5. Malcolm Clemons (St. Mary's College)
Performance: Won CIF State LJ with US #1 25' 1" (wind-aided)
Clemons gets the nod here by the narrowest of margins over Liam Anderson and Jason Gomez, who both had a legitimate claim to be in the top 5. The deciding factor for me was Malcolm's progression: he got better on every attempt, setting a wind-legal US #1 mark of 24' 11.75" on his 5th jump and then getting a windy 25' 1" for this 6th (US #1 all-conditions). That Clemons accomplished this as a sophomore is doubly remarkable. Can he break into the California all-time ranks over the next two years? Can't wait to find out!
Worth noting: Anderson was the third multiple-event performer of the CIF State Meet that we considered, going 1st in the 1600 and 5th in the 3200 (he holds CA #1 marks in both events). Gomez had the surprise performance of the state meet, dropping a stunning 2.52 seconds from his previous PR to win the 800.