Allyson Felix and Michael Norman lead a group of former CIF athletes headed to the Tokyo Olympic Games as part of the U.S. Track and Field team. (Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)
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6/30, 8:30 pm: Updated with additional former CIF athletes who competed at the Trials.
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More than two dozen former CIF athletes qualified for and participated in the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials that concluded Sunday in Eugene, Oregon. Here's a closer look at those who earned a trip to Tokyo later this summer and Golden Staters who gave it their best shot.
HEADED TO TOKYO
(Athletes are listed alphabetically)
While at Norco HS (SS), Anderson won CIF-State Meet titles in the 400m and 300-meter hurdles, a difficult single-meet double that she accomplished in 2017. Her only loss in the long hurdles that year was the Sydney McLaughlin at Arcadia. Anderson has been selected for the relay pool. This is Anderson's first Olympics.
Chris Benard (Corona Santiago/SS)
As a high school athlete in 2008, Benard won the triple jump at the CIF-Southern Section Division 1 finals with a mark of 49-6.00. The now-Chula Vista Elite athlete qualified for his second Olympic Games by placing third in the triple jump with a best of 55-9.75. Benard hit his best jump on his sixth and final attempt but actually secured the third and final spot on the team with his penultimate jump of 55-3. He also made the U.S. team for the 2016 Rio Games, placing 16th in qualifying (54-3.50).
Davis won CIF-State Meet titles in the 100m hurdles and triple jump in 2016, and the long jump, triple jump, and 100-meter hurdles in 2017. Davis, who won the NCAA long jump title as a sophomore at the University of Texas (21-11.751.0), placed second in the long jump at the U.S. Trials (23-01.25) to qualify for her first U.S. Olympic team.
Allyson Felix (LA Baptist/Heritage Christian/SS)
Felix won the CIF-State Meet title in the 100m in 2001, 2002, and 2003, and she won 200m State Meet titles in '02 and '03. Her winning 200m time of 22.52 is the national record. At the Trials, Felix placed second in the 400m final in a season-best time of 50.02. She also placed fifth in the 200m final (22.11). This will be her fifth Olympic Games.
Jewitt made his first Olympic team placing second in the 800m final 1:43.85, a personal best. He then had to re-focus to hit a deadline on an essay that was due for a class at USC. He recently won the NCAA title in the 800m (1:44.68). As a senior at Cathedral in 2015, Jewett placed second in CIF-Southern Section Division 3 in the 400 (47.62) and went on to place seventh at the State Meet (47.47). His best 800m that year was 1:54.50 for fifth at the Mt. SAC Relays.
McCoy won the CIF-State Meet title in the high jump in 2011 and in 2013 -- where she cleared 6-0.75. McCoy cleared 6-4 at the Trials and placed fourth based on misses but she has the Olympic standard that the third-place finisher does not. In 2016, McCoy had the Olympic standard but placed ninth at the trials.
Michael Norman (Vista Murrieta/SS)
Norman led the Broncos to back-to-back CIF-State Meet title in 2015 and 2016. He swept the 200m and 400m both years while also leading both relay teams. His winning 200m time of 20.30 in 2015 and his winning 400m time of 45.19 in 2015 are State Meet records. Norman went on to win the Bowman Award after his 2018 season at USC before turning professional. At the Trials, he placed first in the 400m final in a season-best time of 44.07 to qualify for his first Olympics.
Prandini was a dominant sprinter/jumper, winning the CIF-State Meet title in the long jump in 2010-11, the triple jump title in 2010, and the 100- and 200-meter dash titles in 2011. At the Trials, the Puma sprinter ran a 21.89 personal best for second place in the 200m final to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team.
Other Former CIF Athletes Who Competed ...
Whitney Ashley (J.W. North/SS)
Ashley placed fifth in the discus throw 193-11, missing making the U.S. team for a second consecutive Olympic Games. She made the team in 2016 but did not record a mark at the Rio Games.
Rachel Baxter (Anaheim Canyon/SS)
Won the CIF-State Meet pole vault title in 2016 and 2017 and was the previous CA record-holder of 14-5.50 set in 2017. At the Trials, the Virginia Tech senior placed 14th in qualifying with a best of 14-5.25.
Sara (Bei) Hall (Montgomery/NC)
While at the Santa Rosa high school, the athlete known as Sara Bei won four CIF-State cross country division titles, two in D-III and two in D-II. At the Trials, she placed sixth in the 10,000 meters in 31:54.50.
Jonathan Harvey (De La Salle/NC)
At De La Salle, Harvey won three CIF-NCS hurdles titles and qualified for the CIF-State Meet 300m hurdles finals in 2015 (9th, 38.78) and the 110m hurdles finals in 2016 (8th, 14.74). At the recent NCAA Championships, Harvey, a senior at Oregon, placed seventh in the 400m hurdles finals (49.64 then-PB). At the Trials, Harvey ran 49.95 in the first round and improved his personal best to 49.53 for ninth in the semifinals, missing the top eight qualifiers into the finals by 0.16.
Brandt, a senior at Georgetown after transferring from UCLA, recently placed fifth in the 5K (13:19.11) at the NCAA Championships and fourth in the 10K (27:43.17). As a senior at Loyola, he won the 3200m title at the CIF-Southern Section Division 1 final (8:59.40). At the Trials, he placed 12th in the 10K (28:09.92) and qualified for the finals of the 5K, placing seventh (13:32.21).
