FRIDAY PREVIEW
Girls 3200m
Meet record: 10:14.56, Riley Chamberlain, Del Oro (SJ), 2022
The first high school event will be the girls' 3200m. The first year that the Stanford Invitational switched from 3000m to 3200m was 2018 and that was the year that Claudia Lane of Malibu established the previous meet record of 10:24.72. That record was eclipsed last year by Del Oro senior Riley Chamberlain as she outdueled Montgomery's talented freshman, Hanne Thomsen who ran 10:16.76.
Chamberlain's record will be safe this year with Thomsen choosing to focus on the distance medley relay and 1600m. The favorite to win here will be Reno (NV) Galena's Eleanor Raker (above) who finished in 4th place at the Dublin Distance Fiesta with a personal best of 10:34.65. Her main competition should come from Branson's Adeline Johnson who was 5h in the same race with a personal best of her own at 10:39.76.
Boys 3200m
Meet record: 8:59.77, Liam Anderson, Redwood (NC), 2019
The favorite in this event will be Palo Alto junior Grant Morgenfeld. He was named the CCS runner of the year during the fall cross country season and this past weekend broke 9 minutes for the first time with his 8:56.31 at the APU Meet of Champions. His main competition should come from Folsom (SJ) senior Nathan Short, Davis (SJ) senior Ryan Mitchell, Mountain View (CC) senior Evan Markelz, Oak Ridge (SJ) senior Troy Esparza, and Wicox (CC) senior John Cooper.
Girls 400m Hurdles
Meet Record: 1:00.53, Angela Harris, Skyline (OK), 1994
After the elimination of the mile and 3000 meters, the 400m. hurdles is one of the few remaining unique events at the Stanford Invitational. That extra 100 meters makes it super tough for the many hurdlers who are used to the 300m distance. Based on last year's meet, the favorite to win is Lincoln of Stockton's Y'vette Harris. She ran 61.73 to outrun Central's Riley Costales (63.76). The two other contenders here based on their 300 meters time are Keilee Hall of Christian Brothers and Kennadi Reed of Long Beach Poly.
Boys 400m Hurdles
Meet Record: 50:35, David Klech, California (NC), 2006
The meet record here was set way back in 2006 by California HS uber-athlete, David Klech. The time of 50.35 would have qualified him once again for the open 400 and is still one of the fastest times in U.S. history.
At this point, it looks like there are two clear favorites for this event and they both compete in the Central Coast Section (CC). Independence senior Kin Ho Tsang was a double winner at last year's CCS meet and already has experience in this event this season. His main competition will come from Fremont (CC) senior Kathir Balakrishnan who has a best of 37.54 from the 2022 Arcadia Invitational.
Distance Medley Relays-Girls
Meet Record: 11:51.00, Oak Ridge (SJ), 2007
The clear favorite to win this event is JSerra (SS). After an impressive fall that included a Division IV CIF-State championship, JSerra could take a shot at the meet record here. The next best team appears to be St. Francis (CC), a team that has been impressive in the last few seasons and could have the team to contend for a section team title in track. Another team that should not be overlooked is Scotts Valley (CC). They have an impressive group of runners and their team will be anchored by one of the best distance runners in the state in junior Ashlyn Boothby.
Distance Medley Relays-Boys
Meet Record: 10:03.67, Bellarmine (CC), 2017
With the unfortunate elimination of the 4x800m relay (here is my plea for this meet to bring this back now that it's an official event at the California State Meet) a few years ago, the DMR is the last standing distance relay at the Stanford Invite. One of the favorites should be the defending champion here, Menlo (CC). They outdueled Bellarmine here last year and have a formidable group back from that team. Their main competition should come from Long Beach Poly (SS) which could potentially put together an outstanding team. Bellarmine, Crystal Springs Uplands (CC), Lick-Wilmerding (NC), Monte Vista (NC), and Redwood (NC) should all be competing for the top five spots.
Long Jump (Boys and Girls)
Boys
Meet Record: 24-5.50, Malcolm Clemons, St. Mary's (NC), 2018
Girls
Meet Record: 20-00.25, Brittany Daniels, Merrill West (SJ), 2005
This is always a really tough event to predict because when you look at the competitors, you have eight girls who have all jumped further than 18 feet. At this point the favorites based on jumps so far this season is St. Ignatius (CC) freshman Ellie McCuskey-Hay and Sade Falese of Mayfield (SS). McCuskey-Hay jumped 18-8 at the CA Winter Championship and has a best of 18-3. Falese has a best of 18-7.5 this season which ranks as the 7th-best jump in California.
The favorite to win the boys' long jump will be Harker senior Andrew Fu. He has a best of 23-2.5 from last year's section final. He hasn't jumped near that mark so far this season but just posted a 10.69 near personal best 100 meters which bodes well as far as his speed on the runway. The best long jumpers so far this season have been Delbert Davis of Golden Valley (22-10.75), Zachary Fagin of Los Altos (22-8.5), and Kingsley Okoronkwo of Christopher (22-1.5).
Pole Vault (Boys)
Meet Record: 16-6 (tie) Mike Kibort, Saratoga (CC) '83; Casey Roche, St. Francis (CC) '07; Nico Weiler, Los Gatos (CC) '08; Dylan Duvio, John Curtis, Louisiana '13.
The clear favorite in this event is Vacaville (SJ) senior Gavin Dimick. He has cleared 15 feet twice this season and has a best of 15-6 which ranks him as the 5th best vaulter in California. His main competition should come from Menlo senior William Floyd. He just cleared a personal best of 14-6 at last Wednesday's WBAL league meet at Bellarmine.