championship by clearing 6-10 last Saturday at Cerritos College in the 75th track and field championships.

Williams was the only competitor in a field of 36 to clear the height, but he missed on three attempts at 7-0. No Orange County athlete has ever cleared 7-0.

Williams will get another opportunity to challenge that elusive mark at 6:30 tonight in the Masters meet at Cerritos College. The top five competitors in each event will advance to the state meet June 5-6 in Sacramento’s Hughes Stadium.

If Williams follows form, look for him to break former Foothill star Doug Dreibelbis’ county record of 6-11 3/4 established in 1983.

Williams hasn’t wasted any time becoming the Southern Section’s finest high jumper, improving from 6-6 to 6-10 in three meets.

Three weeks ago, he established a school record by clearing 6-7 in a dual meet against Costa Mesa. It was only his second meet of the season. He followed the record performance by clearing 6-8 in the Pacific Coast League championships at Irvine Stadium.

Williams proved that his swift improvement was no fluke by stunning the competition at Cerritos with a first-attempt jump of 6-10 to win the championship and establish himself as the top seed for tonight’s meet.

New-found confidence, a fresh mental outlook and the frustration of being forced to sit on the sidelines for most of the season has fueled Williams’ enthusiasm.

“I got lazy in a couple of classes and wasn’t doing my assignments,” he said. “I learned a good lesson. It was tough sitting out most of the season. I felt like I let the team down and myself down.”

Williams wasn’t allowed to practice with the team while he was ineligible, so he worked out on his own, striving to improve his technique. As a sophomore, he demonstrated that he had plenty of natural ability when he cleared 6-4 to win the Orange County Championships.

When he failed to improve upon the mark during his junior season, he became discouraged. He decided to work on his 11-step entry to the pit and was encouraged when the 1987 track season opened.

“I wanted the school record (6-6 3/4) so I could leave my name at the school,” he said. “I also wanted to prove to myself that I was better than 6-4.”

Williams celebrated his return from academic probation by clearing 6-6 in his first meet, and the performance was a big boost to his once-sagging confidence.

“Myron always had the physical ability to be a good high jumper,” said Bob Gunther, Orange assistant track coach. “He hasn’t changed physically since his sophomore year.

“Now, he has the confidence. When he didn’t improve his junior year, we started working on his form and mental outlook. In the last couple of meets, he’s shown he’s mentally tougher. He can handle the pressure.”

Last week’s meet was supposed to renew a three-year rivalry between Williams and Foothill’s John Amneus, the top high jumpers in the county. Amneus had defeated Williams when the sophomores met in the Century League and again in the league finals last year as juniors. Amneus had also cleared 6-10 earlier this season.

“I wanted to beat John because he had already jumped 6-10 and some people were saying he was going to get the county record,” Williams said.

But Amneus, who had attended his school prom the night before, failed on three attempts at 6-4 and dropped out of the competition. Williams found himself dueling Dave Swanson of Alemany for the 2-A title. Swanson had a personal best of 7-0.

Both were successful at 6-8 and were tied on the same number of misses. Whoever cleared 6-10 would win the championship.

“I told Myron, ‘You’ve got to want it more than he does,’ ” Gunther said. “I asked him, ‘How bad do you want the title?’ ”

Williams quickly answered that question to claim the title. Now, he claims that 7-0 is approaching.

“In my mind, I know I can do it,” Williams said.

In his dreams, Williams already has cleared the mark.

“I dreamed I went seven feet a couple of nights before the CIF championships,” Williams said. “Last week, I was pumped up to do it, but on my first attempt, I planted my foot and my leg buckled.

“I’ve had some problems with shin splints. I was sitting there for five hours and my legs were shot. On my second attempt, I got my hips over the bar, but that was the closest I got.

“I know I can do it.”

Track Notes

Orange High, competing in the 2-A division, was the only school in all four divisions to have three individual champions last week. Myron Williams won the high jump championship, Jeff Pierce won the 800 meters and Sean Ullom won the discus. The Panthers scored 42 points, finishing second to champion Morningside’s 60 points. Morningside had 11 competitors in the meet, while Orange had just five. Williams was the only athlete to qualify for the Masters. . . . Corona del Mar triple jumper Sandy Lucas will compete in the Masters. . . . Servite’s Nick-John Haiduc, who won the 3-A 800 meters, has pneumonia and has been taking antibiotics this week, but the senior said he will compete. . . . Best bets among the county boys to qualify for the state meet include shotputter Kaleaph Carter of Edison, sprinter Paul Peters of Santa Ana Valley, discus thrower Michael Bain of Corona del Mar and distance runner Haissam Sabra of Ocean View. . . . Among the girls who figure to advance to Sacramento are distance runners Kathy Karpel of Ocean View and Erika Lovett of Savanna, high jumpers Lisa Coleman of Marina and Lori Svoboda of El Dorado and sophomore Allison Franke of Canyon in the discus. . . . Junior Sheri Bertell of Mission Viejo came very close to breaking Estelle White’s county record in the 100 meters at Cerritos. Bertell was timed in 12.09. White’s record is 11.89.