Boys Seniors-Only Central Section Area Meets Highlights
100 Dash
Ramon Henderson (Liberty Bakersfield) showed flashes of his potential in 2019 but ended with a 4th place finish at Masters. This spring he has become more consistent, and now he is looking to go under 10.5 to round out the year. Jalen McMillan (San Joaquin Memorial), on the other hand, made it to the state meet last year, although his PR is a bit behind Henderson. As South and North Area champions, respectively, they will square off in what should be an outstanding match-up next week. East winner Mark Smith (Tulare Western) had to hold off Cameron Beans (El Diamante), with both advancing to Masters. Morgan Dutton (Centennial) is a bit of a wild card here, as he has run a handful of quick times while consistently posting upper 10.8's. Our sleeper pick to make the podium is Isaiah Bell (Garces Memorial), who gets a little overshadowed by Henderson but has been steadily creeping down toward the 10.7 range.
200 Dash
If you think Henderson and McMillan are evenly matched in the 100, take a look at their 200 times: they have traded the section lead all season while both breaking 21.5 at least once. Both went to the state meet after they finished 1st and 2nd at the 2019 Masters. This could go either way, and we hope they push each other to new PR's. Tulare Western's Smith has been well under 22 this season, so don't count him out from a top 2 finish, especially if one of the top 2 seeds tightens up down the stretch. Bell has also has also broken 22 and will be in contention for a podium finish.
400 Dash
Ryan Troutman (Kerman) was in the 49's and on the way to a 48 when his 2019 season ended early. He is back on track and still hunting that sub-49, and he is also the West Area champ. The top returner from last year's Masters meet, Sky Blue Gonzales (Liberty Bakersfield), takes the South title and will try to punch through the 50 barrier while punching his ticket to the state meet. With Jadin Turner sticking to the hurdles, Mark Smith opting for the shorter sprints, and Ryan Hemphill (Redwood) focused on the 800, Isaiah Villalobos (Caruthers) will join Gonzales in the pursuit of sub-50.
800 Run
Hemphill is the defending Masters champion, and that was before he opened the 2020 season with a new PR. Since then he has run in the 1:53's, making him the favorite next week. The East area winner will have strong competition from North champ Ronnie Barrett (Buchanan), who has broken 1:55 this spring. Bryan Trujillo (Clovis) finished third in the 2019 Masters behind those two, Abel Teffra (Fresno Central) is capable of contending for the win if his legs are fresh enough, but that may not be true following a very competitive 1600. East winner Isaiah Sotelo (Monache) will also be in the mix for a podium finish.
1600 Run
Teffra is the top returner in this event based on PR's, but he finished 3rd in the 2019 Masters behind Isaiah Galindo (Clovis North). Galindo had a monster cross country season, and he has been under 4:10 this spring, making him the favorite. Teffra and South winner Adham Maher (Stockdale) can definitely hang with him, setting up what should be an exciting three-way battle next week. Joshua Ochoa (Clovis North), Alex Cuevas (Ridgeview), and Ethan Jones (Liberty Bakersfield) have all run under 4:20 and are all capable of picking off anyone in the top 3 if the opportunity presents.
3200 Run
Galindo is the top returner and defending section champion in this event, and on the heels of a 15:00 2nd-place finish in the cross country state meet he has been a force at this distance all season. In most years, running multiple sub-9 times as the Clovis North star has done would make you a favorite at the state meet, but Galindo will be looking up the seed chart at two sub-9:50 runners in two weeks. South winner Jones and Ochoa both finished in the top four at the 2019 Masters meet, while East champ Cuevas has the times to run with them - with Teffra choosing the 16 and 8, that makes a three way battle for second place among these sub-9:20 runners.
100 Hurdles
You can make the argument that Caleb Foster (Clovis North) is the biggest star in California, although there are at least three other athletes that can claim the same. Brandon Andrade (Redwood) finished fourth in the Masters meet last spring, and he claims the East title today. The Frontier duo of Jadin Turner and Liam Bradex went 1-2 in the South Area meet, but Turner has to contend with Tamar Archie (Buchanan) next week, and the two are very evenly matched in the upper 14's. Christopher Price (Corcoran) takes the West area title.
