Centennial High School, Compton

This is shooting toward the south. My appologies but this was not taken with my usual camera (this was actually my cel phone, all I had at the time) and is not up to the usual standards, poor as they are. Obviously they were watering the field at the time I visited.

Here is the common finish indicating the many metric conversion start lines extending into the turn as far as the post. Though hard to see here, there is also the necessary cascading 4x400 relay zones. They have also marked the hurdles to run in reverse from different start lines up the chute (to the right). My editorial comment is that this track, constructed just recently, ignores the fact that (aside from the mile) we don't run imperial distances in track meets anymore. The extra start lines, the confusing partial laps, difficulty to mark even splits etc. etc were not necessary, had a track person been consulted by the decisionmakers. Shockingly, even the (as yet unidentified) track installer didn't explain the waste in building the track at the wrong distance (almost a quarter century after metric distances were firmly adopted by the various governing organizations of our sport) to them.

At least a part of this schools long track history was retained. The original 220 y straightaway still esists. They paved it in the process of making the track All Weather but the original (probably 180 LH) hurdle start line is still painted on the curb on the south end.

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