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Division 1 Prelims Coverage
Full Meet Replay | Photos | Results | Recap Article
Southern Section editor Mark Gardner takes an in-depth look at the CIF-Southern Section Division 1 championship meet scheduled for Saturday at Trabuco Hills HS. Field events begin at 11:30 a.m., track events at 1 p.m.
Girls Pole Vault
This is arguably the most talented group of girls
to advance to a divisional final in CIF-SS history! With that, we do not want to ignore the talent
that lies in the shadow of the best prep Pole Vaulter in United State history -
Paige Sommers of Westlake! She
established a new national prep record of 14-9 at the Miramonte League
finals two weeks ago and on her opening attempt last weekend, cleared 13-10 to
shatter the previous Division 1 divisional record of 12-10. She already earned the Division 2 titles in
2018 and 2019 and should easily earn another one this afternoon before heading
off to Duke University. Roosevelt's Sophia
Perez cleared 12-2 this season while Ayala's Madeline Siefert boasts a seasonal
best of 12-0. Murrieta Valley sophomore
Madisyn Negro has elevated up over 11-9 as has Claremont's Bella Sanvictores
and Aliso Niguel's Dylan Beveridge. Vista Murrieta's Emily Westfall headlined
with her lifetime best of 11-6 last weekend as did Trabuco Hills' Isabelle Teh. Girls Long Jump
In regards to performances in qualifying at the
divisional prelims, this is one of the deepest fields presented in recent
history. Redondo Union's Eve Divinity
claimed the top mark from last weekend and is the favorite as her 19-1
seasonal best ranks second in the Southern Section. But, with the extra motivation of seeking a team
title, the Long Beach Poly duo of Lauren Reed and Jade McDonald will push the
Redondo junior. Keep in mind that
McDonald placed fourth at the California State Meet in this event after taking runner-up
at the Division 2 final. With the Southwestern League advancing four to the
Division 1 final, Vista Murrieta freshman Alyssa Alumbres walked away with an
18-3.25 effort last weekend, despite jumping into a headwind. Orange Vista
sophomore Kailah McKenzie also shined (18-3.25) in advancing while ML King's
Alyssa Hope had her best series of 2021, advancing with a wind-legal 18-foot performance.
McKenzie owns a wind-aided best of 19-8.5. The postseason experience of Great Oak's Summer Stevenson and Sami
Bollinger will also come into play in an event relatively left wide open for earning
medals! Boys Long Jump
Vista Murrieta's Darius Hill is atop the Southern
Section list with a 23-0.5 performance at the Inland Empire Championships to go
along with his 23-1.5 (nwi) effort to capture the Southwestern League title.
With the longest resume of any boy in the meet, Hill was third in 2019 and
sixth in 2018 as a freshman in this event. LB Poly's Miguel Orozco jumps last by way of earning the top seed last
week while he looks to improve upon his sixth-place finish from the 2019 final.
As Orozco has measured out to a 23-1.75 (nwi) best, he and his sophomore
teammate, Javon Hampton, look to earn valuable points for their Poly squad. Ayala's Marcus Monroe and Cajon junior Seth
Johnson, along with Hill, will utilize both sides of the track as they also
compete in High Jump at the same time. As projected last week, Loyola's Noah Bustos and ML King's Brandon
Benson advanced to their first final as seniors. Finally, watch for Rancho Cucamonga junior
Bryson Williams as his consistency was evident last week in his qualifying wind-legal
effort of 21-11. Girls Shot Put
Three finalists from the 2019 finals all return. Lakewood's Cherish Washington launched a 42-5 lifetime best to capture the Moore League title and
comfortably advanced last weekend. She
is the true veteran of ALL qualifiers, regardless of event, as she is the ONLY
athlete in Division 1 to advance to each final since 2018. Washington placed second in the Division One
final for this event and qualified for the SS Masters Meet in 2019. She is
ranked seventh in California and third in the Southern Section. Julia Richey of
Newbury Park had the top effort last weekend as her 41-3 seasonal best is sixth
in the section. She placed third in 2019 and qualified to the Masters Meet as
well. In qualifying once again like she did in 2019, Centennial's Katherine Davis unleashed a lifetime best of 39-8 to advance and move up to eighth in the
section. Washington's teammate, Samaria
Usher of Lakewood also improved out to a 39-5 last week. Carlita Coleman of
Vista Murrieta owns a seasonal best of 39-2 as the only other girl to measure
out over 38 feet in 2021. Boys Discus
Downey's Ugonna Ikejiofor launched a 193-10 rocket,
taking over as the California state leader in his earning the San Gabriel
Valley League title two weeks ago. At last weekend's prelims, Ikejiofor placed
himself into the top ten all-time Division 1 list. Murrieta Mesa junior Cade Moran comes forth
with a 177-7 seasonal best as he is the top underclassmen in the state and
fifth overall. Westlake's Adam Laycock launched his seasonal best of 169-2 as
he is the top sophomore in California. While the underrated Elsinore throwing
program featuring junior Elijah Ignacio was expected to qualify (162-10
seasonal best), his fellow junior teammate of Matthew Hodges unleashed a huge personal
best of 155-2 to also easily advance. Redondo Union sophomore Kai Dienes (160-5
best in 2021) joined Laycock in advancing in both throws. Finally, watch for Pacifica's Christian
Alejandre is posted his best effort yet in measuring out to 154-1 last
weekend. Five of the top six in the field
are underclassmen! Boys High Jump
With this event, we are seeing most come into
form over this last month with eight of the nine all hailing from the Inland Empire!
