CLUBS GET STUDENTS OFF TO RUNNING START.

Byline: Bryan Winchell Special to the Daily News

While the Antelope Valley is known for its football players, it never has been considered a hot bed for track and field.

That is changing and track coach Thomas Counts says his Desert Lightning Track Club and the Antelope Valley Heat can take the credit. The two groups formed five years ago and can be linked, Counts said, to improvements in local high school programs.

``What's happening is we have got two track clubs that are getting the youth involved at a young age so when they get to high school, they've got a lot of experience,'' Counts said.

Last week, a club-record 22 athletes from Desert Lightning had their biggest experience of the year, attending the Amateur Athletic Union's Junior Olympic Games in New Orleans.

A small-scale version of the Olympics, the event drew up to 10,000 athletes and filled the Superdome with 40,000 people for the opening ceremonies. It's that kind of big-event experience that Counts says helps his athletes handle pressure.

Michelle Perry, an incoming senior at Quartz Hill High School, is one example. Perry has been to five Junior Olympics, and is comfortable performing amid the hoopla.

She succeeded, finishing third in the 100-meter hurdles in the 17- and 18-year-old age group with a personal best of 14.19 seconds and first in the 100-meter sprint with a time of 11.96.

A sprinter for most of her early career, Perry has focused on running the hurdles the past two years.

``After she ran the hurdles, that gave her some confidence for the sprints,'' Counts said. ``This was a big comeback for her in the sprints.''

Gina Londono is following Perry's footsteps as a multidimensional track star, Counts believes. She took home a sixth place in the triple jump in the 13- and 14-year-old division with a 33-11. It wasn't her best meet, though. She hit two hurdles to knock her out of the 100-meter hurdles.

Also in the 13- to 14-year-old age group, Rachel Guerrero took eighth place in the 1,500-meter run with a personal best of 4:59. Like all of the runners, she had to get acclimated to the high humidity, which affected her best race, the 3,000-meter run, because the race was run the first day the team arrived.

To round out the girls' top finishers, the 4x100 relay team of Perry, Tranisha Holmes, Edneisha Curry and Kaysie Burnett took fifth in the 17- to 18-year-old age group.

On the boys' side, Brandon Glover, who is in the 9- to 10-year-old division, was the top finisher with a fifth-place showing in the 800-meter run.

``It was really surprising because he finished eighth in the qualifying rounds,'' Counts said. ``He really turned it on.''

Demetrick Moore, who competes in the 11- to 12-year-old group, took seventh place with a 59.71 in the 400-meter run, which was outstanding considering this is only his second year competing.

Finally, the 11- to 12-year-old boys' 4x400 relay team of Moore, Stephen Guillory, D'Metriss McClore and Nathaniel Pye, finished sixth with a 4:12, which was a personal best by six seconds.

For Counts and several of the athletes, the trip will be remembered for more than just the competition. They saw America, driving a camper to and from the event.

``It was an experience,'' Counts said, laughing.

As for the event, Counts was proud of his team's improvement over last year, when it took six fewer athletes.

``Some of the kids who we thought would do better didn't and there were some nice surprises,'' Counts said. ``Overall, it was a good trip.''

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Photo: (SAC only) Rachel Guerrero, left, and Michelle Perry run with members of the Desert Lightning Track Club in Palmdale.

Jeff Goldwater/Daily News