300 Hurdles
Andrade won the section title in 2019, then proceeded to make the state final, finishing 6th. Turner is the South Area winner and the closest competitor to Andrade, having broken 40 several times, but until he runs 38 he won't threaten Andrade's low 37's (with the potential for 36 in the right race). Turner's Frontier teammate Zach McNaughton has also been under 40, giving him an advantage over Anazjae Simpson (Fresno Central).
Shot Put
It's no surprise that Kyler Van Grouw (Buchanan) is the favorite going into the Masters meet; he finished third in the meet last year, and he has been pushing steadily toward the 60 foot mark all spring. East winner Dirk Nelson (Central Valley Christian) and Tobin Phillips (San Joaquin Memorial) are both in the 58-foot range, setting up quite a duel for the silver medal; we think Nelson has the edged based on his strong 2020 season and consistency. West champ Jesse Franco (Kerman) has been over 55 feet, but that leaves quite a gap between him and the top three. The South Area winner is Matt Garrett (Stockdale).
Discus
As strong as Van Grouw is in the shot, this is his better event by a long shot. He threw over 180 six times in 2019, advancing to the state meet and finishing third - then he opened 2020 with a new PR of 193-8. As is often the case in the discus, that PR still stands despite his best efforts to hit 200, but his consistency makes him very difficult to beat. East champion Aaron Tejeda (Tulare Western) will try to prevent a Buchanan sweep of the top three, which means he has to get past fellow 160-footers Jack Skinner and Max Wilson. At the same time, Tejeda also has to stay ahead of several upper 150's throwers, which includes West winner Colby Adams (Rosamond).
Long Jump
The victory is a foregone conclusion here, but defending state champion Caleb Foster (Clovis North) still has goals to achieve, like joining the very exclusive 26 foot club. Adrian Hodges (Golden Valley) and Kosi Agina (Sanger) both have a handful of 22 foot jumps, but Jesus Alvarez (Arvin) has been far more consistent in getting over that mark. Alvarez held off Hodges to win the South Area title, while Agina rolled to the win in the East. There is a veritable fleet of 21-foot jumpers chasing these four leaders and looking to move up, which could make things interesting next week.
Triple Jump
One major unfinished goal for Foster coming into the season was getting over 50 feet in this event. He has done that three times this spring, but he still has records and national rankings to aim for. Of course, he didn't need 50 to win the North Area today. His chief competitor is double East winner Agina, who has exceeded 38 feet several times this season, which would normally make you a gold medal candidate. He will have to settle for silver, but at least he has a big gap on anyone who could threaten him for that position. Hodges, Tamar Archie (Buchanan), and South champ Joshua Jackson (Kingsburg) lead the battle for third place next week.
High Jump
Joseph Ruddell (Morro Bay) cleared 6-10 last year and 6-11 early this spring, but he is still pursuing his first 7 foot jump. Kelton Chenworth (Boron) has been right with him every step of the way, going 6-9 twice in 2019 and 6-10 twice this year. The two went 1-2 at the Masters meet last year (Ruddell winning), then finished 4th and 5th in the state meet (with Chenworth ahead). Their rivalry continues after Ruddell claimed the West Area and Chenworth the South. Alvarez has cleared 6-8 but has been inconsistent, though he has the potential to challenge the top 2 if he is on. East winner Brian Brown (Redwood) can also make the podium, but after him the competition drops off a bit. Chris Shambourger (Clovis West) and Jaden McDonald (Bullard) both got over 6-4 today in the North Area meet, with McDonald winning the tiebreaker.
Pole Vault
Clay Wilshusen (Paso Robles) worked the entire 2019 season to get to 15 but was thwarted; then, he opened 2020 at 15-1 and never looked back. Having cleared 15-6 several times, he is the Masters favorite coming out of the West Area. Jarrett Lowe (Frontier) has been in the upper 14's for a while now, and he has motivation to close out his season well after a disappointing Masters finish last year. Elijah Martorana (Clovis North) edged out Jarred Acosta (Buchanan) to win the North Area, while Jonathan Hopkins (Taft CS) and Ryan White (Lemoore) will be in contention as the #2 and #3 out of the South.