Freshman Trio Shines Under Bright State Lights
We got a hint of their talent during the 2017 Cross Country season, but the freshmen trio of (l-r above) Chino Hills' Jacqueline Duarte, Mayfield's Audrey Suarez and Village Christian's Mia Barnett surpassed our expectations. Barnett and Suarez, training partners despite attending different schools, hooked up at the Arcadia Invite 1 Mile with both finishing next to one another in 4:54. But, Barnett took it to another level by setting a new Southern Section Division 4 record for the 1600 meters, holding off Suarez with a 4:46.77. Within the next 20 minutes, Duarte took to the stage and pulled off, arguably, the biggest upset of the finals. Sitting behind Great Oak's best and Ayala's Mikaela Ramirez with 150 meters to go, Duarte unleashed a kick previously unseen, crossing in 4:45.54 for the Division 1 title!
The following week, Suarez would finish ahead of her freshmen counterparts at the SS Masters Meet in 4:47.83. All three advanced to the State Meet finals in the 1600 and this trio of 2021s would be the only three from the Southern Section to earn medals. Duarte's kick propelled her to the 3rd place medal in 4:44.87 with Suarez earning the 5th place medal (4:48.04) with Barnett right behind her for 6th (4:48.64). Duarte's time elevates her to #17 on the all-time Southern Section lists. These California freshmen leave 2018 as the top three for the Class of 2021 in the United States.
Great Oak's Program
Great Oak's 4x100 relay team of (l-r) Grant Gaskins, CJ Stevenson, Mikel Barkley and Joel Collins won titles at the Southern Section D1 finals, SS Masters Meet and CIF State Meet (40.99). (Jeffrey Parenti photo)
Rather than break down certain individuals, we've chosen to simply focus on the program as a whole. For the second time in three seasons, Great Oak captured the Boys and Girls Division 1 titles. Although disappointed leaving Fresno, Great Oak's boys went on to take 2nd place at the California State Meet while capturing the 4x100 relay in 40.99. Texas A&M bound CJ Stevenson defended his title in the triple jump. This was the fifth straight year the Stevenson family has earned a medal at the State Meet (while freshman sister Summer just missed qualifying this season). The Wolfpack 
girls ended the season at the top of the national lists in the 4x1600 relay. But, behind that mark was the fact that Great Oak became the first school in national prep history to boast three girls in the same race breaking 4:50 for 1600 meters while also becoming the first to include four girls going under 4:52 in the same season! That quartet, comprised of senior Sandra Pflughoft, junior Fatima Cortes and sophomores Tori Gaitan and Arianna Griffiths, combined for an aggregate time of 19:13 (4:48 avg.), which is absolutely ridiculous at the prep level. Great Oak's 4x800 girls ended the season #1 (9:03.31; 2:15.8 avg.) in California while their boys ended at #2 (7:46.26; 1:56.6 avg.) While their boys won the state title in the shortest relay, they ended the season at #1 in the nation for the longest relay, as their 18:25 at the Mt. SAC Relays held up to the end of the season! With all the national and statewide accolades, this is also one of the largest programs in the section that traditionally hovers around 300 student-athletes. (Jeffrey Parenti photo above from the CIF-SS Masters Meet, includes Great Oak's Sandra Pflughoft (9), Arianna Griffiths (4), Tori Gaitan (to Griffiths' right), and Fatima Cortes (behind Griffiths'))
Hampton Runs Second-Fastest 100 Meters in CA History
Yucaipa's Asani Hampton came into the season as one of the favorites to capture the 100 meter title in June. Although that did not happen, and Hampton came home with silver medals in both the 100 and 200 meters, he forever etched his name as one of California's greatest in his 10.26 clocking at the Citrus Belt League finals. Bound for the University of Michigan, Hampton is among a short list of boys that have qualified for the State Meet finals three times. Hampton earned State Meet medals as a sophomore and a junior in the 100 meters. From the beginning of the season, Hampton was one of the fastest in the nation, running the third fastest wind legal effort in the United States this season. He captured the SS Division.1 titles in both sprints as well and will forever be known as one of the section's best ever. (Frank Bellino photo from the Inland Empire Championships)
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