SATURDAY FIELD EVENTS
Boys Discus (Meet Record: Kami Kashmiri Reno-Nevada 214'11" '87)
A quick rundown of the leading contenders out on the field. In the boys discus starting at 9am, the favorite will be Kyle Carrillo Westlake-SS who has one of the best throws in CA with his 185'10". His closest competitors are Pittsburg teammates Iffy Joyner and Namontte Grisby who are separated by a mere inch (164'9" and 164'8" respectively). Jack Root Oak Ridge-SJS (163'6") and Jeff Williams Clayton Valley-NCS (160'10") are the next discus throwers within reach.
Girls Shot Put (Meet Record: Jessica Pressley Laguna Creek-SJS 49'4" '98)
Unfortunately, the best thrower in California, Elena Bruckner Valley Christian SJ-CCS, will not be competing at the Stanford Invitational. She will be headed to the Texas Relays which will be taking place at the same time. That leaves the favorite position to Pamela Amaechi Abraham Lincoln-SF (44'0"). She will be challenged by several girls who have all thrown over 40 feet this year: Camay Stocker Monterey Trail-SJS (41'7.5"), Vai Lousi Washington-NCS (40'5") and Kai Tanner Oakdale-SJS (40'3.5"). Janessa Moses Sheldon-SJS has a season best of 38'7" although she does have a personal best of 42'6" from last season.
Girls Pole Vault (Meet Record: Greta Wagner Los Gatos-CCS 13'0.25" '13)
The girls pole vault competition has a familiar name in Erika Malaspina Pacific Collegiate-CCS. She has been one of the top vaulters in CCS as well as the state. So far this season, Malaspina is ranked 2nd in state with a season best 13'0". Her closest competitor is a very familiar one as Sydney Jacques Presentation-CCS is a fellow senior and also ranked in the top 5 in California with a mark of 12'6". Those two seem to be the class of the field and it will be a big surprise if another vaulter won this competition. The next closest competitor is Malaspina's teammate Corey Friedenbach at 11'6" and Emily Meyer Davis-SJS at 11'2".
Boys Triple Jump (Meet Record: Ken Frazier Mission-SF 50'6" '81)
There will be plenty of talent on hand in the boys' triple jump this year. The leading jumper does not show up on the outdoor lists so far because he was busy lighting up the indoor scene. Darius Carbin Mt. Pleasant-CCS doubled up his victory total at the Simplot games that included a 47'11.25" triple jump. He will be tested by several Northern California jumpers that include Matthew Chukweke St. Mary's Stockton-SJS (46'4.5"), Malik Floyd-Stinson St. Mary's College-NCS (46'3") and high jump rival, Isaiah Holmes Oakmont-SJS (46'2"). Ethan Westemeier Acalanes-NCS (45'4.25") is also within striking distance and could be one big jump away from breaking up the already mentioned group.
When you look at successful programs that consistently have quality field event athletes, the one major ingredient is a good coach. If you want to find the program in Northern California that has had an incredible number of dominant athletes on the field, then you don't have to look much further than St. Mary's College. Their coach, Jeff Rogers, still holds the CCS record in the high jump (7'3") as well as the Cal Berkeley record (7'5.75"). Keli Hatcher St. Mary's College-NCS is another one of his athletes that will be favored here in the girls' triple jump. She has the best season mark to date with her jump of 39'3.5" which she accomplished at the San Leandro Invitational. She will be tested by a couple of Carson-LA triple jumpers who have both jumped 38'0" this year, Crystal Washington and Jonon Young. A couple of other triple jumpers that will be in contention are Noelle Schiller Westlake-SS (37'7.75") and the future heptathlete, Caice Lanovaz Los Gatos-CCS (37'5").
The girls high jump competition might be an interesting competition that could be decided by who can scale the winning height with the least attempts. The jumper coming in with the best season best is Cassie Ackemann San Lorenzo Valley-CCS at 5'7". That mark ranks her 2nd in California only behind Hannah Hanson's 5'8" mark. Ackemann should be very familiar with her competition as a couple other jumpers either train or compete against her in CCS. Julie Zweng Scotts Valley-CCS has the next best lifetime best mark of 5'6" and has jumped 5'3" this season. Cassidy Palka Oaks Christian-SS has a personal best 5'6" this season. Two other jumpers have scaled over 5'4" this year and they are Shelby Dozier Bella Vista-SJS and Aine McNulty Los Gatos-CCS. Bella Dufek Aptos-CCS has a season best of 5'2" and has jumped a lifetime best 5'5" two years ago in CCS to finished 2nd.
Girls Discus (Meet record: Chaniqua Ross Laguna Creek-SJS 162'3" '98)
Despite the absence of national leader Elena Bruckner Valley Christian SJ-CCS, the girls' discus will still have plenty of talented throwers. The 2nd best thrower in California, Pamela Amaechi Abraham Lincoln-SF has a lifetime best mark of 166'5" this season and will be the favorite here. Hannah Chappell Oakdale-SJS has been consistently good throughout her high school career and has the 2nd best mark in this field at 146'7". Freshman Jocelynn Budwig Fowler-CS has impressed early with a monster 143'0" debut mark this season. Also ranked in California and competing here will be Tariyan Nnoli Willow Glen-CCS at 129'3".
In the long history of CA track and field, there have been 100 high jumpers that have cleared the bar at 7 feet or above. This season, the top high jumper in CA is Darius Carbin Mt. Pleasant-CCS who jumped 7'1.75" indoors to win the Simplot Games. He will be competing at the Stanford Invitational but not in this event. Two other 7 foot jumpers will be competing and they are Darius Thomas St. Francis-CCS, who has a season best of 6'10" and lifetime best 7'0" and Isaiah Holmes Oakmont-SJS, who has jumped 6'8" and also scaled over 7'0" last season. Two other jumpers also ranked in California are Jake Grimsman Vista del Lago-SJS (6'7"), Jevin Kitchen Fortuna-NCS (6'6") and Jeffrey Lee-Heidenreich Henry M. Gunn-CCS (6'6").
The final high school field event of the day will be the boys shot put. The contenders have all thrown over 50 feet this year and the meet record does appear to be safe once again this year. The best mark in the field belongs to Jack Root Oak Ridge-SJS who has a season best mark of 53'9". Seperini Togiai Hayward-NCS has the next best mark of 52'2". Root will also be pressed by fellow section thrower, Jack Gabbard Vacaville-SJS who has thrown 52'0.5" this season. The last two 50 foot throwers in the field are Ngahe Mapa Mills-CCS (50'5") and Camilo Eifler Bishop O'Dowd-NCS (50'2").
And that's my best attempt to identify the top competitors this coming weekend. Feel free to include any deserving athletes/teams that I may have missed in the comment section below. You can also chat at us at @MilesplitCA on Twitter.