Ruiz Is Green, But He’s Good

His coach says he has loads to learn about competitive distance running and Manuel Ruiz of Monroe High admits his only goal this season is to “try and do the best I can.”

Yet he easily won the boys’ 1,600 and 3,200 meters on Thursday night in the Valley Mission League track and field finals at Birmingham High.

Ruiz, a freshman who moved from Toluca, Mexico, to North Hills with his older brother last summer, ran a career best 4:29.6 in the 1,600 and clocked 9:47.0 in the 3,200.

The top four finishers in each event qualified for the City Section preliminaries at Birmingham on Thursday.

“He really doesn’t know what he’s doing,” Coach Dean Balzarett of Monroe said about Ruiz, who placed seventh in the City cross-country final in November. “But he’s a good one.”

Senior Anthony Ugolini of Reseda was another double winner, placing first in the boys’ 110 high hurdles in 14.6 and in the 300 intermediates in 40.0.

Senior Jerome Williams of Kennedy won the long jump at 21 feet and the triple jump at 42-8.

Sunset Six League finals--Alex Green of Poly won the boys’ 100 in 11.1, the high hurdles in 15.4 and the intermediates in 39.6 at Birmingham. He finished second in the long jump at 20-2.

Natalie Stein of North Hollywood, a two-time City champion in cross-country, cruised to victorious times of 2:25.7 in the girls’ 800, 5:30.1 in the 1,600 and 11:54.2 in the 3,200.