Dorsey’s Gettis Sets Section Record in Winning the 400

As the two-time defending state champion in the 400-meter dash, David Gettis of Los Angeles Dorsey had little to prove to anyone else during the City Section track and field finals Thursday at Lake Balboa Birmingham.

He did, however, have to prove to himself that he was healthy enough to make a run at a third state title and a possible national record.

A section-record 46.08 seconds, the fastest prep time in the nation this year, did exactly that.

“I was a little skeptical about how fast I could run this week,” said Gettis, who sat out nearly a month because of a tender hamstring. “I wasn’t too confident in myself, but I felt good. I’m healthy again.”

He bettered the section record of 46.39 he set last year and became the first runner in section history to win three consecutive 400-meter races. Now he has his sights set on the national record of 45.25.

“That’s the goal,” he said. “I’m looking for a 45 next week. This was the first time I was really pushing myself since the injury, so I feel a little more confident.”

Jamere Holland of Woodland Hills Taft turned in an impressive performance in the sprints. He ran 10.61 seconds into a 1.3 meter-per-second headwind and won the 100 by 0.27 of a second, and defended his 200 title with a time of 21.30 -- 0.52 of a second in front of the field.

The 100 victory was redemption for Holland, who was disqualified for a false start in the event last year.

Dorsey scored 89 team points and won the boys’ title by 39 points over Carson. Gardena and Birmingham tied for the girls’ title with 86 points each.

Gardena, which got a double victory from Phylicia Johnson in the 100 and 300 hurdles, trailed Birmingham by two points entering the 1,600 relay -- the final race of the meet -- but won the relay to forge the tie.

Peter Yoon

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The Southern Section Masters meet, which serves as the qualifying meet for the state championships, begins today at Cerritos College with the girls’ discus at 4:30 p.m., followed by other field events at 5:30. The first running event is scheduled for 6:30.

The top nine finishers from last week’s divisional championships, regardless of the division in which they competed, qualified for the Masters.

The first five finishers in each event today qualify for the state meet, Wednesday and Thursday at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento.

In addition, any athlete who equals or betters the state meet qualifying standard also earns a trip to Sacramento.

Mike Kennedy

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Softball

Ashley Arnett scattered five hits and first baseman Sarah Hooper made a defensive play to save the game in the bottom of the seventh inning to help Saugus defeat Laguna Hills, 3-1, in 12 innings in the quarterfinals of the Southern Section Division I playoffs.

Saugus, the third consecutive Laguna Hills opponent ranked in The Times’ top 25, took advantage of a tiring Samantha Hamner in the 12th inning.

“I was ready to die the last couple of innings,” said Hamner (15-7), who gave up a leadoff walk to Tiffany Huff and, after a sacrifice bunt, another walk to Victoria Kemp. Hooper’s ensuing grounder to shortstop was fielded by Mandi Eliades, but her throw to third base was errant, and Huff scored.

Melissa Koutz, who had three of Saugus’ seven hits, then singled to left field to score Kemp.

Saugus (22-4) will play its semifinal Tuesday against second-seeded Simi Valley Royal, which defeated Fullerton Rosary. A site is to be determined.

Martin Henderson

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Jennifer Troncali doubled into left field to score Erica Andrews from first base in the sixth inning with the eventual winning run and lift fourth-seeded Royal (27-2) to an 8-7 victory over visiting Rosary (25-8).

Rosary took a 3-0 lead in the first inning, but Royal answered with six in a second inning that included a two-run home run by Kris Lesovsky, a two-run single by Andi Ramirez and RBI singles by Andrews and Heather Erickson.

Lesovsky finished with two hits, two RBIs and two runs, and Andrews had two hits with one RBI, two runs and a stolen base for Royal.

Jill Schaefer was three for four with three RBIs, and Kaitlin Cochran was three for four with a double and three runs for Rosary.

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Tennis

Los Angeles Belmont senior Bobby Tam, the defending champion, advanced to the City Section singles final by defeating Woodland Hills El Camino Real’s Chad Gerber, 6-1, 2-6, 6-4, in a semifinal match Thursday at Balboa Sports Complex in Encino.

The top-seeded Tam will face second-seeded Narbonne junior Ranier Matias, a 6-4, 6-4 winner over Andrew Ong of Reseda Cleveland, in the final on Wednesday.

Granada Hills seniors Jared Novak and Jeremy Choo will play junior Stephen Surjue and sophomore Sepehr Safii of Palisades in the doubles final. The two teams faced each other in the third-place match last year, with the Palisades duo prevailing.

-- Lauren Peterson