Senior State Championship: Northern Section Division Finals

Boys Seniors-Only Northern Section Division Finals Highlights



NOTE: due to the difference in weather during the early track season, the Northern Section clearly had less opportunity to post strong marks before the season was stopped. That makes projecting improvement very difficult, and this article relies heavily on 2019 results.


100 Dash

Dante Jackson (Pleasant Valley) is the defending section champ in both short sprints, and he advances easily to next week's section championship. He will be hard to unseat from the top spot and a return to Clovis. Riley Doyle (Foothill Palo Cedro) had his best race of the 2019 season at this meet, but then slipped back a few places in the section championship. After a 2020 season where he consistently ran in the low 11's, we're looking for him to push Jackson and possibly run under 11.1 next week. Damon Uribe (University Preparatory) defends his D2 title and has improved significantly after finishing 3rd in the section last year, but this isn't his strongest race and he will likely end up in the same position this time around. Justin Pulsifer (CORE Butte Charter) also defended in Division 4, while Aaron Alestra (East Nicolaus) stepped up to win in D3.


200 Dash

Although Jackson is also the defending section champ here and is favored, he will get more competition in this event. The main challenger is Uribe, who once again emerges from D2 with a competitive time. Tyler Carey (Foothill Palo Cedro) is back in the section championship after his 2019 season was cut short (he made it as a sophomore in this event and the 400. Likewise for Jacob Weldon (Paradise), who only got in a couple of meets last year before he was shut down. All four of the runners above have broken 23 this season, and Josh Akana (Shasta) is right on the verge of joining them. Alestra and Trinity's Jadyn Wilson had an epic duel in Division 3, with Wilson narrowly taking the win as both dipped well under 24. Mawolin Summers (McCloud) claimed the D4 title.


400 Dash

Carey is the favorite here, and he has finally achieved the 49 that he was on track to run last spring. Weldon has run under 51, but he has a lot of work to do to try to stay with Carey next week. With Dante Jackson opting to stick to the 100 and 200 and Patrick Roehling focusing on the 800, there is a bit of a gap between the top 2 and the rest of the qualifiers. Lucas Garin (Colusa) made a big step forward in the offseason, starting off 2020 with PR's in the 100, 200, and 400; he built on that to run sub-52 and win the D3 race today, chosing to focus exclusively on this race. Cooper Overton (University Preparatory) leads the next group vying for the top 5, while Summers picked up another win in D4.


800 Run

Patrick Roehling (Paradise) finished 2nd in the section championship last year, and then he went on to improve noticeably during cross country. That, along with his 1:57 season best, makes him the favorite to move on to the state meet here. Dylan Tindell (Foothill Palo Cedro) has been knocking on the 2:00 door all season; with Roehling pushing the pace next week, that could be the race for a breakthrough. Nick Torres could have been a contender here but opted for the 1600 and 3200, and rightly so. Marcus Francescut (West Valley) emerged from Division 2 with a 2:05, putting him at the front of the next pack that includes Grant Joyner (Chico) and Jacob Matties (University Preparatory). Yi-Chen Pan (Trinity) claimed the D3 title, and Franky Herrera (Biggs) won in D4.


1600 Run

We mentioned Nick Torres (Enterprise) above, as he is the favorite in the longer distance races. Torres won the 1600 in 2019 and had the fastest 5K time in the section during cross country - plus, he has been hovering just above the 4:20 mark all season, the best in the section this year. It won't be easy for him to win next week with Hunter Dougherty (Chico) and his sub-4:24 PR in the race, though. Alexis Ramirez (Mt Shasta) won handily in Division 3, and he could be a sleeper to challenge for the section title. Francescut held off Elijah Higelin (Yreka) to win in D2, but Damion Donnelly (Loyalton) defeated Herrera to claim the D4 title.


3200 Run

This event could come down to a duel between Torres and Ramirez, both of them under 9:50 during the regular season. Luke Bland (Shasta) is within striking range about 5 seconds back and could win next week's race, as well. Dougherty and teammate Alan Nava anchor the next group, with Tindell right there as well. Juan Paredes (Biggs) is the D4 champ, while Higelin turned the tables on a very tired Francescut to take Division 2.


