HIGH SCHOOL TRACK AND FIELD : Granville Conquers All With 800-Meter Effort

He has been setting records since he first stepped on the track as a freshman three years ago, and Michael Granville of Bell Gardens High does not appear to be letting up.

Receiving one of his stiffest challenges in his favorite race, the 800 meters, Granville responded by winning in record time at the 28th Foot Locker Arcadia Invitational Saturday night at Arcadia High.

Granville, a junior, brought the standing-room-only crowd of 6,000 to their feet by beating a talented field with a time of 1 minute 47.96 seconds. The time established a meet record and is the sixth fastest run in high school, not far off the national prep record of 1:47.31 set by Peter Richardson of Berkeley in 1981.

Leading from start to finish, Granville ran the first 200 in 23.0 and the 400 in 52.3. Aaron Richberg of Union City James Logan finished second in 1:49.12, and Obie Moore of Pasadena Muir was third in 1:49.16.

“To be honest, I knew I had the race won yesterday,� said Granville, the defending state champion in the 800 whose previous best time was 1:48.9. “I knew about the competition, but I go into every race confident in my abilities.

Granville’s performance was not the lone highlight, however. Meet records were established in seven events and tied in one other.

One of the most noteworthy was in the boys’ 110 high hurdles. Deworski Odom of Overbrook High in Philadelphia won the race in 13.61, breaking the record of 13.7 set by Michael Bates of Tucson Amphitheater in 1988.

Minutes later, Odom, a senior, followed that victory up by winning the 100 in 10.44, the second-fastest prep time in the nation this season. Odom was expected to battle Bryan Howard of Moreno Valley Canyon Springs, but Howard did not compete because of an ankle injury.

In the girls’ 1,600 meters, sophomore Julia Stamps of Santa Rosa continued to establish herself as the nation’s premiere prep distance runner by winning in a record time of 4:47.78.

Melissa Price of Kingsburg tied her own national record in the pole vault with a mark of 11 feet, 6 inches. Kristie Johnson of Fresno Central set a record in the 800 with a time of 2:09.63, and LaShonda Christopher of Lacy, Wash., established a record in the long jump with a mark of 42-2 1/4.