Vista Murrieta's Darius Hill is the heavy favorite to defend the 2019 title from
his sophomore season. In establishing a new lifetime best of 6-10 at the
Southwestern League finals, he became the first boy in California to do so in
2021! Cajon's Seth Johnson also easily advanced as he has elevated up over 2
meters (6-6.75) this Spring. Ayala's
Marcus Monroe has also cleared 6-6 in 2021 and will manage competing in the
Long Jump alongside Hill and Johnson. Heritage's
Kevin Orona cleared 6-5 earlier this season. Noah Dunker of Beaumont, Redondo Union's Tyler Doiron, Owen Pennington
of Riverside Poly and Dean Connors of Murrieta Valley, all levitated over the
6-4 bar and earn titles in their respective leagues meanwhile, Santiago's
Isaiah Norales was the one boy that posted his lifetime best in advancing with
a 6-2 performance. Girls
400 Relay
Three
of the top four teams in California take to the stage to kick off the track events! Established at the Arcadia Invite last month,
Long Beach Poly comes in with the best seasonal mark at 47.06. Roosevelt has
been consistently in the sub-47.50 range with a best of 47.12 while Long Beach
Wilson is coming off a seasonal best of 47.18 at last week's prelims. Yucaipa established a new school record of
47.60 at their league late last month while Upland's 47.74 came at Arcadia. Also in the hunt for a top spot is Redondo
Union, who established their 2021 best of 47.84 on this track last weekend. Six of the top eleven squads in the Southern
Section headline this affair. 
Boys
400 Relay
The
two top squads, both hailing from the Baseline League, grace the middle of the
track. Rancho Cucamonga's 41.20 from earlier in the season continues to be atop
of the California State list, but Upland got the better end of the deal with
their 41.38 victory at their league finals. Long Beach Poly (41.95) also eclipsed the 42-second watermark but Moore
League-foe, Wilson of Long Beach, has won their last two matchups in winning
the league title and their prelims heat last weekend. Wilson's 42.17 from last
week was a 2021 best while Murrieta Valley captured their heat to advance and
looks to improve upon their school-record effort of 42.40 from the Southwestern
League Finals. Meanwhile, Roosevelt
(42.47), Loyola (42.50) and Knight (42.52) all look to improve upon their seasonal
best that they established at the prelims. Girls
1600 Meters
Crescenta
Valley's Mia Barnett has arguably put together the single greatest season of
any girl in California history as her league finals performance of 4:37.58
moved her up to third on the all-time State Meet list! She cruised to a 4:53.09
at last week's prelims and looks to add a third CIF Divisional title to her stunning
resume as she earned the Division 4 titles for this event in 2018 and 2019
while attending Village Christian. Saugus' Hannah Fredericks looks equally as
impressive in moving to a 4:52.52 effort, just off her best of 4:51.32. Mira
Costa junior Dalia Frias also looked comfortable in prelims. Her 4:48.75 best
in 2021 currently ranks her fourth in California while Fredericks is currently fifth
in the Southern Section. Valencia's
Sydney Makar (4:57.89), Saugus' Isabella Duarte (4:58.16), and Claremont
freshman, Jie Yi Denise Chen (4:58.28) all crossed with new lifetime best last
weekend in qualifying for the final. 
