CIF-Southern Section Masters Meet Preview

MASTERS MEET - BOYS FIELD EVENTS

Boys High Jump (6-4)
Four qualifiers return for a second time, led by San Marcos' Beau Allen.  He is the California State leader and one of the few in the United States that has cleared 7-0.  He was unable to clear the 6-8 bar a week ago and had to settle for a fourth place finish in the competition Division 2 final.  While Allen was fourth at the 2018 California State Meet, St. Francis' Matthew Molina earned the sixth place medal.  He easily advanced with a clearance of 6-6 to win the Division 3 competition.  But, that battle in Division 2 was epic.  While they left Allen behind, Tyler Cash of Canyon, CC ascended to the top with fewer misses and a 6-8 clearance to win the title.  Villa Park's Kyle Jankans soared over 6-8 for the first time while Jadyn Mata of San Marcos cleared 6-8 for the third time this season.  Mata looks to qualify for the California State Meet once again.  Also elevating up over the 6-8 bar for the first time, Vista Murrieta sophomore Darius Hill claimed the Division 1 title.  Those four that cleared 6-8 are now tied for fifth in California.  Edison's Aiden Garnett, Huntington Beach's Jack Wiseman, and Diamond Bar's Kailen Smith also cleared 6-6.  Wiseman just missed making the State Meet a year ago with a seventh place finish while his best of 6-7 is tied for 15th in the state.  Altogether, fourteen boys cleared the at-large standard of 6-4.  The Southern Section should send more entrants up to the State Meet than any other.

Boys Pole Vault (14-9) 

Defending Masters Meet champion, Marina's Skyler Magula captured the Division 1 title last weekend.  In 2018, he eventually earned the fifth-place medal at the State Meet.  In a tight competition, Magula was able to outmatch Loyola's William O'Brien and Roosevelt's Ethan Amata as it came down to misses with all three clearing the 15-6 bar.  O'Brien and Amata were also State Meet finalists in 2018.  Seven of the eight boys that achieved the 15-0 mark derived from the Division 1 competition.  This week, Great Oak's Kyle Yonker, Vista Murrieta's Kendal Gibbs, Roosevelt's Jacob Camarena, and Aliso Niguel's Nikolai Perelman only need to elevate up over the 14-9 bar.  Meanwhile, also cleared 15 feet in winning the Division 3 title, La Canada's David Miketta is projected to advance to the State Meet.  He and Camarena go into this weekend with 15-3 seasonal bests.   Kyten Arthur of West Torrance cleared 14-6 to win the Division 2 competition but has gone up over 15-2 this season.   

Boys Long Jump (22-9) 

Only one athlete exceeded the State Meet standard, so being on the same runway this week, expect to only see those six automatic spots advance.   That one athlete, Oluwatobi Adegoke of Los Osos, soared to the Division 1 title with a 23-0.5 effort.  As the winds tend to swirl through Murdock Stadium in the afternoon, it can be inconsistent at times.  With only four athletes coming out of the Division 1 competition, Heritage's Deondre Ruth is trying to make his way back to the State Meet.  Last year, he advanced through the San Diego Section as he competed for Oceanside.   Vista Murrieta sophomore Darius Hill and Los Alamitos' Sean Ayale also qualified from the largest division.  Exploding to the Division 2 title, Irvine's Jacob Haley was able to outlast Peninsula's Aiden Lieb and Woodbridge's Drake Nguyen.  Despite missing most of the season to injury, Elsinore's Kamari Maddox qualified for the second year in a row, while Ventura's Derek Pekar is looking to advance back to the State Meet again.  He was fourth in this competition in 2018.  Damion Loman of Palm Springs also advanced in capturing the Division 3 title.       

