Warehouse ban under review, Redlands students make waves in science, film and track & field - plus Steve Martin play opens at Footlighters in June
Einstein meets Picasso in Steve Martin’s absurdist play running June 6–22 in Redlands
Cope Middle School sixth grader Calvin Catania took home top honors at the 59th annual California Student Media Festival, winning the Grand Prize for his self-made short film, “Cheap$kate.”
Press Row
The University of Redlands softball team is headed to the NCAA Super Regional.
The Bulldogs defeated Emory University 13-2 last week to clinch their berth.
And it was a Redlands High grad, Maya Holshoe, who played a pivotal role in the Bulldogs’ win. Holshoe, with the Bulldogs clinging to a 3-2 lead, hit a two-run, pinch-hit triple to put Redlands in control.
The Bulldogs advance to the NCAA Division III Women’s College Series this week at Illinois Wesleyan University. Their first game is against Trine University on Thursday.
Redlands High’s Michael Cullen and Su’Riah Williams have qualified for the state track and field meet in the pole vault and girls’ discus, respectively.
The CIF State Track and Field Championships are May 30-31 at Buchanan High in Clovis.
Cullen finished second at the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet with a vault of 15 feet, eight inches. Santa Margarita’s Brady Furr won at 16-2.
“I’m glad I get to go for the second straight year,” Cullen said. “I think there is a good chance I can get on the podium, and I think I’ll have a chance to win.”
Khaliq Muhammad of Pittsburg High in the Bay Area leads all Californians in the pole vault with a mark of 17-2, one inch better than University City of San Diego’s Kai Anderson. Cullen did 16-3 at the CIF-SS D2 finals and 16-6 in January at the Pole Vault Summit in Reno.
Williams finished sixth at the Masters Meet in the girls’ discus with a heave of 140-11. Aliso Niguel’s Jaslene Massey won with a mark of 165-06.
There have been some interesting venues for the CIF State track and field meet over the years.
Among the sites were the Sacramento Fairgrounds (1918), San Bernardino High (1919), the Los Angeles Coliseum (1926), Chico State (1956), and Mitchell Field in Oroville (1972).
The first California state meet that included girls was in 1974 at Memorial Stadium in Bakersfield.
While studying state track and field history I was reminded the late, great Payton Jordan got his start coaching at Redlands High in the 1940s.
Jordan, who died in 2009 at 91, was the US Olympic track and field coach in 1968. Besides his stint in Redlands, Jordan coached at Occidental College and Stanford University.
In 1968 in Mexico City, Jordan guided a US team that won 24 Olympic medals, including 12 golds. Among them was Bob Beamon’s spectacular long jump of 29 feet, 2 ¼. That world record stood for almost 23 years until broken in 1991 by Mike Powell.
“Payton was so mentally and physically fit and had such a magnetic personality that one felt inspired just being in his presence,” Redlands’ Gary Scholton told the Redlands Daily Facts in 2009.
Gary Scholton’s father, Robert, coached with Jordan at Redlands High.
Jordan was inducted into the Redlands High Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007.
The University of Redlands’ Allyn Asberry-Blanco and Maigan Adams put forth strong showings in the triple jump at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday in Geneva, Ohio.
Asberry finished 13th with a best mark of 48-0. Adams took 16th place with a mark of 38-7 ½. Both made second team All-American.
Redlands finished with four All-Americans – Asberry-Blanco, Adams, Corte Peterson, and Ella Bachmeier.
Jeff Martinez’s last day as the University of Redlands athletic director was Friday.
Martinez arrived at Redlands in 1983 as the head athletic trainer. He also served as the first Bulldog women’s golf coach. He became the athletic director in 2000.
"Jeff is the true embodiment of a ‘Bulldog for Life.’ We are grateful to have had him lead our athletics program, and his impact will be felt for many years to come," University of Redlands President Krista Newkirk said in October.
Succeeding Martinez is Nikki Ayers, who was most recently the director of athletics at Juniata College in Huntington, Pennsylvania. Before that, Ayers held leadership positions at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges where she helped the college win four national championships.
Reach John Murphy at berdooman@gmail.com and follow him at @PrepDawg2.
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