OFF TO A FAST START : San Clemente Sophomore Tim Martin Has Rapidly Emerged as Prolific Sprinter

Figuring something had to be wrong, San Clemente High School track and field Coach Bill Hartman stared down at his stopwatch last month and asked himself:

Is this really happening?

Could Tim Martin, his fast-improving sophomore sprinter, actually have just run the 100-meter dash in 10.6 seconds? On a dirt track? In practice?

“The coaches and I just kept looking at our watches,” Hartman said. “We thought maybe we had jumped the gun a bit. But he kept doing it.”

What Martin did, and continues to do, is run faster than any San Clemente sprinter ever has. Not just in practice, but in competition. Major competition.

A quick look back:

--March 11, at the Bronco Invitational at Cal Poly Pomona: Martin, who was placed in an unseeded heat because his previous 100-meter best (11.0 as a freshman) wasn’t fast enough for the seeded heat--tore away from the field and won in a hand-timed 10.5, the fastest time of the day.

With the mark, Martin not only erased San Clemente’s school record of 10.7 set by Rick Geddes in 1967, but he also tied the meet record set last year by L.A. Washington’s Brian Bridgewater.

Bridgewater, now competing at Long Beach College, was the fastest prep sprinter in the nation last year at 200 meters (20.53), and was among the top 15 100-meter men in the nation as well.

In addition, Martin’s 10.5 mark--actually 10.74 when converted to electronic or fully automatic timing--comes fairly close to the Orange County record of 10.57 set by Santa Ana Valley’s Elliot Dunning in 1984.

On Martin’s performance, Bronco meet director Jim Sackett said: “There wasn’t any wind, there wasn’t anyone close to him. He is definitely for real.”

--March 16, at a triangular meet against Laguna Hills and Mayfair on San Clemente’s sandy dirt track: Martin was faced with his first serious challenge in Mayfair’s Erik Mitchell, who, as a sophomore last year, won the Southern Section 2-A 100 and 200 meters.

First, Martin caught and outsprinted Mitchell on the anchor leg of the 400-meter relay.

Said Hartman: “All you saw at the finish was Tim’s shoulder (hitting the tape first) and Erik’s eyeballs wide as could be. Erik couldn’t believe he got beat.”

Next, Martin outsprinted Mitchell in the 100 meters. Finally, Martin edged him in the 200.

“Before the meet, Erik Mitchell didn’t know who Tim Martin was,” Hartman said. “But once the meet was over, I don’t think Erik Mitchell will ever forget him.”

Tonight at 7:35, Martin will line up beside Mitchell again in the men’s invitational 100 meters at the Arcadia Invitational at Arcadia High School.

The meet, in its 22nd year, is one of the most prestigious high school meets in the country. Athletes scheduled to compete will travel from 15 states outside of California: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Nevada.

Although the invitational 100 meters is loaded with talent--entrants include Oakland’s Jeff Laynes, who is the national leader at 10.53; Colorado’s Albert Ransom, the second-fastest 100-meter returnee in the nation at 10.43; and San Francisco Mission’s Barry Smith, the third-fastest 100-meter returnee at 10.49--Martin should find the competition just as tough in the invitational 200-meter race.

There, along with Smith and Laynes, Martin, will line up beside Hawthorne’s Curtis Conway. Martin has heard plenty about Conway, a standout quarterback, and one of the top sprinters in California.

“I’ve heard of him. All about him actually,” Martin said. “A lot of people are trying to get me scared. They say, ‘You’re going against Conway? ‘ “But I just laugh. I just say, ‘Hey, I’m not gonna worry about it. At least not until I get up there.’ ”

Although he has been told of Arcadia’s prestige and the fact that college coaches come from across the nation to observe potential recruits, Martin seems fairly nonchalant about the meet.

“Coach keeps telling me people are coming as far as New York and stuff,” Martin said. “So I guess they must be pretty fast. But I’m not really worried or anything. I’m not nervous, all I can do is my best.”

Nonchalance, or naivete?

“Tim has no idea what this meet is like,” Hartman said. “And he doesn’t really realize how good he is. He has no real idea what he’s doing or the gift he has.”

Said Martin, 16: “I don’t know if I’m successful. I just run (with) what I got.”

Martin, whose father, George, is an 18-year U.S. Marine officer, currently lives at the Camp Pendleton Marine base. Martin, who was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, has lived in Marine bases from Portland, Ore., to Okinawa.

When the family moved here three years ago, Martin had little background in sports, other than playing soccer at Kubasaki High School in Okinawa. He joined the Triton track and field team as a freshman, and, despite the fact that he says he just hates to practice, Martin has been quickly improving.

Asked about his immediate goals, Martin said:

“Well, I wouldn’t mind getting to the Olympics, but right now I just got to take it one step at a time. Right now, I just want to win at Arcadia, that’s my main concern.”

Arcadia notes

Canyon’s Allison Franke, the third-best returning discus thrower in the nation at 158-4, will meet her two top rivals in that event: junior Melisa Weis (163-0) and the nation’s best, Dawn Dumble (170-11), both from Bakersfield. . . . In the men’s 1,600 meters, El Modena’s Joe Komarinski, Mater Dei’s Mike Nielsen and Corona del Mar’s Greg Shryock will face some tough competition in Corona del Mar’s Eddie Lavelle, who leads the Southern Section with a time of 4:16 . . . In the men’s shotput, Edison’s powerful duo of Greg Thurston and Lamont Peay will try to pick up where their former teammate, 1988 state and Arcadia champion Kaleaph Carter, left off. . . . Other county athletes scheduled to compete include: Dana Hills’ Mike Tansley, University’s Erin Vali and Laguna Hills’ Tony Gibney in the boys’ 3,200; University’s Tanja Brix, San Clemente’s Terri Smythers and Santa Ana Valley’s Maria Vargas in the girls’ 3,200; and Edison’s Shelley Taylor and Santa Ana Valley’s Teresa Beltran in the 1,600. . . . Corona del Mar and Mission Viejo will battle it out in the girls’ seeded 1,600 relay, while Woodbridge competes in the invitational 1,600 girls’ relay.