Here is a preview of the field event side of the meet with some great competitions in multiple events.
The girls' long jump competition will feature three girls entered at over 19 feet. The favorite will be CA state meet 3rd place finisher, Tara Davis of Agoura HS. She jumped a personal best (PR) 19'9.5" in the finals to get on the podium. Her two closest competitors will come from two Northern California athletes, Christina Chenault (Carondelet HS) and Marisa Kwiatkowski (Adrian Wilcox HS). Their respective PRs are 19'2" and 19'1".
The boys' long jump will have a heavy favorite and one of the all-time best jumpers in California history, Nate Moore of Castro Valley HS. At this year's CA state meet, Moore completed his 2nd double victory in the horizontal jumps which is a first in CA state history. Moore ran a leg on the 400m. relay team that finished in 2nd place and along with points he earned in the jumps, he was able to lead his team finish in 2nd place in the team competition. He was also named the Gatorade California Track and Field Athlete of the Year.
Wilcox HS jumper, Marisa Kwaitkowski, was a double winner at the Central Coast Section (CCS) meet in the long jump and triple jump. She chose to focus on the triple jump at the CA state meet as she dropped the long jump following section competition. She finished in 5th place and will be the favorite here. Here best jump this season was actually from her first meet at the Los Gatos All-Comers meet where she jumped 41'2.75". Her main competitors will be Christina Chenault of Carondelet HS (sister school to De La Salle HS) at 39'11" and Kennedy Jones of Castro Valley HS at 39'6.5".
The boys' triple jump will be another one man show with Nate Moore looking to his extend his undefeated streak in the jumps this season. He won the CA state meet this year in a lifetime best jump of 51'4" with a 2.1m tail wind. With the USA Track and Field Championship taking place at the same time and facility, Moore could be extra inspired to jump far which could result in a spectacular mark. Here are the marks that he will be chasing to make the top 10 list at this historical meet.
The girls' high competition should be a duel between Rachel Reichenbach of Foothill HS in Pleasanton who jumped 5'7" and finished in 7th place in the state meet and Erica Higley of Bear River HS who jumped 5'6" and also qualified for the state meet.
The boys' high jump could be an interesting one with middle schooler as one of the favorites to win. Sean Lee of the USA High Jump Club (of course!) has already jumped 6'5" this season which is quite spectacular for a student just about to enter high school. Jack Phillips of Burlingame HS has jumped 6'8" this year but has been more consistent at the 6'4"/6"5" level and will be Lee's main competition for the win.
One of the better quality field event competitions should take place with the girls' pole vault. Nicole Summersett of Austin Westlake HS in Texas comes in with the best entry mark at 13'3.5". Vanessa Davis of Desert Christian HS in Arizona has also cleared 13 feet this year with a jump of 13'.75". Both those marks would win the majority of state meet competitions and if either or both athletes get over 13 feet, that mark will make the top 10 list of this historic meet.
The boys' pole vault competition will feature two of the better vaulter in Northern California. Austin Kiles of Tamalpais HS has cleared 16 feet numerous times this year with one of those attempts claiming 4th place finish at the CA state meet. Following the state meet, Kiles was able to establish a new PR of 16'7.25". Ryan Pust of Golden Valley HS in the Sac-Joaquin Section won the SJS Masters meet with a lifetime best jump of 16'7". He finished just behind Kiles at the state meet in 5th place. Jakob Alme of Desert Vista HS will keep both vaulters honest and it wouldn't be a surprise if he beats both competitors.
Megan Dulaney of Rodriguez HS in SJS has the best mark in the girls' shot put competition, 46'5". She finished in 3rd place in the SJS Masters meet and followed that up with a 5th place finish at the CA state meet. She seems to be well ahead of the field and the competition should be for 2nd place. Kayla Hopkins of Rancho Verde HS, Saidee Jones of Caldwell HS (Idaho) and Vai Lousi of Washington HS have all thrown over 40 feet and will be battling for the next three finishing spots.
I wouldn't this meet preview justice if I don't mention one of the greatest high school record that still stands and took place at this meet. In 1979, Michael Carter out of Jefferson HS (Dallas, Tx) threw the shot a mind boggling 81'3". You can enjoy that entire series of throws at this link. Carter went on to play for the San Francisco 49ers and is the only person ever to win a medal in the summer Olympics and be part of a Superbowl winning team in the same year. His daughter, Michelle, is also the girls HS record holder in the shot put. As for this year's competition, the favorite will be Troy Kowalski of Mountain Ridge HS who won the Arizona Division I title and followed that meet with a PR of 61'2".
The girls' discus competition will feature Josephine Natrasevshi of Fort Collins in Colorado who has thrown 154'8". She will need to throw further than the two Kaylas (O'Brine and Hopkins) to win as both of them have thrown further than 149'. As with any discus competition, one strong throw with the right type of wind can claim the victory.
One of the more interesting competitors at this year's Golden West will be Amir Ali Patterson. One of the top throwers as a junior, Amir was deemed ineligible by the Southern Section for using up his eligibility. It was found that Amir was in 9th grade at one point and went back to 8th grade. Despite multiple attempts through the court system, the decision of his ineligibility was upheld. He will be attending UCLA next year on a track scholarship and will be an overwhelming favorite to win the discus competition here with a best mark of 199'11". Darrin Paulo of Grant HS (SJS) will keep Amir honest following his 2nd place finish at the CA state meet with a lifetime best throw of 184'3".
The final field event will be an unusual one for high school competition as they will also contest the Hammer Throw. The favorite in the girls' competition will be Emelda Malm-Annan who just won the Pacific Association Junior Olympics meet with a mark of 156'4.2". She competes during the regular season for Monterey Trail HS and in the post season is part of the Golden State Throwers Club. The favorite in the boys' competition will be Tyler Merkley of Los Osos HS who has thrown the hammer 63.76m. which converts to 209'2".