Boys
1600 Meters
Taking
into account that a good number of the division's best have focused elsewhere
is an added testament to the incredible depth in this event as a 4:16.78 was the
last qualifier at last week's prelims. Great Oak's Austin Montez motored home over
the last 200 meters to cross in a lifetime best of 4:12.23. He will face off
against Temecula Valley's Alejandro Kalmar for the third week in a row, who
also ran a seasonal best of 4:13.01. Beckman's Joshua Schuld ran a controlled a
4:13.23 while he steps to the line with the top time in 2021 with a 4:12.18 (converts
to a sub-4:11) for the full mile. Loyola's Arjun Vadgama (4:12.84) became the
program's eighth boy to break 4:13, while Crescenta Valley junior Rowan
Fitzgerald (4:13.53) looked equally sharp in last week's prelims. Chaparral's
Jacob Bustamante gives the Southwestern League three finalists as his best in 2021
was a 4:13.48 for the full mile last month. Girls
100 Hurdles
The
Upland trio of Cieanna Norman-Thomas (14.42), Jordyn Grady (14.42), and Ajah Anderson
came in as the top three seeds and impressed at last weekend's prelims in
easily qualifying. As they all crossed with wind-legal sub-14:80 performances,
they were also reminded of the veteran talent of Long Beach Poly's Jade McDonald. The senior will line up in lane five as the
top seed after her wind-aided 14.58 effort at prelims. Her lifetime best is 14.29
as she was a State Meet finalist in the event in 2019. Seemingly off the radar her first two
seasons, Orange Vista sophomore Kailah McKenzie won her heat in a wind-legal
lifetime best of 14.60. A qualifier in
2019, Ayala's Arianna Gonzalez advanced back looks to improve upon her
sixth-place finish. Five of the top
seven in the Southern Section advanced while this event will also provide huge team
title implications.
Boys 110 Hurdles
The
Upland hurdling juggernaut that established one of the true highlights these
past several months in shattering the old California state record in the
Shuttle Hurdles at the Arcadia Invitational provided us with more fireworks
last weekend. Second in California with a wind-legal best of 13.95, Upland
sophomore Kai Graves-Blanks motored onto the Division 1 all-time Top Ten list in qualifying
at 14.12. Cajon junior Seth Johnson also
impressed with a best of 14.32 while Long Beach Poly's Keylen Dickens threw out
a huge personal best of 14.38. But, Upland
junior DeQuan January will be right there as well as his 14.20 seasonal best
captured the Baseline League title two weeks ago. Four of the top six in California will line
up in the middle of the track while Saugus' John Riley also shined with his
lifetime best of 14.88 in the preliminary round. Like the girl's version of this
event, team title implications could come into play as Upland boasts three
finalists here. Girls 400 Meters
Five
of the top eight in California lineup for this one! Long Beach Wilson's Aujane Luckey
comes in as the top seed with her 55.18 performance last week. Her 54.87 from two weeks ago places her just off
Jocelyn Niemiec's 54.85 from the Arcadia Invite. The Beckman senior brought home a 55.19 last
week in running down Roosevelt junior Naomi Johnson. Johnson was a State Meet qualifier in the
event in 2019 and comes in with a seasonal best of 55.20. Meanwhile, Millikan's Samarra Monrroy
continues to look more like the California State Meet runner-up from 2019 as
she posted her season's best of 55.63. Meanwhile, San Clemente's Caroline Hawkes is fifth in the section with
her 55.74 best while Long Beach Wilson's Sadia Green (56.18) and Yucaipa's Eryn
Burke (56.48) crossed with lifetime bests in advancing to the final. The
Southern Section's best are here with seven of the top ten toeing the
line. Boys 400 Meters
After
dominating the Moore League finals, Long Beach Wilson stepped it up even more
so last weekend. The University of Iowa-bound Phillip Jefferson earned the fifth
lane in just missing his lifetime best of 48.27. As the favorite, he may be his own teammate,
Leroy Crook that poses the greatest threat as he continues to improve, as
