Don't Skip the Friday Night Relays and Saturday Field Events at Arcadia!

Field Events Preview

When Saturday evening rolls around at Arcadia, the track is lit up by national caliber performances. Under the glare of those lights, it's easy to miss the fact that the events OFF the track are just as competitive and loaded with talent, and they produce just as many top-flight marks. You're doing yourself a disservice if you're in the stadium Saturday and you don't go watch these events:

Boys & Girls Throws

Both the Discus and the Shot are absolutely loaded, with four athletes currently ranked in the top 11 in the nation in each. The current US leader in the discus will be on hand in the person of Turner Washington (Canyon del Oro AZ), who broke through with a massive 215' effort two weekends ago in his home state.  Fellow Arizonan Elijah Mason (Desert Vista AZ) also set a PR in that meet, going 201' 6" to move up to US #3. California counters with a pair of Wilsons from Clovis who have both thrown over 190 feet this season: Jacob (from Buchanan) is US #9 and Jonah (from Clovis High) is US #10. All told, there are 11 athletes entered in this event that have been beyond 180' at some point in their career, including the entire second flight! Let's hope they get a few big throws early to get them fired up and elevate everyone to another level. The shot put should also be ultra-competitive, with the same two Wilsons taking on US #4 Tyson Jones (Desert Edge AZ) and US #9 Grady Leonard (Couer D'Alene ID), with a total of 8 guys entered that have put the shot over 60 feet this spring. Interestingly, Washington is NOT entered in the shot put despite ranking US #8 in that event; perhaps he wanted to focus exclusively on the discus.

Not to be outdone by their male counterparts, the girls Shot put and Discus are also filled with depth and star power. In the shot put, US #11 Ashley Anumba (Los Osos) will battle familiar foe Alladia Patterson (Lousiville) along with Cassidy Osborne-Butler (Damonte Ranch NV). All three have been over 45 feet at some point, and there are a whopping 13 more athletes entered that have broken 42 feet, making this arguably the deepest event in the meet. Anumba is US #3 in the discus, where she will square off against US #6 Jocelynn Budwig (Fowler), US #9 Makayla Kelby (Lee's Summit West MO), and AZ #1 US #16 Kayleigh Conlon (Mountain Pointe). The Discus isn't quite as deep as the Shot for the girls, but it still sports 8 who have thrown beyond 140 feet this season.

Girls & Boys Pole Vault

California's best will try to defend home turf against some talented invaders in an event that always sizzles at this meet - vaulters seem to feed off the atmosphere, and when the weather is good they can really soar. Heck, they can even fly when the weather isn't so good, as evidenced by Rachel Baxter (Canyon) going 14' 2" here last year after several days of hard rain. Baxter is back and currently US #1, and she would like to work her way up the all-time list with a new PR here - it would take 14' 4" to achieve that. If Baxter is on, nobody in this field can touch her, but there should still be great competition among three 13-foot jumpers: US #4 Makayla Linebarger (Reed NV), US #13 McKenna Caskey (Mater Dei), and Elli Kimes (Cashmere WA). Definitely factor in current US #12 Brooke Tjerrild (Clovis North), who hasn't broken 13 feet yet (and wouldn't this be a great weekend to unlock that achievement?). All told, there are 8 athletes entered who have cleared 12' 6" this season.

Tate Curran (Redondo) headlines the boys' vault with his US #3 mark of 17' 0.75", and that mark would make him the clear winner this weekend. Curran has been on quite a streak this year, showing consistency and improvement, and we're hoping he adds another PR to his profile. If he's not on his game, though, there are four other jumpers in the field who have cleared 16 feet this season, including US #7 Cole Riddle (Valley Vista AZ). At the very least, that should help push Curran along; he often finds himself vaulting solo at the end of the event. Noah Hurley (College Park), Michael Chadwick (Edison), and Lance Huber (Del Oro) will all be on hand to represent California.

Girls Triple Jump

The top two in California will square off for the first time this season, and their battle could produce a new US #1. Tara Davis (Agoura) is currently at #2 in the national rankings, 2 inches behind the US leader, with Arianna Fisher (Silver Creek) less than 2 inches behind her. The top 5 in California are all assembled for this meet, and when you add in out-of-state athletes there are 7 girls that have been farther than 40 feet this season! Of course, Davis is also in the long jump, where she has been all but untouchable and is a heavy favorite this weekend.

More Field Events to Watch:

Boys Long Jump:

• Star Power: CA #2 Bryan Thompson, CA #2 Jaylin White,  AZ #2 Robert Brooks (Brophy College Prep)
• Depth: 11 over 23' this season

Girls High Jump

• Star Power: Defending CIF champ Cassidy Palka, CA #1 US #7 Iesha Hamm
• Depth: 5 over 5' 8" this season

Boys High Jump

• Star Power: US #4 Frank Harris (Basic NV), US #9 CA #1 Sean Lee (Trabuco Hills)
• Depth: 5 over 6' 9" for career

Girls Long Jump

• Star Power: US #1 Tara Davis, Jelani Heath (Rogers WA), US #4 CA #2 Nicole Warwick
• Depth: 10 over 19' this season

Boys Triple Jump:

• Star Power: US #5 James Johnson (Centennial NV), AZ #1 Imani Lee (Chandler), CA #1 Reece Smith, CA #2 CJ Stevenson
• Depth: 8 over 46' this season, 12 for their career