Southern Section Masters Preview

Girls Preview

Events to Watch

Every event at this meet is loaded, but even so a few of them stand out for being particularly competitive. Take the 200 Dash, for example: there are 9 girls in the state that have broken 24 seconds under any conditions this season, and 8 of them are from the Southern Section. 6 are in this race (1 opted to focus on other events, and 1 didn't advance), led by Jasmin Reed and her 23.39. The thing is, Reed was beaten by Jalyn Harrris last weekend, and didn't look like she was 100% healthy after the race (although we certainly hope it was minor enough to overcome). You can also bet that Ariyonna Augustine will be in contention this week.

Amazingly, we're still waiting for a Southern Section girl to break 2:10 in the 800 Run (for perspective, 2 did so at division finals alone last year, and six went under that barrier at the 2016 Masters). The top 6 returners from that race are back, including Erica Schroeder (above) and Rylee Penn, both of whom broke 2:10 last spring. But it's Jacquelyn Hill that holds the top seed, having run 2:12.05 last weekend. At least 3 more girls are within striking range, so this race should produce one of the best finishes of the day.

Right now, only 3 of the top 11 4x400 Relay times in California did NOT come from last weekend's division finals meet - and those were mostly run in separate races! This week we get them in the same race, and we get to see if teams like Calabasas and Santa Margarita can up their game when competing against top seeds Eleanor Roosevelt and Dana Hills. All told, 5 teams broke 3:50 last week, and 2 more have done so at some point this season - that sounds like a recipe for a few sub-3:45 performances to me.

The High Jump should be incredible, just because of the sheer number of strong athletes in the meet. Defending CIF champion Cassidy Palka is definitely a contender, as is the young upstart, freshman Victoria Plummer of Moorpark. Both have been over 5' 8" this season, but that's not enough to make them safe: Abigail Burke has cleared 5' 7", and there are 4 more girls at 5' 6". Consistency is what separates the contenders from the pretenders in this event, and it will be tested Friday.

As dominant as Tara Davis has been (see below), if she doesn't break 40 feet in the Triple Jump, she might not win. Three other girls in the section have been over 39 feet, led by Zhane Smith and her 39' 11..25" season best. But the most competitive field event could turn out to be the Shot Put, where the top 3 girls have season bests within 8.5" of each other! Alladia Patterson is the one to beat, with Ashley Anumba and Faimalie Sale right on her heels. In the Discus Throw, it's Anumba that comes in as the favorite, as she's the only girl in the state to throw over 170 feet this season.

Athletes to Watch

She was sick last week, but Shae Anderson survived and advanced. If she is healthy this weekend, she is capable of dominating the 400 and the 300 Hurdles - her times are US #1 and US #3 respectively this season. Expect her to conserve a little bit, doing enough to win, so that she can be at her absolute best in Clovis. Will she pull other runners under 53 and under 41 with her, and if so how many?

Claudia Lane is also more than capable of dominating, and the only question is whether she will run the 1600 this week (she seems committed to dropping it at the state meet). With PR's of 4:46.06 and 9:57.52, nobody in the Southern Section can touch her, although there may be one runner out there that could beat her in Clovis in the 1600 if she chooses to compete.

The third dominant athlete in this section is Tara Davis (above), and for all practical purposes she might as well be from another planet. She clocked 12.89 wind-aided in the 100 Hurdles two weeks ago, and has a wind-legal 13.01 to back that up. The former would be 19th in the WORLD if it were legal, and the latter is the 9th-fastest performance in high school history (and makes her the 6th-best performer). Even against two other hurdlers that have regularly broken 14 (there are only 6 of those in California, by the way), she will be almost a full hurdle ahead by the end of the race. Tara put on the biggest show of last week's division finals in the long jump, where she had 2 wind-aided leaps over 22 feet. Her season best of 22' 3.75" is 2nd all-time all-conditions, and her indoor 21' 11" is 6th-best all-time among legal jumps (she is the 4th-best performer). Davis also happens to lead the state in the triple jump with her season best of 41' 7.75" (her PR is 43' 2", but she hasn't been in that ballpark this spring). Seriously, SEE THIS YOUNG WOMAN COMPETE before she graduates and moves on to Georgia!

And there's a fourth: Rachel Baxter is the class of the pole vault field and has been US #1 pretty much all season, as she's the only girl in the country over 14 feet this spring. She didn't look as explosive as usual last weekend, but then again she was facing a constant strong headwind. We can't help but think that one of these weekends she's going to bust out a big jump, and we hope it's bigger than the 14' 3" mark she posted last year. 

Also, it's definitely worth watching the Calabasas 4x100 team compete. Think about this: last year, a Carson team made entirely of juniors won the state meet and clocked 45.06. This group of Coyotes is all sophomores, and is poised to break 46 after running 46.06 last weekend. The future is bright for this group, and we could be witnessing the rise of the next sprint power and the 2018 state champion team.