SATURDAY RUNNING EVENTS
Mile (Girls & Boys)
Meet Record Girls: Anna Maxwell San Lorenzo Valley-CCS 4:43.27 '14
Meet Record Boys: Eduardo Herrera Madera South-CS 4:11.41 '16
The first individual high school race on the track on Saturday will be the girls' mile. Hopefully, the top contenders will all race in the same heat so we can see a super fast time. I believeAnna Maxwell's meet record of 4:43.27 from 2014 is out of reach but then again, who picked Claudia Lane Malibu-SS (4:53.23) to win the Footlocker National XC meet before this past fall season. She will make the trip up north to face a couple of the best runners in NorCal. Gillian Wagner Redwood-NCS has been quite impressive with a 4:55.35 personal best. Alex Stout Pacific Collegiate-CCS has also dipped under the 5 minute mark with a personal best 4:58.53 and she keeps getting better and better. Erica Schroeder San Marcos, Santa Barbara-SS was 2015 state champion in the 800m. but she will rev her engines once again in the mile at Stanford.
As I predicted last year, Eduardo "Lalo" Herrera Madera South-CS had a shot at the previous mile record and now the competitors here will be aiming at a victory and lowering his meet record. The favorite in the field has to be Bellarmine-CCS junior, Alex Scales. He has the fastest 800m. time in California with his 1:53.27 from the Dublin Distance Fiesta. Future Stanford Cardinal, Michael Vernau Davis-SJS, will be looking to improve his personal 1600m. best of 4:13.67. Other runners in the field that will be a factor are Liam Anderson Redwood-NCS (4:18.39), Meika Beaudoin-Rousseau Bellarmine-CCS (4:19.66), Jonathan Fierro Miramonte-NCS (4:19.93) and Andres Sandoval Tokay-SJS (4:19.99).
4 x 100m. Relay (Girls and Boys)
Meet Record Girls: James Logan-NCS 46.23 '03
Meet Record Boys: Long Beach Poly-SS 41.03 '98
The top 9 teams from the morning trials will qualify for the afternoon final. Once again, the fastest time in California this year belongs to Carson-LA (46.63). Unfortunately, they are not attending this year and will not make a run at James Logan's meet record. The fastest time in the field belongs to Sheldon-SJS (48.15) and they are the only team under the 49 second barrier. Of course, we know that won't be the case after Saturday's final so for now, I will list the other leading contenders: San Marcos, Santa Barbara-SS (49.00), Woodcreek-SJS (49.03), St. Francis, Sacramento-SJS (49.26) and Branham-CCS (49.27).
The Bellarmine-CCS Track and Field team really takes great pride in the success of their relay teams and last year, their 4 x 100m. team, finished in 2nd place at the CA state meet and recorded the 2nd fastest time in CCS history at 41.37. They won the Stanford Invite last year but are reloading this year in order to score valuable team points at CCS. The fastest team competing here is Golden Valley-SJS (42.66). They will need to hold off several teams who have also dipped under the 43 second mark such as Jesuit-SJS (42.81), Franklin, Elk Grove-SJS (42.85) and Valley Christian SJ-CCS (42.91).
800m. (Girls and Boys)
Meet Record Girls: Allie Schadler Rio Rico, Arizona 2:10.11 '16
Meet Record Boys: Connor Dunne San Clemente-SS 1:50.53 '16
Many athletes and coaches were unhappy that the 4 x 800m. relays were eliminated from the Stanford Invitational schedule. The positive has been the addition of the open 800m. which has attracted many of the top 800m. runners in and out of California. Both meet records were once again lowered last year and I believe we will have a new girls' record after the completion of the 800 this year. One of the favorites will be the 2015 California state champion, Erica Schroeder San Marcos, Santa Barbara-SS. She finished in 2nd place here last year and it took a meet record to beat her. Another favorite will be Mari Friedman Santa Cruz-CCS who as a junior has continued to impress and just recently posted an impressive 4:55.93/2:12.40 double victories at Avis Kelley. One of the more underrated runners in California is Del Oro-SJS junior, Cathilyn McIntosh. She finished in 2nd place at the California state meet last year with a 2:07.98 best. This past fall, McIntosh ran Cross Country for the first time and will be ready to drop a really fast time on Saturday. Another runner that shouldn't be counted out is Avi Wilson-Perteete St. Mary's, Berkeley-NCS who ran 2:09.31 two years ago as a sophomore and qualified for another state meet last season. Olivia O'Keeffe Davis-SJS is entered to compete and may be making her season debut here.
The boys' 800m. race winner here should surpass the fastest time in California this year, 1:53.27. The favorite to win the race will be Ben Micallef Bellarmine-CCS who finished in 3rd here last year (seen above) with a then personal best of 1:52.48. He improved his best to 1:52.29 at last year's CCS Final. He will more than likely have to lead the field through a fast first 400 in order to win the race and stay in front of the fast closers. The 2nd fastest 800m. runner in the field is Dawson LaRance Billings, Wyoming who has a 1:53.14 best. Xavier Weaver Franklin, Elk Grove-SJS has a season best of 1:54.12 and ran his personal best of 1:53.88 at last year's Stanford Invite. Defending North Coast Section champion Niki Moore Campolindo-NCS is still rounding into shape in this event. Another CCS runner to keep an eye on is Jason Gomez Westmont-CCS who has run a best of 1:54.82 as a junior this year.
