Relocated Relays fails to draw

SACRAMENTO -- Just in case anyone noticed, Modesto's track meet was conducted about an hour's drive north of Modesto.

It was still called the California Invitational Relays, which pumped Modesto's dateline around the world from 1942 through 2008. Years from now, you'll tell your grandchildren, "Way back when, 32 world records were set in Modesto, right here at Modesto Junior College. It was the biggest little track meet you ever saw."

But that was then and this is most certainly now. No, the Relays did not die. It just switched addresses. And for the fans who loved this little piece of track and field history over the years, check your emotion at the gate.

If you closed your eyes, you could have transported yourself to all those May Saturdays at MJC.

"The heart and soul of this meet will always be Modesto and our memories of Tom Moore," said Relays director Gregg Miller, the man mentored by Moore, the Relays' lifeblood who died on the eve of the 2002 event.

Sadly, all those empty seats also echoed recent Relays.

"Everyone get on your cell phone and call somebody," implored Dan O'Brien, the Olympic decathlon champion and now field announcer during the opening ceremonies. Around him, about 1,000 sat in scattered groups. Yes, Modesto did better on its worst year.

"I don't think the location means as much as the spirit of the meet itself," said the legendary sprinter John Carlos, the man who called Moore "my second father."

"If everyone will open their arms again," Carlos continued, "we could bring the good old days back."

The feeling Saturday at Hughes Stadium, the state capital's dusty old sports house, was bittersweet. In many aspects, only the venue changed.

There was the youth meet in the morning. There were the flags of about two dozen nations flying at the stadium's south end, the flags stored at an MJC shed until they were found six months ago by longtime MJC track coach Jack Albiani. There was the obligatory scratch of a marquee athlete, shot putter Christian Cantwell. There was O'Brien, an Olympian who has been so loyal to the Relays over the years.

But there weren't many fans.

Then again, meet organizers understood the complexities of pulling up stakes from a small market to a larger small market. Not long after Modesto washed its hands of the Relays in the fall of 2008, Sacramento envisioned a new Relays. Merging the meet with the Golden West (high school) Invitational and the now-scrapped Adidas meet in Carson was considered. That idea didn't reach Square One.

Sacramento, a legit track city, will not immediately embrace an inherited second-hand show. It's seen too much, in the form of two Olympic Trials and four NCAA Championships in the past decade alone. More juice than a shot putter and a few sprinters is required in this zip code. Getting Sacramento on board will take time, and judging by the meager turnout, the clock is ticking.

Undaunted, the core volunteers from Modesto, the Friends of the Relays, motored up Highway 99 to be here. Gathering them wasn't easy after a one-year hiatus. Miller was determined, however, to maintain a Modesto flavor.

Robert and Linda Meyer, supervisors of the athletes' check-in table for three decades, set up shop in the shadow of Hughes' grandstand.

"I have mixed feelings," Linda said. "It would have been nice to have kept it in Modesto, but it was dying. Now we have a chance to give it a rebirth."

But take a look around: Relays couple Amy Acuff, the model/high jumper, and Sonora pole vaulting product Tye Harvey are new parents. Stacy Dragila, the the Olympic champion vaulter who virtually popularized a new event in Modesto and set the Relays' final world record, is pregnant. Modesto's Suzy Powell, the three-time Olympic discus thrower who didn't miss a Relays for about 15 years, is taking the year off due to a gimpy ankle.

It's a new day, folks, and not all change is bad.

When vaulter Derek Miles cleared 19¼, he extended the Relays' rich vaulting tradition. The helping wind in Sacramento pushed him along, not unlike the breezes from the northwest at MJC.

"Modesto was always exciting -- lots of people, lots of energy," Miles remembered. "One of my best memories was watching Toby Stevenson jump six meters (19-8¼ in 2004). To me, that was really fun. That kid jumped eight inches higher than his PR."

As fate further dictated, MJC sophomore Donovan Wallace -- competing unattached -- won his flight of the 100 meters in 10.62 despite a slight headwind. How correct that MJC wasn't forgotten.

And Wallace Spearmon tied Carl Lewis' 1987 meet record time of 20.25 seconds in the 200 meters.

The ultimate irony of this day, however, belongs to the Amgen Tour of California, Modesto's latest sports passion. It moved its Modesto stage date virtually on top of the old Relays date. The 15 minutes of bicycle racing through downtown streets will replace 67 years of world-class track, the story goes.

As the Relays is learning about Sacramento, it's not that simple.

Know this: If you're conflicted about Modesto city's signature sports event finding a bigger playground, the tie-breaker is Tom Moore. The meet was his life. In the mid-to-late '90s, the former world-record holder in the hurdles kept the Relays alive by the sheer force of his personality and will.

Moore would want the Relays to continue. Anywhere.

Bee staff writer Ron Agostini can be reached at ragostini@modbee.com or 578-2302.

This story was originally published May 30, 2010 at 1:39 AM with the headline "Relocated Relays fails to draw."