DIVISION 3
Santa Margarita is seeking a six-peat. They graduated Tessa Green (now at Columbia),
but have consistently replenished and improved over the course of each
season. Seemingly under-ranked in March,
this program always has its girls healthy and at their best by the middle of
May and 2020 should not be any different.
They have enough returners to warrant being the early season favorites
for another title. Their greatest
threats should come from Sherman Oaks Notre Dame and fellow Trinity League foe, Orange
Lutheran.
Sprints
Taking a break from being one of the more advanced soccer stars in Orange
County, Lauren Memoly (photo above) became a prime example of a postseason peak for Santa
Margarita. She not only rolled to the divisional title in
the 400 meters but advanced to the State Meet finals (54.97), peaking with a sixth-place
medal. She is one of the top quarter-milers returning
in the section while also one of the top girls in the division for the 200
meters. With that, she was the only
underclass sprinter in the division with State Meet experience.
Sophomore Trinity Barnett of Rancho Mirage returns with the top marks, under all conditions, in the 100 and 200 meters (11.91w/24.81w). The Desert Empire League champion in both events placed fourth and sixth, respectively at the 2019 divisional finals. One of the top 200/400, Nakyia Buckner has transferred to Centennial and will compete in Division 1 as a senior.
Notre Dame boasts three underclass sprinters that qualified for the 2019 finals. Dior Asamota was runner-up at last year's finals for the 100 meters. With the top four finishers at the 2019 finals for the 200 meters graduated, Madison Dietz is the top returner (fifth-place) while she also qualified for the 100-meter finals with a seventh-place finish. Dietz shined in the opening weekend with a new personal best in the 400 meters. Her teammate, Ava McCumber Granada finished fifth in the 400 meters with a 56.98 as a freshman in 2019.
Hurdles
Defending champion, Jazmin Jackson of Chaminade (pictured) easily captured the 2019 title
in the 100 hurdles. With 
a personal best
of 14.50 in her fifth-place finish at the Masters Meet, she just missed
advancing to the State Meet finals. After
placing third in 2017 and second in 2018, she is the overwhelming favorite to
defend her title in 2020. Her best of
45.40 in the 300 hurdles returns as the third-fastest returning time for
Division 3.
For the 300 hurdles, Madeleine Conte of Monrovia took second place as a freshman. Her best of 44.88 places her as one of the top returners Southern Section as she was one of the few freshmen in the section to advance to the Masters Meet in 2019. The Santa Margarita duo of Sophia Morris (third place) and Jessica Elisalde-Rendon (sixth place) return as two of the best in the division for the 300 hurdles. Morris projects as a 2020 finalist in the 100 Hurdles as well.
North Torrance's Amira Hawkins was second to Jackson in 2019 and looked sharp in her fifth-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles at the Winter Championships two weeks ago. Notre Dame's Gabrielle Jackson (15.45/46.57) returns as one of the best in the division in both hurdling events too. She earned a fifth-place medal in the longer hurdles in 2019.
Distances
THE huge question mark going into 2020 is ... where are the Quintero
sisters? The two combined for 28 points
at the 2019 finals, with then-freshman, Daniela Quintero (No. 1 below) taking home the
victory in the 800 meters. She came away
with 2:11.94/4:59.96 seasonal bests, peaking with a ninth-place finish at the
State 
Meet finals in the 800. Natalia Quintero (No. 2 in the photo) finished
fourth in both events. Both chose not to
compete for Harvard-Westlake this past cross country season and there is still
no word on their status.
Brea Olinda's Whitney Valenti is the top returner for the 1600 meters, as she placed second to Oak Park's Sarah Shulze in 2019. She was a Masters Meet qualifier last year and comes into her senior season with 4:55.08/10:57.62 bests. Her teammate, Mia Douge is coming off a strong cross country season and was a finalist in both events in 2019. Those two will lock up again with league foe, Siena Palicke of Yorba Linda. With a 4:54.20, she captured their league title but faded to a seventh-place finish at the Division 3 finals. This past cross country season, Palicke shined with a third-place finish at the divisional finals and peaked with a fourth-place medal at the State Meet. She has also rolled to a 2:16.76 in the 800 meters.