Fisher won the CIF-State Meet title in the triple jump in 2018 with a mark of 41-7. At the Trials, the University of Missouri junior placed seventh in the triple jump 44-06.25 personal best.
Vanessa Fraser (Scotts Valley/CC)
Won the CIF-State cross country title in Division IV in 2011 before going on to become a seven-time All-American at Stanford. At the Trials, she placed 13th in the 5K final (16:02.92).
Rachel Glenn (Long Beach Wilson/SS)
Glenn, who won CIF-State Meet titles in the high jump in 2018 (5-10, tie) and 300m hurdles in 2019 (41.71), won the NCAA high jump title (6-4) as a freshman at South Carolina. At the U.S. Trials, she placed sixth in the high jump 6-01.50.
In high school, Hickey won the CIF-State Meet title in the long jump as a junior (19-9.75) and in the high jump as a senior (5-8). The University of Oregon freshman recently won the Pac-12 title in the long jump (21-7.50) and placed fifth at the NCAA Championships (21-4/0.7). At the Trials, she did not record a fair jump in three attempts in qualifying.
In high school, Hiltz won the 1600m title at the 2012 CIF-State Meet (4:42.45) before going on to the University of Oregon and later earning All-American honors at the University of Arkansas. At the Trials, she placed 13th in the 1500m (4:10.60).
Jamar Marshall (Stockton St. Mary's/SJ)
Marshall won the 110-meter hurdles at the 2019 CIF-State Championships (13.31/3.3) and later that summer he set the CA state record, 13.22 (+1.5), at USATF U20 Championships, the No. 3 time and No. 2 performer in high school history. Marshall lost his senior high school season to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the U.S. Trials, the freshman at Arizona State ran a 13.38 personal best for 10th in the semifinals.
Brenda Martinez (Rancho Cucamonga/SS)
Martinez is a 2005 graduate of Rancho Cucamonga HS and CIF-State Meet qualifier in the 1600m went on to UC Riverside where she was a three-time All-Amercian and placed second at the 2009 NCAA Championships in the 1500m. Martinez has represented the U.S. at the World Championships three times and also competed for Team USA at the 2016 Olympics. At the Rio Games, Martinez competed in the 1500m, reaching the semifinals where she ran 4:10.41. At the Trials, competing in the 800m, she placed 23rd in qualifying in 2:02.72.
In high school, O'Keeffe won back-to-back CIF-State Division I cross country titles in 2013 and 2014, and the 3200m title on the track in 2016 (10:12.02) before heading off to star at Stanford. At the Trials, she placed 20th in the 10K in 33:03.09.
Dominique Ruotolo (Mater Dei/SS)
At Mater Dei, she placed fourth in the long jump at the CIF-State Meet 919-2.75). This spring, now a sophomore at the University of Oregon, she won the Pac-12 title in the triple jump (44-9.75) and placed ninth at the NCAA Championships (44-01.50). At the Trials, she placed 13th in triple jump prelims (42-11.50).
Cameron Samuel (Rancho Verde/SS)
As a senior at Rancho Verde, Samuel helped lead his team to the CIF-State Meet title in 2018, scoring in both hurdles and helping both relay teams, including anchoring the winning 4x400m team to a win that secured the team crown. The USC senior recently placed third in the 400m hurdles (48.68 PB) at the NCAA Championships. At the Trials, he placed seventh in the final (49.27). He ran 49.01 for third in the semifinals.
Sommers, a 2021 high school graduate and the girls' national record holder in the pole vault with a best of 14-9, did not clear the opening height of 14-1.25 in the first round of the trials. The Duke-bound prep star then flew back to SoCal and won the competition at the CA State Championships.
Jah Strange (Xavier College Prep/SS)
In high school, Strange was a two-time CIF-State Meet finalist in the triple jump, placing sixth as a senior (48-0.25) before heading off on a collegiate odyssey that would take him to Sacramento State, Purdue, and then Kansas State. At the Trials, he placed 11th in the triple jump 50-04.75.
Cooper Teare (St. Joseph Notre Dame/NC)
In high school, Teare won back-to-back CIF-State Division V cross country titles in 2015 and 2016, running two of the three fastest times in D-V history. On the track, he won the 3200m title at the 2016 CIF-State Meet (8:51.85). The University of Oregon junior, who recently won the 5,000-meter title at the NCAA Championships (13:12.27), placed fourth in the 5K final at the Trials in 13:28.08, less than a second behind Bowman TC's Woody Kincaid, who was third.
In high school, Verdon won back-to-back CIF-State Division III cross country titles in 2010 and 2011. At the Trials, she placed 10th in the 5000m (15:54.04).
Young won the 3200m at the 2019 CIF-State Track and Field Meet and was a two-time champion in cross country, leading the Panthers to CIF-State and Team National titles as a senior in 2019 while being the only boy to ever win both the cross country and track and field national award by Gatorade. At Northern Arizona University, Young helped lead his team to the NCAA title. At the Trials, he wrapped up his college freshman season by placing ninth in the 5000m final (13:35.94).
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INSERTED PHOTO CREDITS
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports (Anderson, Davis, Glenn, Hiltz, Samuel, Sommers, Teare/Brandt)
Allyson Felix and Michael Norman lead a group of former CIF athletes headed to the Tokyo Olympic Games as part of the U.S. Track and Field team. (Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)
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