Top Headliners in the Southern Section for 2019
Beau Allen (San Marcos/Sr.)
One of the section's best high jumpers since his sophomore season, Allen put
aside a frustrating, fourth place performance at the Division 2 finals to clear
6-11 at the California State Meet and earn himself the State title. Fourth at the 2018 State Meet in the event,
he was the Division 2 champ as a junior and a three-time Masters Meet qualifier. Allen was the one athlete in California to
clear the coveted 7-foot bar in 2019 and only the fourth in the Southern
Section to achieve the feat over the past five seasons.
Kai Wingo (Valencia/Sr.)
Wingo first shined early on in 2019 with his victory in the 600 meters in the
Winter Championships. Wingo's template for success came with allowing
a competitor to do the pacing through the first 500 meters and then watch as he
took over the last 300. That was exactly
the case at the California State Meet where Wingo was in 10th place
with 250 meters to go, moved to the outside as far out as lane four, maintained
his relaxed form (as he always did this season) and brought home the State title.
He utilized the same strategy in capturing Division 1 and the Masters Meet titles. His 1:51.71 at the
State Meet was the fastest mark in the state for 2019 and he needed every inch
to hold off Jesuit's Chase Gordon at 1:51.74! Wingo broke 1:53 six times over the last seven
weeks of the season but only broke 1:52 when he needed it most!
Gino Cruz (Newbury Park/Sr.)
While the rest of the competition struggled on State Championship weekend, Cruz maintained form and ascended to the top of the podium in the discus with his 191-01 throw for the State title. The
day before, his 195-00 was a new personal best for the senior and cracked into
the top 30 ever in Southern Section history.
After placing fourth at the Division 1 finals as a junior, he captured
the division title. He ended the
season ranked 12th in the United States in the discus.
Loyola's Boys 4x400 Capture State Title
In what seemingly became a war of attrition, in their fourth straight weekend of high level competition and their second night in a row, the Cubs of Loyola were able to hold on to the finish for the State title in the 4x400 relay. In what ended up being only their fourth best time in the past month, the 3:17.56 was just enough to hold off fast-charging Long Beach Poly (3:17.68) for the win. Sophomore Ceyair Wright, and seniors Mason Ratkovich, Jeremy Davis and anchor Andrew Arth, the crew was only fourth at the Division 1 finals and fifth at the Masters Meet. Very few had them competing for the title. With a successful but busy weekend, Ratkovich was returning from taking third in the 800 meters (1:52.22), falling just short in a huge kick that saw him race from ninth place with 300 meters to go. Meanwhile, Arth just missed advancing to the State Meet in the 400 meters as he set a school record (47.54) in April. Not only did Loyola post the fastest 4x800 mark (7:48.13) of 2019 in California, but they raced away to the 4x400 one as well.
Long Beach Poly's Boys - First Divisional Crown since 2007
Heavy favorites since the end of the 2018 season, Poly was able to live up to
the expectations and captured its first Division 1 team title since
2007! Despite injuries derailing their long term goal for a State Team title, they moved away rather easily for the, 82-46 divisional title over Upland. The Kenyon Reed-led 400 relay team ran to the divisional title and ended the season with the top time in the state (40.87). As Reed ran the second fastest time in the
section (21.09) this season, he held on for the Division 1 title in the
event. Along with DeAngelo Chester and
Anthony Johnson, the trio earned 33 points altogether. Reed, a Kansas State football recruit, was one of the only athletes to qualify
for FOUR events at the State Meet finals.
