Southern Section Division 3 Track & Field Preview

Jumps

Matthew Molina of St. Francis (Lizette Adams photo above) not only crossed with the Division 3 title in the 110 Hurdles, but excelled with another title in the High Jump.  He was unable to eclipse his 6-08.25 effort from March of the 2018 season, but continued onward to qualify for the California State Meet and returned home with a sixth place medal.  Darren Long of Harvard-Westlake earned some valuable points for his team champions a year ago with his third place finish in the High Jump.  Alex Jordan of St. Francis is only one of three boys that return with a 6-02 clearance from 2018. 

In the pole vault, Cabrillo's Isaac Williams in the only returner that cleared a height at last year's divisional finals.  His 13-06 personal best yielded him a fourth place at the 2018 finals.  Nick Kalmar of Covina also elevated over 13-06 in 2018 while teammate, Aaron Rodriguez comes into the 2019 season with a 13-02 personal best.  Servite's Nolan Blachowski and Yorba Linda's Max Bittner were also Division 3 finalists last year as sophomores.

 The long jump features some of the best in the Southern Section, headlined by the pair from St. John Bosco -- Titus Toler and Trent McDuffie.  Toler is the top returner after placing fourth a year ago while McDuffie popped off a 23-8 effort in early March of 2018.  Injury derailed his season unfortunately but these two could very well shine at the top in the long jump in May.  Ryan Johnson of La Canada, along with Notre Dame's Christian Grubb return as two of the best in the division. 

 Perhaps the event boasting the most talent in the division is the triple jump!  Three of the top four underclassmen at the 2018 Southern Section Masters Meet derived from Division 3.  Tianhao Wei of South Pasadena is the defending champion.  While he also placed sixth a year ago in the Long Jump, bounding out to a 47-6 effort at the Southern Section Masters Meet yielded Wei a runner-up finish.  In Fresno, he continued to improve and came back home with a fifth place finish.  In the Triple Jump, the top three return from a year ago and four of the top five.  Laguna Hills' Anthony Victa and Notre Dame's Grubb, although in Wei's shadow, shined at the Masters Meet as both also qualified for the California State Meet.   As a sophomore, Palm Springs' Tschiakowski Brown placed fifth in this event in 2018.