POPS WAS FAST, HIS SON MIGHT BE FASTER
Lydell Burston set section record in 400 in ’96, but he fully expects Laurence to be better
It’s a question asked at virtually every Helix High track meet, especially by older fans.
“Burston! Is he any relation to Lydell Burston?” The answer is yes. Helix freshman Laurence Burston is Lydell’s son. And like father, like son, he’s very fast.
Lydell Burston, who went to Morse High, set the CIF San Diego Section record of 46.85 seconds in the 400-meter dash in 1996.
Right now, Laurence’s events are the 100 and 200, where he has run 11.06 and 22.25 heading into the section championships Saturday at Mt. Carmel.
Lydell says he wouldn’t be surprised to see Laurence run the 400 by the time he’s a senior, and more.
It’s rare but it shows how much the two are on the same wavelength when they both answered the question: How fast can Laurence run the 100 and 200?
Hours apart and yet like an echo, both replied 10.2 and 20.3.
Putting that in perspective, the section 100 record is 10.30 by Sweetwater’s Riley Washington in 1992 and Madison’s Kenan Christian in 2019. Christian tops the list in the 200 at 20.55.
“Laurence will break the 100 and 200 records,” said Lydell matter-of-factly. “And it wouldn’t surprise me if he broke my 400 record, too.
“He’s really good. He’s going to be better than me because he has a good coach (Damaja Jones) and he has been running longer. I didn’t run track until I was 12, and I was just kind of thrown into the 400. He started as a 5year-old.”
Some comparisons:
As a freshman, Lydell ran 10.97, 21.92 and 49.7 after competing in the Junior Nationals of The Athletics Congress with Alexander’s Express. As a senior, when he set the record, he went headto-head in the state championships with longtime nemesis Obea Moore of Pasadena Muir, who won in 45.81 to Burston’s 46.85.
“I beat him when we were young because I ran the 800, too,” said Lydell. “But I stopped running the 800 in high school, and I think that gave him the edge.”
With the section championships and possibly the state championships ahead, Laurence could at least challenge those short race bests. He has only run one 400, clocking a 52.3 in the 400 in a dual meet.
“Yes, I died at the finish,” admitted Laurence, who is still an alternate on the 4x400 relay team. “Once I get stronger, my times will go
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down. (Section 400 leader Adren Parker) has helped me a lot and, of course, my dad gives me pointers.
“Once I get more competition, my times will drop in the 100 and 200 this year.”
Laurence is also a member of the Helix 4x100 relay team (Burston, Parker, Xavier Van and Jared Jones) that ran a section-leading 41.96 at the start of the season and says that event — especially the baton exchange — has been the focus the past two weeks.
Like Lydell, though, Laurence is hoping to play running back on the Scotties’ football team this fall. He played freshman ball in 2021.
Asked which sport he likes better, he paused. Thought. Then he finally said, “Both.”
Laurence believes track improves his speed for football and football keeps him in good shape for track, so it’s a win-win.
Laurence says he appreciates the help his dad gives him.
“He’ll tell me, ‘I ran this time’ and then I’ll try to beat it,” said the 5-foot-8, 163pound 16-year-old. “I started running as a 5-year-old, and he never pushed me into it. I ran because it was fun. We’re working on my start right now, and it’s coming.”
Although Lydell calls himself “a Tiger for life,” when it came time for Laurence to enter high school, he opted to try to get him into Helix, a charter school.
“I just think it’s a better environment for him,” said Lydell. “And for a football player, you couldn’t ask for a better program. He could be a superstar in football.”
But first Laurence wants to finish his freshman season in track on the upswing, just like his dad did at Morse.