Meanwhile, junior Everett Steward placed fourth in the 400 meters and
later advanced to finish sixth at the California State Meet. He anchored the 4x400 squad to a second place
finish at the divisional finals and brought the crew up from sixth place to
just narrowly miss the state title on his anchor leg at the State Championships. All of that alone would have secured the team
title, but Liam Anderson created his own headlines in the hurdles. A year after not advancing to the divisional
finals in 2018, Anderson captured the title in the 110 hurdles and came back to place
fourth in the 300 hurdles. At the State
Meet, Anderson placed seventh in the 110's while just missing the finals in the
300's. William Frankenfeld also advanced
to the State Meet in the 3200 meters, while placing second at the divisional
finals for eight additional points. To
cement the all-around team effort, sophomore Miguel Orozoco earned additional
points with a sixth place effort in the long jump.
Derek Pekar Leads Ventura's Boys to the Division 2 Team
Title
No one athlete had a busier schedule on the day of the divisional finals than
senior Derek Pekar. He had already
established himself as one of the top decathletes ever Southern Section history,
in earning 7021 points at the Arcadia Invitational. He took on the task on not just qualifying
for the postseason in four events but advanced as well to the Divisional finals. Despite running out of steam in the 300 hurdles, where he went in as a top seed but came away with an eighth place
finish, he had already earned the Cougars 21 points from the long jump, pole vault, and while running to a surprising runner-up finish in the 110 hurdles. Two weeks later, he advanced to the State
Meet finals in the long jump (8th place) and the 110 hurdles (9th
place) to cement one of the greatest all-around careers in section history. Off the track, Carlos Aviles earned
16 points in the rings with two runner-up finishes in both throws. Aviles advanced to the California State Meet
in both events with a ninth place finish in the shot put. With Charlie Hammel stepping in to provide
four additional points in the 3200 meters to go along with Benjamin Maidman tie
for fifth place in the pole vault, the 43.5 points was enough to hold off Mater
Dei, which finished with 39 points. In a
tightly contested team battle, less than 13 points separated the top seven
squads. Ventura only needed four athletes
to get the job done in earning a second divisional championship, matching
their 1999 Division 2 title!
Harvard Westlake Defends Division 3 Team Title!
Led by Brayden Borquez (who earned his own separate capsule) the Wolverines
defended their Division 3 crown from 2018.
The last several weeks, it became obvious that it would be a hard fought
battle with Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks. Going
into the final event, Harvard Westlake was down by two points but cemented the championship
with its second relay victory on the day and with a 60-52 victory. Once James Chung (48.30 in the 400 meters)
was sidelined with a mid-season injury, the margin for victory tightened, but Borquez
earned 18 points from his efforts in the 400 and 300 hurdles while leading those winning relay
squads. Josh Johnson earned 11 more points
in the shorter sprints while also advancing onto the Masters Meet in the 200
meters. Those two would eventually lead
their 4x100 relay squad to a fifth place finish at the California State Meet
while their 41.35 seasonal best was the fourth fastest effort in the state for
2019. Keon Mazdisnian pitched in four
more points in his efforts in the 1600 and 3200 meters. Justin Butler placed fourth in the 300 hurdles while Jack Riley contributed two additional points from the 100 meters.
Oaks Christian Earns Another Division 4 Title
Despite losing Cristian Moore, who posted the fastest times in the 100 and 200 meters for the division going into the postseason, the Lions had no problems regrouping to claim their fourth consecutive team title! In holding off an improved Crespi squad, Ezekiel Bishop anchored their squad to the 4x400 title to secure the 65-47 team title. Utiliziing 11 different individuals for points, they only had one finish in the top two in their events (Luciano Barretto earned the Division 4 title in the shot put). Will Davis, Graham White and Sebastian Macaluso combined to earn 12 points. Sophomore Semaj Freeman was their only athlete to score in two events as he added nine points between both hurdling events. Freshman Jake Reed placed fourth in the pole vault while the aforementioned Bishop and Gabriel Martin combined for 11 points in the long jump. Seif Awad and Bradley Smith contributed an additional seven points in the shot put with Mathias Portzel earned a seventh place finish in the triple jump. With the majority of the points coming from underclassmen, expect Oaks Christian to be the favorites to earn a fifth straight title in 2020!
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