The Palos Verdes' duo of Savannah Scriven and Samantha Steman will also make some headlines this 2020 postseason. Steman placed second at the 3200-meter finals in 2019 and placed eighth at the Masters Meet. But Scriven comes in stronger than ever, coming off her CIF-SS Division 3 title in cross country, a runner-up finish at the California State Meet, and a 33rd place finish at the Nike Cross Nationals.
Santa Margarita's Kendall Saeger qualified in the 800 and
1600 meter finals a year ago. Despite
placing 10th at the division finals in cross country, she rolled
to a 14th-place finish at the State Meet. She owns personal bests of 2:16.85 and 5:02.26. With Marty Dugard leaving JSerra and coming
over to take over the 
distances for the Eagles, we expect even more improvement
there. McKenna Bradley also returns as she placed
sixth in the 800 (2:17.39) meters a year ago.
South Pasadena's Gianna Beasley (at right in photo) has been the runner-up the past two seasons in the 800 meters. With a 2:15.35 best, she will be attending Cal this Fall. Beasley finished just ahead of La Canada's Ellaney Matarese (2:15.21 best) in 2019. Matarese (center in photo) qualified in the 800 and 1600 meters (5:02.25 best) as a freshman in 2018. Another top returner that should not be overlooked is Covina's Katelyn Vuong. With tremendous range, she was fifth a year ago in the 3200 meters. Finally, Costa Mesa's Diane Molina reached the podium with fifth-place finishers the past two seasons in cross country. As she placed fifth at the 2018 finals, she moved up to fourth at the 3200-meter Division 3 finals in 2019.
Vertical Jumps
Seven finalists from the 2019 finals to compete in the High Jump. Ryann O'Bannon of St. Joseph (Lakewood)
placed second a year ago, but returns as one of the best in the section with a
5-5 lifetime best. Hillcrest's Jayda
Reid opened her 2019 season with a 5-4 performance but was unable to match it for the rest of the season. Carter Bruning
of Orange Lutheran finished fourth last year and returns with a best of
5-3. Emily Jackson of Esperanza finished
fifth and returns with a 5-2 best.
Horizontal Jumps
Sophia Hartwell of Orange Lutheran (at right) is one of the best in the section and the
defending divisional champion 
in the long and triple jump. A State Meet qualifier in the long jump
(18-10.5), she also qualified for the Masters Meet in the triple jump
(39-9.75w).
Runner-up to Hartwell, Santa Margarita's Lauren Memoly just missed advancing to the State Meet in the long jump. The versatile Summer McNeal of Bishop Amat placed sixth at the 2019 finals while St. Joseph's Ryann O'Bannon returns as well.
With Hartwell being an overwhelming favorite in the triple jump, Santa Margarita is also looking for more points here. Erin Biddiscomb placed third a year ago with her best of 36-0.25. Marshall's Kelaiyah Johnston placed fourth as a freshman in the event, while O'Bannon earned a medal with her fifth-place finish.
Throws
The top four girls from the 2019 Discus finals graduated. With that, Bishop Amat's Summer McNeal
returns off of her fifth-place finish.
But, it is Orange Lutheran's Emma O. Connell and her 121-4 best that is
the favorite in 2020. Her best ranks her
as the ninth top returner in the section. Corona del Mar's Kelly White and Ashley
Trester also qualified for the 2019 finals in the discus as Notre Dame's Asanti
Johnson looks to return to the finals in both events.
Moving to the shot put, McNeal was the divisional runner-up in 2019. Alemany's Nailah Bombata was third. Orange Lutheran returns three of the top six marks in the division as Emma O. Connell is joined by Pesi Tauailuaand Allie Garis.