Bronson Osborn was on fire right out of the gate in 2016 - he threw over 68 feet the second week in January!
A very small number of California athletes chose to compete in field events at true indoor meets last winter. That's surprising for two reasons: California has huge numbers of talented field event athletes, and indoor conditions are generally superior to outdoor during the winter (no wind, no cold). In every event other than the pole vault, though, the turnout from the Golden State was disappointing, although not without some bright points.
Participation in all-comers meets was better, but still not nearly as deep as California is capable of being - only 20 returning girls posted high jump marks all winter, for example. Most of the top returners from outdoor track did at least compete at a handful of all-comers meets, but for many the participation was limited. We hope that isn't a trend, so we can see the state's top athletes in every event competing for an extra month!
Returning Stars:
Here's a distressing stat: outside of the pole vault, there were only 13 total indoor field event performances posted by California boys during true indoor competition. The best of them was a 6' 10.75" High Jump by Sean Lee (Trabuco Hills). Pole vault is the exception, because several Golden State vaulters made the trip to Reno for the National Pole Vault Summit. Tate Curran (Redondo Union) is the top returner among that group, having cleared 15' 6", and there's a good chance he will eclipse the 16 foot mark there this winter. If so, we hope he travels to a few other indoor meets as well!
The unquestioned star of the all-comers season was Bronson Osborn (Esperanza), whose 68' 5" in January was a prelude to the monster spring he was getting ready to have. He "only" threw 64' 8" a the Winter Championships, and still won by 10 feet! There's no telling what he can do this year, and I can't wait to see his first throw of the 2017 season. Interestingly, California had two throwers go over 60 feet in the Weight Throw, which would have put them in the top 20 in the country if they were true indoor performances: Silas Hurst (Santiago Corona) and Mason Crane (Corona Del Mar) - the same guy that led the state in the Hammer Throw during the spring, by the way. In the horizontal jumps, Jonathan Shaw (Dublin) is the best returning triple jumper with a mark of 44' 1", while Jacari Bearden (Kimball) leads the long jump list with a best of 21' 9.5".
Stars We Hope to See:
Two words: Morrell Osling. The Antelope Valley senior leads all California triple jumpers coming into the 2017 season, and we want to see him threaten the 50 foot mark indoors. It would also be great if Matt DeRoos (Tri-City Christian) could set his sights on the 24-foot barrier after consistently jumping in the upper 23's last spring. In addition to Curran, we think Noah Hurley (College Park) could make a lot of progress toward being a consistent 16-foot jumper if he added some more indoor competition - it can really help a vaulter find rhythm and solidify technique to compete without wind and weather being concerns.