2022 Sac-Joaquin Section Track and Field - Top Girls To Watch
Lincoln's versatile Y'Vette Harris, who competed in the pentathlon at the CA Winter Championships, is the top returning girl in the SJS in both the 100-meter hurdles and the long jump. (Raymond Tran photo)
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The Sac Joaquin Section girls have always had talented distance runners and we head into 2022 outdoor track and field season following a fall cross country season where McClatchy junior Anna McNatt won the Division I title at the State Meet, two-time champion Riley Chamberlain of Del Oro was a close runner-up in Division III, and the Oak Ridge girls emerged not only as a top team in Division II but one of the elite teams in the state.
Since there was a full cross-country season in 2021, we have a strong idea who the top distance athletes will be for the upcoming track season. But we needed to rely on some historical results and performances from the sporadic events that have taken place over the last couple of years to find out which sprinters, hurdlers, and field event athletes to watch in 2022.
While we break out 14 top returning athletes in the Sac-Joaquin Section and mention another dozen girls warranting acknowledgment, we undoubtedly expect plenty of other girls to emerge during what we anticipate will be a full outdoor track and field season in the SJS.
(Athletes are listed alphabetically.)
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Brook Baptista (Rocklin, Sr.) - Sprints
She enters the 2022 outdoor season as the defending Sierra Foothill League Champion in both the 100m (12.46 PR) and 200m (25.84 PR) as well as a solid PR of 59.16 for 400m. She is the top returning 200-400 combination sprinter in the SJS, with a total time of 1:25.00, just 0.20 seconds faster than Granite Bay senior Abigail Peterson.
Aniaya Bishop (Cosumnes Oaks, Jr.) - Sprints
The battle for SJS supremacy in the short sprints may very well come down to Bishop and Turlock senior Kylee Redman. At least that's what the returning wind-legal rankings indicated with Bishop at 12.28 (100m) and 25.48 (200m) for a combined time of 37.76, just 0.04 faster than Redman.
Riley Chamberlain (Del Oro, Sr.) - Distances
The BYU recruit has won two CIF-State cross country titles and was the Division III runner-up in 2021. On the track, she has PRs of 2:15.08 in the 800 meters, 4:44.80 for 1600m, and 10:21.31 for 3200m, which she set in placing fourth at the State Meet as a freshman, an event we expect will return this May for the first time since 2019.
Isabella Chilcutt (Bella Vista, Sr.) - High Jump
The North Carolina recruit has a high jump PR of 5-8 set at the Arcadia Invitational when she placed third as a freshman. Last season she was the high jump champion at Arcadia and at the Golden West Invitational, winning with 5-4 clearances at each.
Hannah Crone (El Dorado, Sr.) - Hurdles/Jumps
As a freshman, Crone won the 300m hurdles at the SJS Division IV-V finals with a time of 45.49 that still stands as her PR. Her 45.60 season-best from last spring ranks as the top returning 300mH time in the SJS. She also has PRs of 17-11 (long jump, fourth among SJS returners) and 16.06 (100mH, sixth among SJS returners).
Carly Foster (Granite Bay, Jr.) - Distances
During the fall cross country, Foster emerged as the No. 1 runner for a Grizzlies team that placed third in Division II at the CIF-State Championships. That team is set to return all of the scorers next season, meaning Foster will be leading what should be one of the elite teams in CA. On the track, she has PRs of 2:21.47 for 800m, 5:03.19 for 1600m, and 10:47.83 for 3200m. Her times rank among the top eight in the SJS, including No. 4 for 3200m. Foster ranks third in the SJS among returners for 1600m-3200m combined times behind only Riley Chamberlain and Anna McNatt.
Y'Vette Harris (Lincoln, Jr.) - Hurdles, Jumps
Her 14.27 (wl) time in the 100-meter hurdles ranks No. 4 among wind-legal returning marks statewide. The versatile junior placed second in the pentathlon at the CA Winter Championships last month, which included a 2:36.17 PR for 800m. Outdoors last spring, she went 18-0 in the long jump, and 46.59 for 300m hurdles, among her PRs.
Samantha Liaty - (Oak Ridge, So.) - Distances
The sophomore ran No. 2 for Oak Ridge at the CIF-State Cross Country Championships and looks to be a rising star in the SJS with an impressive PR of 11:13.74 (3200m), indicative of great things to come.
Ava Maier (Oak Ridge, Sr.) - Distances
Maier has been a mainstay for the Oak Ridge program since coming on the scene as a freshman. The UC Santa Barbara commit has PRs of 2:20.01 in the 800 meters, 5:02.42 in the 1600m, and 11:21.11 in the 3200m. The future Gaucho has a lot of big race experience and will likely be a factor in the post-season.
