Brooks PR Invitational: California Preview
All told, there are 19 California athletes that accepted Golden Tickets to head to the Seattle area for Saturday's elite competition. The most loaded event in terms of our state's participation is the Boys 110 Hurdles, where Joseph Anderson, Deion Lightfoot, and Anthony Easter will all be racing. That's US #1, US #6, and US #21 - plus you can add US #5 Dorian Andrews (TX) and US #7 Trey Johnson (AZ) to the mix! That's a great race right there.
California also has three participants in the Girls 400 Dash, led by US #11 Tierra Robinson-Jones. She will be joined by Alexis Surrell, who entered the sub-54 club at the CIF state meet, as well as Kirsten Carter, who hasn't run the 400 since last year's Brooks PR Invitational.
Of course, the race with the biggest hype coming into the meet is the Boys Mile, which features three runners who have run under 4:01, all vying to become the 10th high school boy ever to break 4 minutes for a full mile. One of those contenders is Cooper Teare, who unexpectedly finished third in the state meet 3200. Is he back in prime mile shape? It's worth noting that the man who beat him in that race, Callum Bolger, is also in this mile - and for my money, he's a sleeper candidate to threaten 4 minutes along with Teare, Sam Worley (TX), and David Principe Jr (RI). All 12 of the runners have been under 4:08 this season!
Both the Boys & Girls Two Mile should be interesting. Claudia Lane is US #1 at this distance, and she'll be facing US #2 Brie Oakley, who Lane defeated at Arcadia. They will also square off against US #5 Jacqueline Gaughan and US #6 Lauren Gregory, plus a very interesting wild card: Rebecca Story, who ran 4:45 for the full mile last weekend. Erika Adler will also be in the race to represent California. On the boys' side, Luis Grijalva is US #5 and Michael Vernau US #11, with Evert Silva at #18. They will have a ton of competition, including Brentwood (TN) star Brodey Hasty, US #6 Connor Lane (NC), US #7 Finn Gessner (WI), US #8 Talon Hull (UT), and US #9 Matthew Jenkins (WA).
The Girls 800 Run is also loaded, headlined by US #1 Sammy Watson and US #3 Rachel McArthur. That's the kind of environment that could push Alyssa Brewer, currently US #5, to new heights. Jacquelyn Hill will also be competing, looking to break 2:08 for the first time in her career before heading on to college.
There are other California athletes competing, as well:
- Boys 100: Isaiah Cunningham (US #4)
- Girls 100H: Kaylah Robinson (US #4, US #2 wind-aided)
- Boys 800: Alex Scales (US #13)
- Girls Mile: Rylee Bowen (US #20)