Kendall Saeger and Santa Margarita battled Jordyn Grady and Upland for a spot in the MileSplitCA March Madness Virtual Dual Meet girls bracket championship matchup. (Credits: Patrick Corsinita/Dave Lowe)
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This article highlights the results of a semifinal-round dual as part of the MileSplitCA March Madness Virtual Meet Tournament. Virtual meets are scored based solely on 2020 outdoor results using the standard dual meet scoring points format of 5-3-1 for individuals and 5-0 for relays. Athletes are scored in no more than four events (although the Virtual Meet program that processes the meet scores does not have access to individuals in a relay). Teams are limited to three athletes per event. Stay with us for the entire tournament to see which boys and girls teams reign supreme in this virtual meet format.
CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINAL RECAP & RESULTS
No. 1 Upland (SS) vs. No. 3 Santa Margarita (SS)
Top-seeded Upland won three event categories and split two others but that wasn't enough to overcome Santa Margarita's dominance in the distances as the No. 3-seeded Eagles knocked off the Highlanders, 69-67, in a girls bracket semifinal of the MileSplitCA March Madness Virtual Dual Meet Tournament.
Santa Margarita (SS) moves into next week's championship virtual where it will be scored against the winner of tomorrow's other girls semifinal between No. 5 Buchanan (CS) and No. 8 Etiwanda (SS).
A 24-3 margin in the three distance events is what lifted the Eagles into the championship. And it's no surprise that leading that pack is junior Kendall Saeger.
Her times in the 800m (2:16.29), 1600m (4:59.36) and 3200m (11:28.14) -- all three PRs -- were the fastest of this meet and accounted for 15 of those 24 points. Junior McKenna Bradley was second in both the 800m (2:17.14) and 1600m (5:23.75) -- also both PRs -- adding six points to the total. Seniors Meagan Rowlett (800m) and Tamara Hirschman (1600m), and junior Isabella Scarano (3200m) also added to Santa Margarita's distance total.
Saeger's 1600m time ranks CA No. 4 (U.S. No. 15) and her 800m ranks CA No. 7. Bradley's 800m ranks CA No. 9 for marks achieved before the 2020 outdoor season was stopped.
Sophomore Riley Rodriguez was the only Upland scorer in the distances with a runner-up time in the 3200m.
Upland had a 40-23 advantage in the sprints and jumps, led by junior Jordyn Grady and sophomore Caelyn Harris. They went 1-2 in the 100m, 200m and 100m hurdles, Harris had the top mark in the long jump, and senior Kerrington Smith had the meet's best triple jump. Harris, the 2019 CIF-State Meet champion in the long jump, had a CA No. 1 and U.S. No. 2 best of 20-0.50 recorded before the 2020 outdoor season was stopped.
Other event winners for Santa Margarita were junior Lauren Memoly (800m/57.26), senior Jessica Elizalde-Rendon (300mH/46.31), junior Nathalie Barnes (PV/11-3), and sophomore Brooke Slymen (DT/109-7).
Other event winners for Upland were junior Ajah Anderson (HJ/5-5) and junior Eseta Piutau (SP/33-6).
This dual had its share of athletes whose early season marks earned CA top-10 rankings. Aside from those mentioned above:
- Anderson -- CA No. 5(tie) for HJ (5-5)
- Elizalde-Rendon -- CA No. 9 for 300mH (46.31)
- Grady -- CA No. 6 for 100mH (14.87/-0.2) and CA No. 10 for 100m (12.23/1.9)
- Harris -- CA No. 7 for 100mH (14.91/-0.2)
- Memoly -- CA No. 8 for 800m (57.36)
- Smith -- CA No. 5 for TJ (38-3.50/0.2)
100 Meter Dash
| PLACE | ATHLETE | GRADE | TEAM | TIME | POINTS | |
| 1 | Jordyn Grady | 2021 | Upland High (SS) | 12.23 | 5 | |
| 2 | Caelyn Harris | 2022 | Upland High (SS) | 12.57 | 3 | |
| 3 | Ashley Rodgers | 2022 | Santa Margarita Catholic High (SS) | 12.64 | 1 | |
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200 Meter Dash
| PLACE | ATHLETE | GRADE | TEAM | TIME | POINTS | |
| 1 | Jordyn Grady | 2021 | Upland High (SS) | 25.46 | 5 | |
| 2 | Caelyn Harris | 2022 | Upland High (SS) | 25.88 | 3 | |
| 3 | Lauren Memoly | 2021 | Santa Margarita Catholic High (SS) | 26.04 | 1 | |
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400 Meter Dash
| PLACE | ATHLETE | GRADE | TEAM | TIME | POINTS | |
