BOYS
Upland's Caleb Roberson (5) won the CIF-State Meet title in the 300 hurdles and Riverside King's Reyte Rash (6) placed second. Both return, making this one of the must-watch events for 2019. (Louis Amestoy photo)
Sprints/Hurdles
KeJuan Markham of Long Beach Poly highlights the quartet all returning for placing fourth at the California State Meet in the 400 Relay. He was runner-up at the Division 1 Finals in 2018 before placing fourth at the Masters Meet and advancing onto the State Meet. After transferring from the Sacramento area in 2017, LB Poly's Kenyon Reed advanced to the 2018 finals, yielding a fourth-place finish in the 200 meters (21.53 legal best) and seventh place in the 100 (10.92 legal best). Long Beach Poly featured five underclassmen that crossed under 11.00 (wind-aided) for the 100 meters and four that rolled under 22.10 (wind-legal) for the 200 meters. Junior Anthony Johnson projects a third Jackrabbit sprinter to qualify for the 2019 finals in both sprints.
Meanwhile, Trabuco Hills' Jake Burns burst onto the statewide scene early last season. As the postseason did not go quite as he wanted with sixth place finishes in both short sprints at the divisional finals, Burns 
(No. 3171 at right) returns with the fastest wind-legal efforts from 2018. As he crossed in eighth place at the Masters Meet in the 100 meters, he rolled to wind-legal bests of 10.56 and 21.40 and returns as one of the fastest in California.
In previewing the sprints along with the hurdles, Upland's Caleb Roberson is the perfect example. He returns as the defending Division 1 champion in the 110 High Hurdles, the runner-up in the 300 Hurdles and sandwiched in between those two events, Roberson excelled for a third-place finish in the 100 meters. He earned 24 points alone at the 2018 finals. One of the favorites at the State Meet, he was unable to advance onto the finals in the 110 Hurdles but rebounded to win the State championship in the 300's. Also on his resume, Roberson measured out to a fifth-place finish at the State Meet as a sophomore. In passing up the long jump in 2018, he led his 1600 Relay team to the California State Meet. Arguably, no other athlete in the Southern Section owns a better stat line -- 100 meters, 10.56w; 200 meters, 21.41w; 110 Hurdles, 14.12w; 300 hurdles, 36.61; long jump, 23-5.5 legal.
Competing with Roberson in the Baseline League, Rancho Cucamonga's Christopher Hill looks primed for redemption after an injury-filled 2018 season. Sidelined by hamstring issues last postseason, Hill looked sharp in his performances at the Winter Championships. Just missing the victory in the 60 meters, he moved away for the convincing victory in the 300 meters. He plans to focus on the 200/400 double this upcoming spring. As a sophomore in 2017, Hill was fifth in the 200 meters at the California State Meet and comes into 2019 with several sub-21:60 wind-aided efforts on his resume. He also owns a 48.46 best for the 400 meters.
ML King's Reyte Rash surprised in 2018, capturing the Division 1 300 hurdles title and taking second to Roberson at the California State Meet with a 37.17 best. More of a surprise was his improvement last May in the 110 hurdles as he improved by almost a full second in the event, finishing with a third-place effort at the divisional finals, fifth at the Masters Meet thus, qualifying for the California State Meet.
In the 400 meters, the two fastest returners both hail from the same league. Centennial's Gregory Lapit (48.32 best) was runner-up in 2018 while Roosevelt's Jalen Johnson (48.61 best) was seventh. Lapit was also fifth in the 200 meters (22.01 best). For the 400, Long Beach Wilson's Andrew Richards (49.03) was a CIF finalist as well while looking to be the catalyst for another State Meet 1600 relay squad for the Bruins. Overall, 12 boys with sub-50 second performances from 2018 return including eight of the top 11 in the Southern Section.
Transferring into the division is one of California's best in Solomon Strader. Formerly at Trinity Classical and a State Meet finalist in 2018 as a sophomore, Strader plans to crash the Division 1 party with his 47.49 Southern Section best for the 400 meters and a 21.96 effort for the 200. He was the Division 4 champion in 2018 and qualified for the State Meet in both as well. With redemption on the mind in 2019, he was not able to compete in the State Meet finals due to overlooking the 'honest effort' rule when he bypassed the 200 meters in the preliminary round.
Vista Murrieta's Hunter Escorcia qualified for the California State Meet in the 110 hurdles as a sophomore in 2018. With incredible improvement over the course of the season, he surprised with his fourth-place finish at the divisional finals and sixth-place effort at the Masters Meet. He was the third fastest sophomore, under all conditions, in California.
Myles Martin of Vista Murrieta was a finalist in the 100 meters while Upland's Namir Hemphill returns after qualifying as a sophomore in the 200 meters. In the hurdles, Los Osos' Oluwatobi Adegoke returns after a sixth-place finish in the 110 hurdles while Patrick Cundieff of Yucaipa was a finalist in the 300 Hurdles. Adegoke opened his 2019 season up with a solid 39.02 personal best at the Ontario Relays last weekend. West Ranch's Mya Davis (39.19 best) projects to qualify in the 300 Hurdles this season while Liam Anderson of Long Beach Poly is also slated for the 110 hurdles as he is the defending Moore League champ with a 14.66 personal best.