400 Meters (Girls and Boys)
Meet Record Girls: Deonna Lawrence Sheldon-SJS 54.32 '04
Meet Record Boys: Tim Brown McClymonds-OAK 47.31 '97
The favorite to win this event will be the 2nd fastest 400m. runner in California, Carolyn Wilson Oaks Christian-SS (53.67). The top returner from last year's meet is Mikayla Revera Santa Catalina-CCS. She finished 10th and had a personal best of 54.86 later in the season. De'Anna Nowling Calabasas-SS has already recorded a personal best of 55.84 this year and is ready to run faster here. Alexis Surrell Newark Memorial-NCS recorded a season best of 55.87 at the Dan Gabor Invite after she finished 11th at the '16 Stanford Invite.
It can be difficult to pick out the favorites in most events but in this event, there is only one choice. Jordan Tillis Franklin, Elk Grove-SJS finished in 2nd place at last year's Stanford Invite with a then personal record of 48.83. He has already established a new lifetime best time of 48.23 which ranks him 2nd in California. His main competitor will be Henry Larkin Oakland Technology-OAK. He ran a best of 48.73 at last year's California state meet. That time is actually the 4th fastest time in his family which includes his grandfather's 47.6 (run on cinders) as well as uncle Bill Green Cubberly-CCS, who at one point held the high school 400m. record of 45.51. A couple other competitors who have run faster than 50 seconds are Zachary Larrier Monterey Trail-SJS (49.64) and Isaiah Smith Maria Carrillo-NCS (49.89).
Girls 100m. Hurdles/Boys 110m. Hurdles
Girls Meet Record: Trinity Wilson St. Mary's College-NCS 13.41 '12
Boys Meet Record: David Klech California-NCS/Noah Blue Skyline-OAK (Both 13.86)
This is one of the few events that will have the defending champion competing as a heavy favorite. Kaylay Robinson El Cerrito-NCS won this event easily last year and finished in 2nd place at the California state meet with a lightning 13.44 personal best. She will win again this year and the only question is whether she can establish a new meet record. Allanah Lee Castro Valley-NCS (2nd place) and Naimah Hameed James Logan-NCS (6th place) both made the final last year and will look to add their names to the contenders for the state meet out of the North Coast Section. Allie Jones San Marcos, Santa Barbara-SS is also ranked in the top 10 in state this year with her best of 14.18. Tierra Crockrell Calabasas-SS has personal best of 14.49 this year and will also be competing in the 100m., 400m. and long jump along with this event.
This year, we may have a double victor in the hurdles with Deion Lightfoot John C. Kimball-SJS. If he can navigate a victory in the longer hurdles on Friday, Lightfoot will be favored to win the shorter hurdles event here. He has recorded a season best of 14.18 and finished in 2nd place at last year's CA state meet with his second sub 14 second effort of the season. Shawn Bettencourt Golden Valley-SJS has a wind aided 14.35 this year which currently ranks him 6th in California. Jonathan Shaw Dublin-NCS just missed making the final last year with a 11th place finish and will be looking to qualify for the final and establish a new personal best.
100 Meters (Girls and Boys)
Meet Record Girls: Ashton Purvis St. Elizabeth-NCS 11.50 '07
Meet Record Boys: Deondre Batson Laguna Creek-SJS 10.44 '10
There are only 35 entrants in the girls' 100m. compared with 54 last season but picking out the final contenders is as difficult as ever. The field will be narrowed down to 9 after the morning trials but I would be guessing at best to try to pick out those nine athletes. To narrow down the field, the four returners who made the final last year are Kaylah Robinson El Cerrito-NCS (1st place), Tierra Crockrell Calabasas-SS (2nd place), Tai McDonald Sheldon-SJS (6th place) and Kayla Ford Vacaville-SJS (9th place). De'Anna Nowling Calabasas-SS currently has one of the top 10 times in California with her 11.92 time from the Redondo Nike Track Festival. Rachael Estell Mt. View-CCS qualified for the state meet last year in this event and recorded a slightly wind-aided 11.94.
Seven boys dipped under the 11 second mark in last year's final and two of them are back to this year to improve their place and time. Brandon Bains St. Francis, Mt. View-CCS finished in 5th place last year and has a best of 10.93 this season. Jared Geredes Los Gatos-CCS finished right behind Bains in 6th place and has a season best of 10.86. Two more sprinters that will be competing here and are rated among the best in California are Gino Long San Leandro-NCS (10.82) and Riley Sasaki Irvington-NCS (10.85).
4 x 400m. Relays (Girls and Boys)
Meet Record Girls: Kennedy (Granada Hills)-SS 3:44.4y '81
Meet Record Boys: Berkeley-NCS 3:14.0y '81
The toughest event to predict may be the final relay here. A lot of teams have been busy putting their athletes in individual events so that they can qualify for the larger invitationals such as this one. The 4 x 400m. relay is also the last event after a grueling two days of competition and some athletes may not be so eager to compete in one more event. The fastest time established by a team competing at this meet is Sheldon-SJS with their 3:54.83 season best. The other team that has dipped under 4 minutes this season is St. Mary's, Berkeley-NCS (3:58.55), the defending Stanford champion. Three teams that are right on the cusp of dipping under 4 minutes are Woodcreek-SJS (4:00.55), San Marcos, Santa Barbara-SS (4:00.78) Santa Cruz-CCS (4:01.41).
The final race of the day will pit some of the best 4 x 400m. teams to determine the best long relay team in Northern California. Last year, Bellarmine-CCS edged out section rival Los Gatos-CCS by the slimmest of margins, 3:21.87 to 3:21.88.The team with the fastest time so far this season is Franklin, Elk Grove-SJS (3:22.13). Clayton Valley-NCS (3:24.41), John F. Kennedy, Sacramento-SJS (3:25.21), Cosumnes Oaks-SJS (3:26.11) and St. Francis, Mt. View-CCS (3:27.84) have recorded the other fastest times in this meet and should all be in the fastest heat. With 44 total teams entered in this event, there will be other teams in the mix including the two teams that finished 1st and 2nd last year mentioned above.