Seniors-Only Boys CIF-SS Division 1 Prelims Highlights
100 Dash
Anthony Johnson (Long Beach Poly) entered the season as the top returner after making it to Masters in 2019 - and he also entered the season with unfinished business after finishing 9th there and just missing a trip to the state meet. He has been on a mission in 2020, clocking regular 10.60's with a few races in the 10.50's, and with his consistency and focus he will be hard to beat in the coming weeks. Kaden Reynolds (Aliso Niguel) proved last spring that he can beat Johnson, and he has been right there step for step all season. They will face off yet again next weekend, and likely for two more weekends after that. Silas Bolden (Rancho Cucamonga) and Lorenzo McMillan (Cajon) are hard on the heels of the two leaders and fully capable of crashing the party at any point with a good race. Keep an eye on two athletes that haven't gotten as much press, but have been steadily improving: Deshaun Houston (Chaparral), the breakout candidate of 2020, and Bryce Lucas (Great Oak), who both advanced to the final.
200 Dash
Solomon Strader (West Ranch) is going to be difficult to unseat from the top spot in this event, which he has held since the end of the 2019 season. The bigger question: how close to 21 flat can he get? He has legal times in the 21.2 - 21.3 range, and this year we expect him to stay in this race all the way (he dropped it before Masters last spring). Johnson is the only other athlete in the division to have broken 21.5, and he has the advantage of not running the 400 beforehand, so expect him to threaten Strader next weekend. David Garcia (Channel Islands) and Emmanuel Jones (Vista Murrieta) also advanced comfortably to the next round.
400 Dash
Strader is the strong favorite here, especially since the #2 returner in this event opted to focus on the 800. The West Ranch star was able to shut down way early today, and he just needs to run for time next week to advance to Masters - and as the top returner in the entire state, that shouldn't be too hard. After finishing 3rd in Fresno in 2019, Strader is on a mission to claim the title in this event. Nicolas Felix (Woodbridge) leads the next group, composed of high 48 and low 49 sprinters that will be battling for second next weekend.
800 Run
With the top two runners, Everette Steward (Long Beach Poly) and Dylan Wilbur (Crescenta Valley) both advancing easily, we see the final at this distance going one of two ways: either this will be a barn burner of a two-man finish, or Steward will pull away after Wilbur wears out his legs in the 1600. Even if the race for the division title doesn't materialize, the battle for third should be intense. Cole Havens (Murrieta Mesa) broke through during cross country season and has emerged as a very strong 800 runner after barely running the race at all in 2019. He has run in the low 1:55's, and we won't be surprised if he pulls behind a fast race up front to break through that barrier. Micah Baird (Great Oak) isn't far behind Havens, leading several upper 1:55 athletes that made it through to the next round. That group includes Colin Sahlman (Newbury Park), who seems to get overlooked behind his superstar teammates; he ran 15:09 at the state meet and can absolutely beat some of the runners listed above.
1600 Run
We knew this division was loaded before the season even started, but seeing the results from today's prelims just drives home how fantastic this race could be next weekend. With very little left to prove in his stellar career, Nico Young (Newbury Park) embarks on one final challenge: a double title at the state meet. With a season best of 4:04, he is as close to a lock to advance to Masters as you can ever have in such a competitive section. Wilbur is the closest competitor, having broken 4:10 this season, with Anthony Stone (Loyola) very close to matching that achievement. The Great Oak duo of Christopher Verdugo and Cole Sawires Yager are also closing in on 4:10 and showing signs that they still have room to improve, so don't count them out from a run to Masters or even the state meet. Sahlman, Ben McKenna (Aliso Niguel), and Billy Atkinson (Mira Costa) are right behind, and with a good race any of the three could move up into the top 4. Don't miss this final!
3200 Run
Newbury Park is on the way to capping off a storybook school year as Jace Aschbrenner has joined Young in the sub-9 club, the only school since Great Oak in 2016 to have two such runners at the same time. They will likely be able to cruise through next week's final, especially since sub-9:10 runner Wilbur opted for the 1600 and 800. Gabriel Abbes (Great Oak) had a difficult spring in 2019, but he signaled his return with a win in the 3000 at the Winter Championships, and he has only improved since then. Atkinson is also a candidate to threaten 9:05 and move on to Masters. Our sleeper here is Ronan McMahon-Staggs (Long Beach Poly), who flashed potential last spring and then used a good fall season to build himself into contention here. With so many strong runners in the 1600 this race feels a little thin in terms of depth, but the runners at the top are ready to be contenders at the state meet.