evidenced by his 48.73 effort in qualifying. Downey's Alessandro Ferreira
posted a personal best of 49.21 last weekend as did Tyler Nevala (49.38) of
Tesoro and Long Beach Wilson sophomore Isaac Lewis (49.39). El Toro's Camden Patterson looks to replicate
his South Coast League title effort of 49.01 from two weeks ago. Saugus'
Brandon Cruz also advanced and lines up with a seasonal best of 49.35. Wilson can put themselves in position for the team title in this event!Girls
100 Meters
Etiwanda's
Kennedi Porter comes in with the momentum from her wind-legal 11.89 victory at
the Baseline League Finals and dominated her qualifying heat last week. The
senior placed third in the event in 2019 and advanced to the Masters Meet. But, it's the freshman from Ayala, Kayla
McBride who looked equally sharp in prelims with a wind-aided 11.98. Not much separates the field here as Long
Beach Poly's Anayah Wyche ran the fastest wind-legal time (12.15) in qualifying
while she also brings the experience of being a Division 3 finalist in 2019
while attending Leuzinger. Redondo Union's
Eve Divinity (12.13w) continues to improve while Beckman's Yasamin Zand (12.15w)
ran her sharpest race of 2021. Stevie Wu of Murrieta Mesa (12.19w) also looks
to break into the top five. Boys 100 Meters
Rancho
Cucamonga senior Tristyn Flores reminded us why he is one the best in the Southern
Section in rolling to an overwhelming 10.73 wind-legal win in his qualifying
heat. But, Cajon sophomore Jeyquan Smith responded with his 10.75 win in holding
off a talent group. Smith is the top sophomore in this event in California! Also throwing their talent out for display,
Orange Vista's Lovewyn Don-Willies, San Jacinto's Davon Banks, and Roosevelt
junior Aiden Stalnecker represent Riverside County in advancing. Meanwhile, two that had been off the radar
this season and from the high desert, Travis Calloway of Knight and Highland
sophomore Saheed Free crashed the party to also advance. Flores is the favorite but not by much as
several newcomers will pose strong challenges. 
Girls
800 Meters
Three
of the top five in California take to the stage in this one. Crescenta Valley's Mia Barnett garnered most of the headlines in 2021 and adding her 2:07.31 victory over Mira Costa's
Dalia Frias (2:10.44) at the Meet of Champions two months ago solidified her as
one of the greatest all-around distance girls in California prep history. Barnett
ran to a solo 2:11.99 win in the qualifying round last weekend. Meanwhile, the junior Frias is having one of
the best track seasons in recent memory as well. But, also coming into her own as one of
California's best is Fountain Valley's Kaho Cichon. She held off a competitive
field to win the Orange County Championships in 2:11.46. Katella's Ashlyn Viramontes prefers to sit
back in the early going but watch for her strong kick as she looked comfortable
in her 2:16.01 performance last week. She ran 2:13.18 behind Cichon last month at the OCC. Foothill freshman
Shavonne McHugh rolled to a two-second best (2:16.89) last weekend. Watch for Diamond Bar freshman L'Mio Edwards. She may have qualified ninth with a 2:17.77
but for context, had run a 58.53 not too much earlier in just missing
qualifying in the 400 meters. 
Boys 800 Meters
View
the hope of competing for the 2021 Team Title, Great Oak is leaning heavily on
Kyle Reden and Mateo Joseph in this one. As Joseph (1:53.63 seasonal best) controlled the pace in his heat
victory, Reden (1:54.26) sat back and unleashed his patented kick over the last
300 meters to win his. Both go in as the
top two seeds and have run the top two times of those in the field. Tesoro's Graham Breiter raced to a 1:55.82
lifetime best last weekend as did Oxnard's Ryan Fabian (1:56.69). Fabian had not run under 2:06 as a month
ago! Cory Hatchel of Tesoro ran his 2021
best of 1:56.75 several weeks ago while Nathan England, the only boy coming
back from competing in the 1600 meters, brings 1:56.76 seasonal best to the
track. Long Beach Wilson sophomore Marcel
Francis-Michell (1:57.55) and La Quinta's Patrick Henderson (1:57.62) both
advanced with personal bests last weekend. 
