Local Athletes Begin Quest for State Titles

Ammar Moussa has won a number of accolades in his career at Arcadia High School.

But the Apache senior is hoping he can find room to add to his large collection of medals and awards.

Saturday night he and defending champion Sam Pons of South Pasadena will race in the finals of the 3,200 meters in the CIF-State Track and Field Championship at Buchanan High in Clovis.

The event actually starts Friday with preliminaries for all events except the 3,200, which is the longest distance contested in the meet.

“It’s the one thing that I’m missing,” Moussa said of a state title in track after two in cross country. “I’m definitely ready to go. I feel fit and fresh and I know I can (run) faster than I have.”

Moussa has already run the race in 8 minutes, 49.59 seconds this season, the second fastest time in the nation, which he ran at the Arcadia Invitational in April.

Pons has yet to break the 9-minute barrier that he broke four times last season, including the state championship, which he won in 8:55.40.

This season Pons’ best is 9:01.59, which he ran last week at the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet.

“He’s showing signs he’s ready for a big breakthrough,” South Pasadena distance
running coach Pat McGrail. “Obviously there is pressure to repeat. Sam is going to go up there and have a great race.”

Pons said he purposely did not put in a strong finishing kick at the Masters Meet so he could save his best performance for Clovis.

“I don’t like to go into races with expectations,” Pons said before the Masters Meet when asked if he would be disappointed to fell short of another title. “Especially with fast runners that are in my grade, Moussa and (Loyola's Elias) Gedyon and stuff like that. I don’t think that I’d be disappointed to get second place but I certainly want to get first place and defend my title.”

Competing on Friday hoping to gain a spot in the state final on Saturday will be four other area athletes. The top nine advance to the state final.

San Marino junior Omhunique Browne enters the girls’ 300-meter hurdles with the seventh fastest time based upon times from all section finals throughout the state.

If she is to make it through to the finals, Browne faces a difficult obstacle as she will drive back down to San Marino to take the SAT on Saturday morning at 8 a.m. She said she set her test date last December. She will then head back to Clovis, near Fresno.

“It should go well. I’m looking forward to it. They’re both two important tests. I’d rather take the SAT now than reschedule it later,” Browne said.

Muir’s Daityvon McFadden will be competing in the boys’ 300-meter hurdle finals and enters with the state’s eighth fastest time based upon times from all section finals. He ran the event in 38.02 seconds during last week’s CIF-SS Masters Meet.

La Salle’s Itohan Aikhiobare enters the girls’ shot put with the ninth best section finals mark as she recorded a throw of 41 feet, 4 inches last week.

Loyola junior and Sierra Madre resident Nick Budincich owns the 12^th best mark in the discus entering the preliminaries from his toss of 174-4 in the CIF-SS Masters Meet.

“Nick Budincich has had a good several weeks of workouts and he’s peaking at the right time. The state meet will be a valuable experience for him and, if he makes some of the adjustments we've worked on in practice, he will be competitive,” said Loyola throws coach Matt Pentecost, the 1995 state champion in the shot put. “He's a hard worker and a solid thrower.”