“It’s nice to be a part of that tradition,” said Dotson, who won the Pacific League championship in the boys’ 800 meters two weeks ago. “There have been some great runners here at Burbank.”
Dotson will be attempting to continue that tradition Saturday at the CIF Southern Section finals at Cerritos College. The junior will be among an impressive group of athletes in the Division I 800 race that is scheduled to get underway at 4 p.m.
A favorable result in the race would qualify Dotson for the Masters Meet on May 29 at the same venue. If he is fortunate to do well in that race, he would advance to the CIF-State Track and Field Championships June 5-6 at Veterans Memorial Stadium on the campus of Buchanan High in Clovis.
The last Burbank athlete to advance to state competition was Ivie, who qualified for the 1,600 in 2003. Prior to that, it was Turner, who qualified for the 800 in 1993.
Dotson said he looks forward to today’s finals race, and has made advancing to the state meet his utmost priority this season.
“That has been my goal — to make it to state,” he said. “I’m looking forward to [today’s] race. I just want to qualify and move on.”
The junior was able to qualify for the finals after a fine effort May 16 at the Division I preliminaries at Trabuco Hills High.
Dotson placed fourth in the 800 meters in 1 minute, 55.55 seconds, running to 400-meter splits of 57.1 and 58.4.
He avenged a subpar performance in last season’s prelims, where he placed 14th in 1:57.60 and failed to qualify for the finals.
He captured the Pacific League 800 title on May 8 by running a scalding 1:53.83.
With that result, Dotson is No. 9 in the state in the event. Mac Fleet of University City of the San Diego Section is the state leader with a 1:50.31.