Girls 300 Hurdles
In
what is now one of the more competitive events on the schedule, the top three
in the Southern Section and four of the top five all get into the blocks here. In
a great matchup, Long Beach Poly's Jade McDonald moved past Upland's Cieanna
Norman-Thomas over the final 50 meters to roll to a 43.57 lifetime best. This being an event she has not always
focused on, McDonald moved up to the top of the section and fourth in California.
As a Division 2 finalist in 2019, Woodbridge's Emily Waller had been chasing
her lifetime best of 44.57 - until last weekend. She came up with her best of
44.06 to move up to second in the section. Norman-Thomas (44.14) and teammate,
Ajah Anderson (44.29) are not too far behind while Yucaipa's Jordyn Burke (45.06
seasonal best) just missed breaking 45-seconds for the first time. Ayala's
Ariana Gonzalez advanced with her lifetime best of 46.19 while Burbank's Emma
Cusumano will have fewer events this weekend and will attempt to improve upon
her 46.22 best. Boys
300 Hurdles
This
event is now wide open with Long Beach Wilson's Patrick Jefferson looking to
pull off rare double victories in the 400 and 300 Hurdles. The last boy to accomplish
that feat was Reggie Wyatt of La Sierra in 2009 (who also won the 200 that
same season!!). Jefferson's 38.33 is the fourth-fastest mark in California
for 2021. Meanwhile, Trabuco Hills'
Carson Kaminski improved to a 38.60, matching the seasonal best of Upland
sophomore Kai Graves-Blanks. Lincoln
Marschall of Los Alamitos checks in with a 39.51 best in 2021 while Long Beach
Poly will look for valuable points from Je'Cory Harris. He looks to improve upon his best of 39.60
while Upland's Davis Davis-Lyric may also play a critical role in garnering points
for this squad. Girls
200 Meters
Naomi Johnson of Roosevelt rolled to a lifetime wind-legal
best of 24.38. This being the second-fastest in California, she moves in as the slight favorite. But, she has company as Long Beach Wilson sophomore Sadia
Green also ran a 24.38 (+3.0 wind) will get into the blocks next to Johnson. After
a late start to the season, Millikan junior Samarra Monrroy is coming into her
own and looked sharp in her 24.65 effort, placing behind Johnson in her
heat. Redondo Union's Eve Divinity will
compete in four events this weekend as she placed behind Green (24.89w) while
Yucaipa's Eryn Burke (24.41 wind-legal best) held off Ayala's Kayla McBride. With the Ayala freshman establishing a new
school record, Etiwanda's Kennedi Porter also advanced as she had in
2019. Boys 200 Meters
After Malik Harness of Long Beach Poly exploded
to a 21.72 wind-legal performance at the Moore League finals, he backed it up
with a wind-aided 21.64 heat victory to automatically advance. But, Cajon sophomore JeyQuan Smith remains the
favorite in motoring to a 21.55 performance, just off his 21.39 from a dual
meet several weeks ago. While Smith gets
into the blocks ranked second in California with that effort, Tristyn Flores of
Rancho Cucamonga is seeking the upset. Flores captured the Baseline League
title in 21.81 and held off a solid field in qualifying. Right behind Flores,
Lovewyn Don-Willies of Orange Vista (21.95) rolled to new lifetime best while
Aliso Niguel junior Charlie Jarvis won his heat to also automatically advance.
Jarvis ran a 21.85 on this same track two weeks ago. Sophomore upstart from
Highland, Saheed Free returns back from the 100 meters as he qualified with a
22.11.
Girls
3200 Meters
With this year's being so condensed, Crescenta Valley's Mia Barnett will drop the 3200 meters. Her 9:52.23
performance from April is the fourth fastest in California prep history but with
her eyes set on going after the California prep record for the 1600 meters
lying ahead in three weeks in Washington, she is choosing to sit this one out. Now in the driver's seat sits Saugus' Hannah
Fredericks as her 10:21.54 seasonal best is fourth in California. The senior looked as sharp as
ever in qualifying last week as she created a 50-meter lead over the field on
the sixth lap in the matter of 300 meters. Claremont's Jie Yi Denise Chen also impressed, just missing her
seasonal best of 10:46.56. Aliso Niguel's
Emily Richards (10:28.74 best in 2021 and fourth in the Southern Section) held
back with the goal of simply qualifying while Rancho Cucamonga senior Allie
Scimia continued her breakout season with a lifetime best of 11:01.74. Also advancing, the Mira Costa duo of Anna
Chittenden and Ella Parsley have broke dipped under 10:55 this season. Boys 3200 Meters
If there is one event with more uncertainty of
who will emerge as the champion, it is this one! Beckman senior Zeid Hussain
has dropped the 1600 meters to focus solely on the 3200 as he steps onto the
track with a 9:01.53 in that epic all-California only 3200 meters at Arcadia
last month (he was 17th place!!). The only other boy to break 9:15 this season
is ML King's Francisco Zavaleta who confidently won his heat last weekend. Newbury Park's Aaron Cantu will have,
perhaps, the most talented prep cheering section that we've ever witnessed as he
came home with a strong last lap to win his heat in a lifetime best of 9:19.87. Claremont junior Chris Coles was the surprise
in the field, crossing with a 17-second personal best in advancing in 9:20.95.
