Sprinters, 4 national leaders highlight field for Sunday's 54th Annual GWI
 
by Bob Burns
 
A sprint showdown between two of the fastest preps in the country figures to be one of the highlights of Sunday's 54th running of the Golden West Invitational track and field meet in Berkeley.
 
The nationally acclaimed high school invitational, which had been held in the Sacramento area every spring since 1965, has moved 80 miles east to one of the sport's most celebrated venues - Edwards Stadium on the UC Berkeley campus.
 
Competition begins at 1 p.m. Tickets, priced at $10 (general admission) and $7 (students and seniors), are available at the gate. Children 10 and younger will be admitted free of admission.
 
The roster of GWI champions include such all-time greats as Jim Ryun, Tommie Smith, Stacy Dragila, Steve Prefontaine, Evelyn Ashford, Rod Milburn, Allyson Felix, Marion Jones, Dwight Stones and Mike Powell.
 
Last year's GWI at Folsom High School featured a national high school record (193 feet, 11 inches) in the girls discus by Shelbi Vaughan of Mansfield, Texas. Vaughan's throw represented the 22nd national prep record set at the GWI.
 
This year's field includes Devon Allen, a talented sprinter-hurdler from Brophy Prep in Phoenix, Ariz., and Tatum Taylor, an outstanding sprinter from O'Dea High School in Seattle, Wash. Allen is among the national high school leaders in the 100 meters (10.48), 200 meters (20.75) and 110-meter high hurdles (13.50). Taylor has bests of 10.26 and 20.78 in the 100 and 200.
 
Other top entries include:

• Stamatia Scarvelis of Dos Pueblos, the national leader in the shot put after her 51-11 after her prelim in Clovis last week prefaced her win on Saturday.
• Jade Miller of Great Oak, the national leader in the 300H after her 41.02 triumph in Clovis.
• Miles Parish and Alexis Robinson, 1-2 in the California state meet, renew their rivalry in the boys 400 meters. Parish edged Robinson last week, 46.53 to 46.55.
• Mikaela Smith, a sophomore from Clovis West High School, clocked 2:08.00 to win the state 800 and will compete in her specialty in Berkeley.
• Ivan Gonzalez of Ridgeview High School, the California boys champion in the 800, is moving up to the mile for the GWI.
• Valerie Allman (Silver Creek High in Colorado), the national leader in the girls discus with a best of 184 feet, 1 inch.
• Jeremiah Green (Hillsborough High in Florida), the New Balance Indoor champ in the triple jump and all-conditions leader outdoors at more than 52 feet.

With sweeping views of the Berkeley Hills, Strawberry Canyon and the Golden Gate Bridge, Edwards Stadium an incomparable setting for a track meet. Twenty-six world records and 26 American records have been set at Edwards since it opened in 1932 as the world's first stadium built exclusively for track and field.
 
In 1966, one year after winning the mile and two mile at the Golden West Invitational in Sacramento, Ryun broke the world record in the mile, clocking 3 minutes, 51.3 seconds in the All-American Invitational at Edwards Stadium.
 
Edwards Stadium has played host to eight NCAA championship meets, a national AAU championship, and two United States-Soviet Union dual meets.
 
Since 1999, Edwards Stadium has also served as the home field for the Cal men's and women's soccer teams. The official name of the facility is Edwards Stadium/Goldman Field. The track was recently resurfaced and reconfigured to meet international specifications.
 
The Golden West Invitational began in 1960 in Los Angeles. The event moved north five years later and was held at various sites around the Sacramento region, including Hughes Stadium, Sacramento State, American River College and Folsom High School.
 
See www.goldenwestinvitational.org for additional information.