CIF-Southern Section Masters Meet Preview

Third place at the California State Meet last year as a freshman, Westlake's Paige Sommers looks to walk away with another first place medal from the Masters Meet.   She is tied for second in the state with a best of 13-6.  She held off South Torrance's Layne Hayward and her one-foot personal best to claim her second Division 2 title.  Also clearing 12-6 to capture the Division 1 title, Aliso Niguel's Morgan Flynn looks to advance back to the State Meet as she earned the sixth place medal a year ago.  In a tight battle in Division 1, Roosevelt's Erika Flaherty outlasted Great Oak's Kaitlin Swenson for the runner-up medal as both cleared 12-0.  Swenson was a State Meet qualifier in 2018 and has a best of 12-6.   Advancing back to the Masters Meet for a second season is Vista Murrieta's Tamara Bader, West Ranch's Amber Racina, and Linfield Christian's Kaelyn McCann.  McCann earned her second Division 4 title.  Meanwhile, Mission Viejo's Jenny Kroeger, Oaks Christian's Bryn Polly, Thousand Oaks' Seanne Chan, and Peninsula's Gabrielle Pack all cleared 11-6 to advance to this weekend.   Sixteen girls cleared 11-0 to advance.  Among those is Emma Rudolph of Golden Valley as she qualifies for her second trip to the Masters Meet.  

Girls Long Jump (18-6)
Wildwood's Asha Fletcher was third at the California State Meet last year, despite only taking seventh at the Masters Meet.   She qualified once again, albeit with a runner-up finish to St. Anthony's Asjah Atkinson.  The top performer last weekend also returns back to the Masters Meet in the likes of Jade McDonald.  She soared to a 19-5.75 measurement to capture the Division 2 title.  Also returning back for a second year is Serra's A'Lena Chaney while she represented Jordan a year ago.  Only three girls advanced from the Division 1 final in which Upland freshman Caelyn Harris captured the title, just ahead of Redondo Union's Mahkaia Lee.  Sophia Hartwell of Orange Lutheran is peaking at the right time as her 18-10.5 held off league rival, Lauren Memoly of Santa Margarita.  This is one of three events that Madison Lyon of Woodbridge qualified for while Mater Dei's Sophia Chiaramonte advanced as the Division 2 runner-up.    

Girls Triple Jump (38-10) 

Calabasas sophomore Jade McDonald was sixth at the California State Meet last year when she represented Mater Dei.  She was only fourth at the Masters Meet but saved her best for the Buchanan High runway.   Woodbridge's Madison Lyon was tenth at the State Meet after only taking eighth here a year ago.  The top mark from last weekend was from a familiar name in the Triple Jumping community, in Summer Stevenson of Great Oak.  She bounded out to 39-9 to capture the Division 1 title.  She was ninth at the Masters Meet in 2018 while her teammate, Sami Bollinger also returns back for the second year in a row.  Upland's Kerrington Smith has been consistent all season while Orange Lutheran's Sophia Hartwell captured the Division 3 title.  One of the most improved in the section, Burbank's Jayla Flowers advanced while a relative unknown until two weeks ago, Santa Ynez freshman Neta Ofiaeli captured the Division 4 title with a personal best of 38-4.5.  As of a month ago, she had not had a 36-foot effort and now will have the opportunity to advance to the State Meet.  Only four girls achieved the at-large standard last week.   

Girls Shot Put (41-4) 

The top two from the 2018 Masters Meet advanced back for an encore. Golden Valley's Shyann Franklin was the California State runner-up last year.  She is the current state leader with a best of 47-11.5, which also ranked third in the United States.  Meanwhile, West Ranch's Natalie Ramirez was third at the California State Meet and took first at the 2018 Masters Meet.  She uncorked a 47-9.5 personal best last weekend and is currently second in California, and fifth in the nation.  No league boasts as much high-end throwing talent than the Foothill League as both derive from there!  Also returning back is Rancho Cucamonga's Abby Venglass, who was ninth a year ago.  A huge reason why they earned the Division 2 team title, the Mission Viejo duo of Ava Butterbaugh and Danielle Lister advanced just ahead of Calabasas' Tierra Crockrell.  Butterbaugh is currently eighth in the state with a best of 44-10.  Soley Lymon of Elsinore as did Roosevelt's Lydia Liu.  The Roosevelt senior has a personal best of 43-1.25, which is 14th in California.  Lakewood's Cherish Washington and Newbury Park's Julia Richey qualified as sophomores.  Only three girls eclipsed the at-large standard so it should be a fight for those six automatic spots.   

Girls Discus (140-11) 

Three of California's top six get into the ring this weekend.  Natalie Ramirez of West Ranch is the defending Masters Meet champ before moving on to place seventh at the 2018 State Meet.  Her seasonal best of 163-2 is third in the state and sixth in the United States.  But, she was upset by Roosevelt's Lydia Liu at the Division 1 final last weekend, as Liu continues her improvement in the event with a 157-1 best.  This moved her up to fifth in California and 15th in the country.  Trabuco Hills' Kyliegh Wilkerson advanced once again as she looks to improve upon her 11th place finish at the 2018 State Meet.  Also qualifying for the second year in a row, Angelina Escobar was eighth in 2018 while Alejandra Rosales was tenth.  Perhaps, the most improved Discus thrower in California, Thousand Oaks' Amanda Spear came into the season with a 110-11 personal best.  In capturing the Divison 2 title, she moved up to sixth in the state with a 151-3 as she has progressively improved by 17 feet in this past month!  Beckman's Saloni Khandhadia has been consistent this season and coming off a new personal best of 137-5 last week.  Lakewood's Cherish Washington is currently 12th in the state with a best of 141-7 while also advancing is Esperanza's Emma Robbins.  She is moving on to attend Louisiana State University in the Fall, as she is one of the nation's best prep hammer throwers.  Half of this group also qualified in the Shot Put, including Mission Viejo's Danielle Lister and Ava Butterbaugh.