As of a month ago, his lifetime best was 9:46! Vista Murrieta's Noah Murasmith and owns a seasonal best of
9:15.96. Loyola junior Richard Moreno delivered
his best a week ago with a 9:21.31 as did Santa Monica's Tristan Amell
(9:21.45), Owen Kobett of Westlake (9:22.20) and Mira Costa's Colin Beale (9:22.20). Girls 1600 Relay
With everything panning out, Long Beach Poly looks
to have already solidified the team title coming into the last event. Five of
the top eight squads in the Southern Section are all set to go with Yucaipa
coming in as the slight favorite. The
Thunderbirds brought home a new school record of 3:52.14 in winning their heat
last weekend. But, more impressive was
the quartet from Long Beach Wilson as they rolled to a seasonal best of 3:52.26
in capturing their heat by almost 14 seconds! Behind those two, Roosevelt (3:57.09) checked in with the best in 2021
with Vista Murrieta improving by three seconds in their 3:57.88 showing. Long Beach Poly pushed them to the finish in
crossing in 3:58.13 while El Toro followed Roosevelt in their heat with a 4:01.01
best for 2021. Boys 1600 Relay
Long Beach Wilson comes in as the heavy favorite
as their 3:17.74 time from the Arcadia is the best in California. As impressive
as their 3:18.69 was in last week's qualifying eight-second victory, it was
evident that they have much more in them. Saugus closed strong to catch Long Beach Poly at the line in both
crossing in identical 3:21.68. Poly holds
the edge with their 3:20.86 clocking at Arcadia last month but Saugus moved up to
fifth on the season for the Southern Section. Great Oak seemingly has another
gear in them as they moved away with their 3:23.64 qualifying effort. Meanwhile, Murrieta Mesa came from behind to
earn the automatic bid in their 3:24.43 effort. This event could very well determine the
2021 Boys Team Champion! Girls Discus
The top five all advanced with lifetime bests at
last weekend's prelims! Cherish Washington
of Lakewood is back as a three-time Division 1 finalist in this event as well! She uncorked a 151-11 lifetime best last
weekend moved her into the top 10 on the All-Time Division 1 list. She placed sixth in the division in 2019 and
eventually ended with a tenth-place finish at the California State Meet. Someone all too familiar with the ring,
Trabuco Hills' Abby Klinge continues to improve as her 142-10 performance from
prelims ranks her third in the section. From a 75-foot discus athlete in the
shortened 2020 season to an accomplished 131-0 thrower in 2021 - Roosevelt's
Karyssa Owens thrived last weekend in improving to 131-11 effort. Vista Murrieta's Carlita Coleman put out her lifetime
best of 128-1 last weekend as well. Celeste
Aguilar of Saugus captured the Foothill League title and checks in with a
125-10 seasonal best while Long Beach Poly's Destiny Okoh (124-4 best in 2021)
looks to assist in the team title cause. Girls High Jump
Zharia Taylor of Long Beach Poly is only one of
three girls in the Southern Section with a 5-6 clearance. She is seeking valuable points to help her
squad earn their first title since 2017. Mariah Stensby of Aliso Niguel, Santiago's Kathryn Rust, and Ayala's
Ariana Gonzalez all came into last weekend with 5-4 bests and elevated over 5-2
to advance. Orange Vista sophomore
Kailah Mackenzie checked in with a 5-3 best when she outlasted Valley View
freshman Amara Thomas (also at 5-3) at the Inland Empire Championships as both
also levitated over the 5-2 bar to advance. Mackenzie Kirk of Los Alamitos has also cleared 5-3 this season. We referred
to San Clemente's Natalie Vissman as a 'sleeper' last weekend and she lived up
to the billing in advancing once again. She also owns a lifetime best of 5-3. As fickle an event can be, Taylor
is the favorite based on her 5-6 clearance this season. Girls Triple Jump
This event features three athletes that have
earned State Meet medals in the event! Jade
McDonald of Long Beach Poly steps to the runway again with the top mark (38-11.5)