110 Hurdles
Hunter Escorcia (Vista Murrieta) ended 2019 as the top returning senior in this event, and he opened 2020 in the same position, improving steadily ever since. He has been solidly under 14.5 for quite some time, and should be able to advance to Masters with a chance to drop more time. Aaron Fontes (Oxnard) also moves on comfortably as the only other athlete under 15 in this division; that means he has work to do to challenge Escorcia next week.
300 Hurdles
Namir Hemphill (Upland) could have been a factor in the 100 Dash, but he decided to focus all of his energy on his three best events (this race and the jumps). He has dominated this event in 2020, posting two sub-37 races, clearly motivated by his 8th-place finish in the state finals. It won't be a breeze through the final for him, though, as Isaac Korn (Trabuco Hills) has been threatening to break 38 all spring. We're betting he achieves that, but it won't be enough to disrupt Hemphill on his path to a return trip to Fresno. Escorcia and Jordan Weimer (Long Beach Wilson) also advanced with a slight edge among the large 39-second crowd.
High Jump
Reno Vasquez (Murrieta Mesa) has been a revelation this spring, opening with a big PR of 6-6 and staying on top of the division rankings all season. He is still looking for his first 6-8 jump, though, and we're looking forward to seeing him push for a spot at Masters. Behind him is a small group of jumpers that have flashed potential but also struggled with inconsistency; Justin Yaskowitz (Redondo Union), Nohl Williams (Pacifica Oxnard), and Terrell Placide (Downey) can all clear 6-4, and any of the three could take 2nd. Matthew Fyhrie (Tesoro) could be a dark horse candidate to crack the top 3, as he has been consistently in the 6-2 to 6-3 range all spring.
Pole Vault
This is shaping up to be a fun three-way competition for the division title. Kyle Yonker (Great Oak), Danny Affleck (Aliso Niguel), and Kendal Gibbs (Vista Murrieta) have all threatened the 16 foot mark this spring (Yonker has cleared it once), and any of the three could win next week. Gibbs and Yonker both made the state meet in 2019, with Yonker finishing 4th; that experience should serve them well over the next few weeks. Don't count out Harrison Rios (Upland), who has been inconsistent but occasionally pops a big jump - if he does that over 15 next week, he could pick off one of the top three.
Long Jump
Namir Hemphill (Upland) is heavily favored in both horizontal jumps. This is his weaker of the two for him, but also the one with greater motivation: after exceeding 23 feet four times in 2019, he didn't jump well at division finals and did not advance to Masters. The goal this year is the state meet, and considering that he is the only Southern Section jumper to have broken 24 feet this season, that seems like a reasonable outcome. Kyrie Wilson (Pacifica Oxnard) has broken 23 twice in 2020, putting him close enough to beat Hemphill if the circumstances are right. Behind them is a logjam of 22-footers vying for third place in the final, led by Brian Huynh (Marina).
Triple Jump
Hemphill has been ridiculously dominant in this event in 2020: he jumped a PR of 48-9 in the winter, then opened the spring season with a 49-11! That's the trajectory of a 50-foot jumper, and the Upland star did not disappoint, having gone over that revered threshold four times during the regular season. He didn't need 50 to advance to the final, and he won't need 50 to make it to Masters, where he will get some serious competition. Hemphill wants the state title, but we all know that it won't come easy this year. Brent Boone (Mira Costa) also advanced comfortably to the final with his third 45-foot mark of the season He will be pressured in his pursuit of second place: Vasquez has also cracked 45 this spring, although it seems like the high jump is his first love.
Shot Put
Aidan Elbettar (Newport Harbor) had a legitimate claim to the title of top returning thrower in the state before the season started, and he has lived up to the billing. He has several 64's on his 2020 resume with two 65-foot efforts, and his consistency has been remarkable. After finishing 2nd in the state last spring, Elbettar is in pursuit of the title this time around. Sawyer Howard (Los Alamitos) proved he can bring it when it counts when he finished 4th in the state meet last spring, and he has been over 60 feet most of the season - that makes him a threat to win if he throws well. Jaren Bauer (Camarillo) and Nicholas Meeker (Great Oak) both advanced to the final, but they will be battling for third and to improve their mid-to-upper 50's marks.
Discus
As if Elbettar's candidacy for throws supremacy wasn't strong enough based on his 2019 resume, he had to go and throw 200 feet in his second meet this spring. He has extra motivation in this event - he won Masters and threw over 190 feet three times last year, but did not make it out of the state meet prelims (although he made up for it with an outstanding shot put performance). This year, he hasn't thrown below 180 feet in any major meet, and he will be very difficult to beat the rest of the championship season. Edward Ta'amilo (Vista Murrieta) is the only other thrower in the division that's in striking range, having exceeded 180 feet a handful of times this spring. Erick Hiller (Trabuco Hills) and Meeker lead the rest of the field, with both still in pursuit of consistent 160-foot throws.