Division 3 - Girls
Santa Margarita is looking for a fifth consecutive D3 title and is poised to do it in a runaway with senior Tessa Green and sophomore Lauren Memoly leading the onslaught.
Of the non-seniors who won titles in seven of the 14 individual events last year, only four return, and only one comes in with a true top qualifying mark.
Sylvia Cruz-Albrecht (Oak Park), the 2018 champion in the 1600, did not participate in the league qualifying at the end of April, thus ending her season.
Anneke Moersdorf, a two-time division champion in the triple jump who also won the long jump last year, attends San Luis Obispo High, which switched from the Southern Section to the Central Section with the the 2018-19 school year.
The aforementioned Tessa Green comes in with the division's top seasonal time in the 200 (24.30/1.3) but not the top qualifying time (.03 behind La Sierra senior Deja Allain, who used a 3.0 meters-per-second wind to run a qualifying-meet best 24.55).
Same for Bailey Umans (Chaminade) in the 400, who undoubtedly will need to runner closer to her season best 56.03 to repeat in a division with Bonita sophomore Alisha Wilson (55.41), and Memoly (55.50). Umans needed a 55.73 to win here last year and 55.40 for seventh at the State Final.
Two other returning D3 champions, 2018 high jump champion Tierni Kaufman (Harvard Westlake) is tied for fourth in the state at 5-8 and last year's 3200 champion Sarah Shulze (Oak Park) is No. 3 in the state in the eight-lap race and No. 10 in the 1600.
Brea Olinda junior Whitney Valenti, who was second in the 1600 last year, and Harvard Westlake sophomore Natalia Quintero, who was second in the 3200 last year, both will try to steal the show from Shulze.
The Wisconsin-bound senior's bigger challenge, however, figures to come in the 1600 (an event she plans to drop going forward). Harvard Westlake freshman Daniela Quintero (5:00.12) and Yorba Linda soph Siena Palicke (5:000.86) had faster prelim times than did Shulze (5:00.86) but Shulze ran a 4:53.38 PR less than a month ago at Ventura and that's probably what it will take to beat her here.
Other athletes to watch here include Rancho Mirage freshman Trinity Barnett in the mix challenging Green in the 100m and 200m; Chaminade junior Jazmin Jackson, who was second in both the 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles last year; Memoly in the 400, long jump and both relays, and Orange Lutheran junior Sophia Hartwell, the top qualifier in both the long jump and triple jump.