110 Hurdles

Cooper Overton (University Preparatory) is the heavy favorite in this event, as the only sub-16 athlete in the field. Teammate Nate Friesen is the closest challenger, but he is still a few tenths away from breaking that barrier. Ayden Hursky (Sutter) is also under 17, but has the bad luck to be in the same division as the two fastest hurdlers in the section; nonetheless, he advances to the championship. Robert Thomassian (Chico) steps up to claim the title in a Division 1 weakened by the loss of four strong seniors in 2019; watch out for the young group here next year, though! Christian Bemis (Trinity) enters the section final looking for sub-17 but holding the D3 title, and the same is true of Nathan Spencer (CORE Butte Charter) in D4 - both of them will be in contention for a top 5 finish next week.


300 Hurdles

Overton is just a dominant here, to the point that he has had to push himself most of the season. The one time he ventured south to Sacramento for a bigger meet, he took advantage by breaking 40. The next group has little chance of threatening him, but they are extremely competitive among themselves: Kye Carter (Enterprise), Friesen, Thomas Simpson (Red Bluff), and Thomassian have all run in the 42's this spring. Spencer pulled off the double win in D4, while Ari Gaeuman (Trinity NS) is the D3 champ. 


Shot Put

Jonathan Widener (Live Oak) easily handled the Division 3 competition to post the top mark in the section, going over 47 feet. Lassen teammates Josh Harlow and Bradley Woods are both in contention as well - Woods is far more consistent in this event, and that solidity is what earned him the Division 2 title today. Josh Andersen ca (Pleasant Valley), the D1 winner today, is right behind with several 45-footers, and on a good day he can certainly contend for the section crown. Andrew O'Brien (Dunsmuir) and David Wolf (McCloud) went back and forth several times in an exciting D4 battle before O'Brien narrowly won.


Discus

Mitch Barker (East Nicolaus) has broken 150 feet a few times this spring, but so has Chris Soderlund (Wheatland Union) - both won division titles today (Barker's second in a row). Alexis Pineda (Williams NS) leads the next group of qualifiers, which includes a trio of Lassen throwers: Harlow, Neil Growden, and Elijah Morales. Jaden Arnold (Foothill Palo Cedro) claimed victory in a wide open Division 1 contest; he is still looking for his first 130-footer of the season.


Long Jump

Pulsifer is the slight favorite coming out of D4 as the only 21-foot jumper in the section championship, but there are several capable challengers in the 20 foot range. Spencer Boontjer (Foothill Palo Cedro) and Andrew Guymon (Chico) are the closest, both over 20-6 during the regular season. Mawolin Summers (McCloud) and Trevor Thurman (Paradise) have been over 20, as has this year's breakout athlete, Trent Dasilva (Oroville). Tyler Neilsen (Hamilton City) edged out Christian Bemis for the D3 victory.


Triple Jump

Once again, Division 4 produces the favorite for the section title: Peter Mak (Redding Christian) is the only jumper in the section over 40 feet this season. Johnny Holmes (Oroville) opened his 2020 season with a PR in the upper 38's and has since broken 39 several times; if he can break through the next barrier, he is capable of winning this event. The entire top 7 in last year's Division 1 competition graduated, allowing Khayden Phan (Shasta) to step up and claim the title. He will be joined in the final by several other 37 - 38 foot jumpers, including D3 winner Juanpablo Garcia (Winters) and Neilsen.


High Jump

After finishing 2nd in the section championship in 2019, Cameron Nolen (Pleasant Valley) is now the top seed with a season best of 6-4. Holmes has the potential to clear 6-2 but has been inconsistent, and that could spell trouble with Dawson Greene (Foothill Palo Cedro) also over 6 feet. In fact, there is a logjam of 6-foot jumpers this year, which should make for an interesting final; Nick Lindsay (Shasta) and D3 champ Daniel Medina (Pierce) should be in the mix for a podium finish. Jacob Bishop (CORE Butte Charter) won a spirited D4 battle with teammate Justin Pulsifer, while Ayden Hursky (Sutter) took home gold in Division 2.


Pole Vault

Layton Paloutzian (Foothill Palo Cedro) nearly won the section championship last year, but this time around he holds the top seed. He has been threatening to clear 15 feet for some time; a trip to Fresno might be just the inspiration he needs. Malachy Bryan (Mt Shasta) repeats as the Division 3 champion, and given that he has been over 14 this year he is a legitimate challenger next week. Christian Patrick (Oroville) and Matt Nehls (West Valley) have both been over 13 feet and appear to be evenly matched in what should be the battle for 3rd place.