Boys Triple Jump (46-5)

Deondre Ruth of Heritage was a State Meet finalist and walked away with the Division 1 title a week ago and the top mark on the day.  Similar to the Long Jump, the at-large standard will be a reach as only two athletes bounded past the 46-5 mark.  Etiwanda's Trevor Harris finished as the Division 1 runner-up by only one half-inch to Ruth but easily qualified.   Christian Grubb of Notre Dame is trying to advance to the State Meet in four events this weekend.  He was third in this competition in 2018 and advanced onward to Clovis.  Coming in with the best credentials, South Pasadena's Tianhao Wei earned the fifth-place medal at the 2018 State Championships as a sophomore.   Laguna Hills' Anthony Victa out-measured him by two inches to claim the Division 3 runner-up spot.  Like Wei and Grubb, Victa also qualified for the State Meet last year.  Also qualifying for the 2018 State Meet, Upland junior Namir Hemphill put on a show towards the latter part of the meet.  He took third in the 300 Hurdles, then anchored his 1600 relay squad to the Division 1 title and the second-best time in California just before going over to the runway to place third and give himself another week in this event!   Also coming back from helping his 1600 relay squad advance onward, Trabuco Hills' Justin Williams took fourth in Division 1.  Crespi's Jonathan Da Silva took the Division 4 title while the Lawndale brothers of Ben and Isaac Muanza also advanced.  

Boys Shot Put (55-3)

Taking home the top mark from the 2018 Masters Meet as a sophomore, Esperanza's Jeff Duensing was also the State Meet runner-up.  He is currently second in California with a best of 66-8 and third in the United States.  Also earning a medal at the California State Meet finals as sophomores, Quintin Lyons of Notre Dame, SO placed fifth while Newport Harbor's Aidan Elbettar (62-9.5 seasonal best) came back with a sixth place medal.   Also trying to work back to the State Meet Finals in this event is Ventura's Carlos Aviles.  Although finishing ninth here a year ago, he met the at-large standard.   Advancing before he travels off to represent the UCLA Football program, San Juan Hills' Sean Rhyan is currently third in California, just ahead of Elbettar, with a best of 63-3.5.  Jacob Lopez of Canyon, CC owns a best of 60-3 while Jake Porter of Canyon, Ana. comes in with a 59-6 seasonal best.  Lopez is eighth in the state with Porter sitting at tenth.  Golden Valley sophomore launched the shot to a new personal best of 57-7.25 last weekend, moving him to 13th in the state.  Meanwhile, Los Alamitos' Sawyer Howard is just ahead of him at 11th in California with a best of 59-0.75.  Nine of the twelve qualifiers met the standard a week ago while this group projects to have eight qualify to the State Meet finals.  

Boys Discus (173-1)

As strong as the group is in the Shot Put, they're just as impressive here as well.  Four of the top six in California get into the ring (and seven of the top ten) led by Newport Harbor junior Aidan Elbettar.  As he did not advance this far in this event in 2018, he has improved by almost 40 feet and is now the top boy in the state and eighth in the United States!  His 197-4 best is just ahead of Newbury Park's Gino Cruz' 194-11 seasonal best.  He was seventh at the 2018 California State Meet, is currently third in California and tenth in the United States.  Carlos Aviles of Ventura had his best performance to date, but his 191-9 effort last weekend still left him runner-up in Division 2 to Elbettar.  That mark moved him up to 14th in the country and fourth in the state.  He was also a State Meet finalist and took tenth place in 2018.  Also qualifying for the State Meet, Esperanza's Jeff Duensing looks to make the State Meet finals in 2019 as he is now sixth in the state with 190-9 effort capturing the Division 3 title last weekend.  Fellow Aztec, Yusuf Hashem qualified with a 162-5 but has a seasonal best of 172-9.  Disappointed with his effort last weekend, Vista Murrieta's Edward Ta'amilo is ninth in California with a 182-2 best.  His teammate, Alex Oyawale also qualified and owns a best of 172-1.  Looking for an invite to Clovis, Golden Valley sophomore Kienan Donovan uncorked his best of 171-2 last weekend.  League foe, Jacob Lopez of Canyon, CC has a 177-2 seasonal best.  Although only four met the at-large standard last weekend, seven have achieved it throughout the season.