Two champions

NORWALK — One Newport Harbor High athlete turned his back to reach success. The other went with the throwback look.

It worked out for discus thrower Cecil Whiteside and 3,200-meter runner Rex Nelson Friday.

The two won their respective events on a wet and cloudy Friday night at the CIF Southern Section Masters meet at Cerritos College.

Both surprised the coaching staffs before advancing to the state meet for the first time in track and field.

Whiteside claimed the title as a sophomore with a heave of 176 feet, 4 inches.

Nelson broke out orange shorts from Orange Coast College and a Newport Harbor grey top from the 1990s before the senior won and set a school record time of 9 minutes, 2.42 seconds.

Throwing coach Tony Ciarelli looked more thrilled with Whiteside’s accomplishment than Coach Nowell Kay did with Nelson’s.

“It’s something we’ll have to talk about,” said a visibly upset Kay about Nelson not wearing the school’s navy blue outfit because of the possibility of Nelson getting disqualified.

Kay said Nelson getting disqualified depended “on who the sixth-place kid was. And who his coach is and what they know.”

All Nelson knew was that he was in the Newport Harbor history books. He decided to make a splash before shattering the school’s old mark of 9:13.88 set by Curt Herberts in 1999.

“I just wanted to stand out there because I’ve been running in the blue my whole high school career,” said Nelson, who beat his personal-best by 16.10 seconds. “I wanted to do something different. It made me feel special.

“The coaches don’t know about that. They probably don’t care very much. I hope they’re not upset about it.”

Kay and his assistant, Hugo Cortes, waited for Nelson to finish up interviews on the track before talking with him.

They had a lot to say to Nelson and they’ll have much more leading up to next week’s state finals at Cerritos College.

Both Nelson and Whiteside can’t wait to return after being the only two Sailors advancing after junior Erica Pearson and senior Sophia Ditty didn’t in the girls’ 3,200. Pearson finished at 10:50.03 for sixth, missing out on the state’s fifth and final qualifying spot, and Ditty was 11th at 11:01.35.

Friday’s 50-60 degree temperatures were more ideal for distance running than throwing. Whiteside even said he preferred competing in hot weather than cold.

Still, Ciarelli wasn’t worried about Whiteside, the CIF Southern Section Division II champ who was fourth overall at the divisional championships last week in Walnut, where it was 100 degrees.

“The thing for him is … things just kind of roll off his back,” Ciarelli said. “[It’s] one of the reasons why he’s such a great competitor. He said coming up here, ‘It doesn’t matter for me. I don’t care if it rains.’ ”

When rain fell in between throws, Whiteside didn’t run under an umbrella or the tent nearby to stay dry.

While three other throwers squeezed underneath an umbrella, Whiteside just stood, waiting for another chance.

Whiteside had already qualified with his 176-4 throw, coming on his third try, but he wanted more. He was six inches away from topping his personal-best mark.

“I kind of expected to qualify, but I didn’t really expect to win it,” Whiteside said. “Not that many sophomores win it.”

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at [email protected].