| 1 | Lauren Memoly | 2021 | Santa Margarita Catholic High (SS) | 57.26 | 5 | |
| 2 | Shayne Hall | 2023 | Santa Margarita Catholic High (SS) | 1:00.81 | 3 | |
| 3 | Rachel Rodriguez | 2022 | Upland High (SS) | 1:02.11 | 1 | |
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800 Meter Run
| PLACE | ATHLETE | GRADE | TEAM | TIME | POINTS | |
| 1 | Kendall Saeger | 2021 | Santa Margarita Catholic High (SS) | 2:16.29 | 5 | |
| 2 | Mckenna Bradley | 2021 | Santa Margarita Catholic High (SS) | 2:17.14 | 3 | |
| 3 | Meagan Rowlett | 2020 | Santa Margarita Catholic High (SS) | 2:23.20 | 1 | |
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1600 Meter Run
| PLACE | ATHLETE | GRADE | TEAM | TIME | POINTS | |
| 1 | Kendall Saeger | 2021 | Santa Margarita Catholic High (SS) | 4:59.36 | 5 | |
| 2 | Mckenna Bradley | 2021 | Santa Margarita Catholic High (SS) | 5:23.75 | 3 | |
| 3 | Tamara Hirschman | 2020 | Santa Margarita Catholic High (SS) | 5:32.90 | 1 | |
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3200 Meter Run
| PLACE | ATHLETE | GRADE | TEAM | TIME | POINTS | |
| 1 | Kendall Saeger | 2021 | Santa Margarita Catholic High (SS) | 11:28.14 | 5 | |
| 2 | Riley Rodriguez | 2022 | Upland High (SS) | 11:44.65 | 3 | |
| 3 | 2021 | Santa Margarita Catholic High (SS) | 12:57.09 | 1 |
100 Meter Hurdles
| PLACE | ATHLETE | GRADE | TEAM | TIME | POINTS | |
| 1 | Jordyn Grady | 2021 | Upland High (SS) | 14.87 | 5 | |
| 2 | Caelyn Harris | 2022 | Upland High (SS) | 14.91 | 3 | |
| 3 | Ajah Anderson | 2021 | Upland High (SS) | 15.15 | 1 | |
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300 Meter Hurdles
| PLACE | ATHLETE | GRADE | TEAM | TIME | POINTS | |
| 1 | Jessica Elizalde-Rendon | 2020 | Santa Margarita Catholic High (SS) | 46.31 | 5 | |
| 2 | Sophia Morris | 2020 | Santa Margarita Catholic High (SS) | 46.53 | 3 | |
| 3 | Ajah Anderson | 2021 | Upland High (SS) | 48.40 | 1 | |
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4x100 Meter Relay
| PLACE | TEAM | TIME | POINTS | |
| 1 | Upland High (SS) | 47.24 | 5 |
4x400 Meter Relay
| PLACE | TEAM | TIME | POINTS | |
| 1 | Santa Margarita Catholic High (SS) | 4:00.89 | 5 |
High Jump
| PLACE | ATHLETE | GRADE | TEAM | MARK | POINTS | |
| 1 | Ajah Anderson | 2021 | Upland High (SS) | 5-5 | 5 | |
| 2 | Erin Biddiscomb | 2021 | Santa Margarita Catholic High (SS) | 4-10 | 2 | |
| 2 | Rachel Rodriguez | 2022 | Upland High (SS) | 4-10 | 2 | |
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Long Jump
| PLACE | ATHLETE | GRADE | TEAM | MARK | POINTS | |
| 1 | Caelyn Harris | 2022 | Upland High (SS) | 20-0.5 | 5 | |
| 2 | Lauren Memoly | 2021 | Santa Margarita Catholic High (SS) | 17-4 | 3 | |
| 3 | Katy Moore | 2023 | Upland High (SS) | 17-1.5 | 1 | |
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Triple Jump
| PLACE | ATHLETE | GRADE | TEAM | MARK | POINTS | |
| 1 | Kerrington Smith | 2020 | Upland High (SS) | 38-3.5 | 5 | |
| 2 | Erin Biddiscomb | 2021 | Santa Margarita Catholic High (SS) | 35-10 | 3 | |
| 3 | Simone Smith | 2023 | Upland High (SS) | 35-9 | 1 |
Pole Vault
| PLACE | ATHLETE | GRADE | TEAM | MARK | POINTS | |
| 1 | Nathalie Barnes | 2021 | Santa Margarita Catholic High (SS) | 11-3 | 5 | |
| 2 | Katie Bray | 2022 | Upland High (SS) | 9-0 | 2 | |
| 2 | Sara Weaver | 2022 | Upland High (SS) | 9-0 | 2 |
Shot Put
| PLACE | ATHLETE | GRADE | TEAM | MARK | POINTS | |
| 1 | Eseta Piutau | 2021 | Upland High (SS) | 33-6 | 5 | |
| 2 | Alyssa Laurell | 2022 | Upland High (SS) | 32-5.5 | 3 | |
| 3 | Brooke Slymen | 2022 | Santa Margarita Catholic High (SS) | 31-3 | 1 | |
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Discus
| PLACE | ATHLETE | GRADE | TEAM | MARK | POINTS | |
| 1 | Brooke Slymen | 2022 | Santa Margarita Catholic High (SS) | 109-7 | 5 | |
| 2 | Jessica Bakhsh | 2023 | Santa Margarita Catholic High (SS) | 87-5 | 3 | |
| 3 | Eseta Piutau | 2021 | Upland High (SS) | 71-5 | 1 | |
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Team Scores
| PLACE | TEAM | POINTS | DISTANCE | HURDLES | RELAYS | THROWS | JUMP | SPRINTS | |
| 1 | Santa Margarita Catholic High (SS) | 69 | 24 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 13 | 10 | |
| 2 | Upland High (SS) | 67 | 3 | 10 | 5 | 9 | 23 | 17 | |