in last weekend's prelims. She placed sixth at the 2018 California State Meet and
came back to place seventh in 2019 for this event. With a seasonal wind-aided best of 39-10, she
will clash with Great Oak's Summer Stevenson. The senior is the only girl in the stadium
looking to defend their title from 2019 and she became the third in her family to
earn a title in this event over a four-year span. Burbank's Jayla Flowers placed third at the
2019 Division 1 final en route to eventually earned the fifth-place medal at
the State Meet! Great Oak's Sami Bollinger
bounded out to a 38-7 wind-legal effort last month at Arcadia while she just
missed advancing to the State Meet in 2019. ML King sophomore Alyssa Hope improved out to a 37-00.75 lifetime best
last weekend while Los Alamitos' Mackenzie Kirk also easily advanced. Like the Long Jump, the Southwestern League
advanced four as Temecula Valley's Ahnyx Bush and Vista Murrieta's Arlanna
Flower earned one more week of competition.Boys Pole Vault
With five of the top ten boys in California
advancing, most projected to advance last week did so. Those five are amongst
the top six in the Southern Section while Eli Gault-Crabb of Burroughs and Los
Alamitos junior David Brok both come in with seasonal bests of 15-9. While Brok has dramatically improved from his
12-foot PR in 2019, Gault-Crabb was a finalist two years ago. In a great battle
for the Big VIII League title two weeks ago, Roosevelt junior Hunter Obrien
cleared the 15-4 bar for the first time. ML King's Jared Beasley placed second
at 15-0, but checks in with a seasonal best of 15-3. With his PR of 15-1 coming
two weeks ago in capturing the Sea View League title, Josh Kato of San Juan
Hills easily advanced in clearing 14-6. Jack
Wright of Great Oak is looking to get back to his 15-2 lifetime best he set
back in 2019. Wright has cleared 14-9 in 2021 and looking to add points to help
his team compete for the team title. Boys Shot Put
On top of the California state leader list and
the fourth-best underclassmen in the United States, Murrieta Mesa's Cade Moran
has consistently improved as his 62-10.5 is now the fourth-best effort in
Riverside County history. He is heavily favored to claim the title, Jordan's
Xavier Heard continues to improve! Heard
captured the Moore League title (51-9) two weeks ago but stepped it up another
notch at last week's prelims with a 53-4 lifetime best, elevating him to ninth
in the Southern Section. Alex Probolsky of Aliso Niguel brings a 53-9.25 seasonal
best, recorded in this same ring two weeks, and is the eighth-best mark in the
Southern Section. Great Oak's James Wright (52-5) seeks valuable team
points. The top two sophomores in
California also advanced in the form of Westlake's Adam Laycock (52-9) and
Redondo Union's Kai Deines (50-11.25 seasonal best). Boys Triple Jump
Like his sister, Great Oak junior JC Stevenson
enters the action as the top seed. He looks to be the fourth Stevenson to earn
the Division One title in the Triple Jump over the past six seasons! Coming off his 48-10.5 performance to capture
the Southwestern League title two weeks ago, he became the first boy in
California to measure out over 48 feet under all conditions in 2021. In that
same competition, Vista Murrieta's Darius Hill bounded out to a 45-11 in his
runner-up role. The relatively young field includes Valley View's Kyan Thomas
(45-5), Rancho Cucamonga's Bryson Williams (45-3.5), and Jonathan Yu of
Fountain Valley, with all of them capturing their respective league titles. Yu
is the top sophomore in California as he bounded out to the top mark in
qualifying at a wind-legal 45-2. ML King's Brandon Benson advanced as projected
as well. Six finalists are underclassmen
here! ---
Mark Gardner is a teacher, former coach, in-demand announcer, and a regular contributor to MileSplitCA, serving as the Southern Section editor.
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Photos by Zoe Medranda.