SATURDAY FIELD EVENTS
Boys Discus (Meet Record: Kami Kashmiri Reno-Nevada 214'11" '87)
The meet record for this event is very safe. It dates back to 1987 and last year, only two discus throwers from California were able to surpass the 200 foot mark. The two best throwers in this competition both hail from the North Coast Section. The season best mark belongs to Jeff Williams Clayton Valley-NCS at 186'10" which is CA #4. The 2nd best throw belongs to Iffy Joyner Pittsburg-NCS at 183'11". He finished in 2nd place at last year's NCS MOC meet and has a lifetime best mark of 188'1". The other throwers ranked among the best in California are Eric Werner Granite Bay-SJS (163'4") and Parker Jenks Marysville-NCS (158'1").
Girls Shot Put (Meet Record: Jessica Pressley Laguna Creek-SJS 49'4" '98)
The best shot putter in Northern California over the past three seasons was Elena Bruckner Valley Christian SJ-CCS. She finished with the 5th best mark in US history at 54'7" and is now competing at the University of Texas. Perhaps the 2nd best thrower in NorCal has been Pamela Amaechi Lincoln-SF. She is a senior now and this past weekend, she had an impressive double at the Serra Thrower's meet with marks of 47'0.25" and 163'3". The shot put mark is the best mark in California and US #2. She is an impressive athlete with additional PRs of 12.80w in the 100m. and 5'1" in the high jump. Keeping her honest in this event will be Faimalie Sale Los Alamitos-SS who has a season best of 44'1.75". The other thrower in the meet that will be aiming for a top 3 finish is Hannah Hall James Logan-NCS who has a season best of 41'11".
Girls Pole Vault (Meet Record: Greta Wagner Los Gatos-CCS 13'0.25" '13)
California does not typically have an indoor season but over the past few years, the indoor CA meet in Fresno has grown in popularity. This past winter, the meet had to find an outdoor home and Arcadia stepped in to host the CA Outdoor Championship. Among the winners was sophomore Laurel Wong Santa Catalina-CCS who recorded a lifetime best mark of 12'10.25". She will be favored to win here but there are a few vaulters that will keep her honest. Both Samantha Engel El Dorado, Placerville-SJS and Mariah Lark Moreau Catholic-NCS have cleared 12'0" this season. Corey Friedenbach Pacific Collegiate-CCS (11'9") and Emily Meyer Davis-SJS are also within striking distance and will be looking to surpass the vaulters currently ranked ahead of them.
Boys Triple Jump (Meet Record: Ken Frazier Mission-SF 50'6" '81)
Another record that appears to be quite safe Ken Frazier's 50'6" in the triple jump which dates back to 1981. He was also state champ that season with an even better mark of 50'10.25". It should be noted that Frazier's alma mater won the Division III state championship this past basketball season. It was the first state title in basketball by a San Francisco public school team in history. Big props to that team. The co-favorites to win this event actually have the same exact mark this season, 45'7.5". Johnathan Shaw Dublin-NCS and Juwan Seals Lincoln, Stockton-SJS come into the meet tied for the 10th best mark in California. They will need to stay ahead of Sanjay Kettles St. Mary's, Berkeley-NCS who will be making his season debut in the event and has a lifetime best mark of 45'7.25".
The best triple jumpers in California will be well represented in this event with 5 out of the top 10 jumpers taking part on Saturday. Leading the way with the best jump in California is Arianna Fisher Silver Creek-CCS (41'7"). That mark places her 3rd on the all-time CCS list behind former Olympian Wendy Brown Woodside-CCS (43'2.5") and another legendary Track and Field performer, Vashti Thomas Mt. Pleasant-CCS (43'1.5"). Keeping Fisher honest will be two other jumpers who have surpassed the 40 foot mark this year, Kali Hatcher St. Mary's, Berkeley-NCS (40'5") and Allanah Lee Castro Valley-NCS (40'2").
Girls High Jump (Meet record: Celia Willis Clovis West-CS 6'0" '88)
The margin of error in this event is usually quite small. More than a third of the 18 jumpers at this meet have surpassed 5'4" with 3 who have also surpassed 5'6". Cassidy Palka Oaks Christian-SS saved her best effort for the state meet last year as she recorded a personal best of 5'9" to win. Cassie Ackemann San Lorenzo Valley-CCS and Camille Finley San Benito-CCS are two of the jumpers that have cleared 5'6" this season along with Polka. Also in the mix will be the other 5'4" jumpers, Tasha Brechtel Del Oro-SJS, Lucy Corbett Del Oro-SJS, Katie Hurst Fortuna-NCS and Heather Pendleton Tahoe-Truckee.
Girls Discus (Meet record: Chaniqua Ross Laguna Creek-SJS 162'3" '98)
Pamela Amaechi Lincoln-SF is an outstanding shot putter ranked 1st in CA and 2nd in the US. She is equally as outstanding in the discus and last year, Amaechi upset pre-meet favorite Elena Bruckner Valley Christian SJ-CCS to win the California state title. Her 163'3" from last week surpasses the current meet record and it would not be a surprise if she could repeat last weekend's performance. Her main competition will hail from the Central Section, sophomore Jocelyn Budwig Fowler-CS. She has already recorded a lifetime best of 153'4" which means if Amaechi is just a bit off, Budwig is well within striking distance. Hannah Hall James Logan-NCS has thrown 140'0" and would love to raise her personal best of 147'5" from last year's Arcadia Invitational.
Last year, 5 California high jumpers scaled the bar over the 7 foot barrier. This year, one of those jumpers is the closest to the 7th foot mark with a 6'11" effort and that is Sean Lee Trabuco Hills-SS. The next best jumper will be competing here and he won't have far to travel to get to Stanford. Jeffrey Lee-Heidenreich Henry M. Gunn-CCS has already recorded his personal best of 6'9". Jake Grimson Vista del Lago-SJS is not far behind at 6'8" and will come here aiming squarely for a meet victory. Two North Coast Section jumpers have cleared 6'6" and are definitely threats. Jevin Kitchen Fortuna-NCS and Teaun-Tr'e Pierce Pittsburg-NCS are already ranked in the top 10 in California and a small improvement will move them quickly up the list.
The athlete entered in this meet with the longest throw this season is Ben Campagna San Ramon Valley-NCS at 54'11". He was consistently over 50 feet last year but fouled out at the NCS MOC meet. He will be looking for a big victory here to continue his improved senior season. The next best thrower is Parker Jenks Marysville-NCS who has already recorded a personal best of 54'4.5". Both these throwers seem like the class of the field and will take aim at the invitational title but watch out for seasoned throwers like Iffy Joyner Pittsburg-NCS who has recorded a 52'8" throw this season.
And that's my best attempt to identify the top competitors this coming weekend. Feel free to include any deserving athletes/teams that I may have missed in the comment section below. You can also chat at us at @MilesplitCA on Twitter.