Anna McNatt (McClatchy, Jr.) - Distances
McNatt enjoyed a dream cross country season during the fall, where she won the State Division I title by unleashing a furious kick in the last 200 meters to overtake favorite Samantha McDonnell of Newbury Park (SS). McNatt went on to qualify for the Eastbay National Championship. On the track, she has PRs of 10:33.57 (3200m) and 5:00.63 (1600m) from her sophomore season. Both times rank No. 2 among returners in the SJS behind Riley Chamberlain.
Galadriel Mellion (Weston Ranch, Jr.) - Throws
Returning leader in both throws, with 2021 outdoor bests of 160-11.25 in the discus and 44-2.50 in the shot. Her discus mark is the returning state leader (U.S. No. 4), and her shot mark ranks CA No. 2. Her discus-shot combined total of 205-2 is more than 40 feet beyond the section's returning No. 2 combo thrower, Sariyah Horne, a senior at El Camino Fundamental. Horne ranks ninth in CA among returners in the DT (128-2). Del Campo senior Nyla Baker is No. 2 in the SJS in the shot (38-10), which ranks No. 9 in CA.
Kayla Rutz (Oak Ridge, Sr.) - Distances
Another member of the Oak Ridge distance squad came into her own in the 2021 cross country season where she was the number 1 runner for the third-place team at the State Meet. The UC Davis commit has a 10:52.37 PR for 3200 meters and could contend for State Meet spots in both the 1600m and 3200m.
Ali Sahaida (Oak Ridge, Sr.) - Pole Vault
Another outstanding pole vaulter from the Oak Ridge pipeline. The UC Berkeley commit has a PR of 12-0 and is the top returning vaulter in the SJS. She was undefeated in nine in-section meets last spring.
SJS Girls Distances
In addition to the girls previously mentioned in this article, the group of elite distance runners in the SJS warrants this separate section to acknowledge Whitney junior Katie Kopec, her younger sister Ava Kopec, the Oak Ridge duo of juniors Quinn Walker and Brooke Butler, Oakdale senior Haliegh Humble, the St. Francis duo of sophomore Kayla Towne and senior Tatiana Cornejo, Bella Vista senior Leila Swenson, and Ponderosa senior Natalie Wieland. These girls rank among the SJS leaders in both combined 800m-1600m times, as well as 1600m-3200m times.
SJS Girls Combined Rankings Leaders (From the MileSplitCA Database)
800m-1600m Leaders
| ATHLETE | 800M | 1600M | COMBINED |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riley Chamberlain - Del Oro (SJ) | 2:15.08 | 4:50.75 | 7:05.83 |
| Ava Maier - Oak Ridge (SJ) | 2:20.01 | 5:02.27 | 7:22.28 |
| Katie Kopec - Whitney (SJ) | 2:20.57 | 5:02.61 | 7:23.18 |
| Quinn Walker - Oak Ridge (SJ) | 2:20.96 | 5:02.78 | 7:23.74 |
| Carly Foster - Granite Bay (SJ) | 2:21.47 | 5:03.19 | 7:24.66 |
| Anna McNatt - McClatchy (C.K.) (SJ) | 2:24.23 | 5:00.63 | 7:24.86 |
| Haliegh Humble - Oakdale (SJ) | 2:19.43 | 5:06.82 | 7:26.25 |
| Ava Kopec - Whitney (SJ) | 2:21.57 | 5:05.79 | 7:27.36 |
| Kayla Towne - St. Francis Sacramento (SJ) | 2:18.20 | 5:10.79 | 7:28.99 |
| Tatiana Cornejo - St. Francis Sacramento (SJ) | 2:18.60 | 5:10.47 | 7:29.07 |
| Natalie Wieland - Ponderosa (SJ) | 2:23.36 | 5:06.84 | 7:30.20 |
| Brooke Butler - Oak Ridge (SJ) | 2:23.41 | 5:06.83 | 7:30.24 |
1600m-3200m Leaders
| ATHLETE | 1600M | 3200M | COMBINED |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riley Chamberlain - Del Oro (SJ) | 4:50.75 | 10:27.22 | 15:17.97 |
| Anna McNatt - McClatchy (C.K.) (SJ) | 5:00.63 | 10:42.89 | 15:43.52 |
| Carly Foster - Granite Bay (SJ) | 5:03.19 | 10:47.83 | 15:51.02 |
| Quinn Walker - Oak Ridge (SJ) | 5:02.78 | 10:52.30 | 15:55.08 |
| Natalie Wieland - Ponderosa (SJ) | 5:06.84 | 10:50.37 | 15:57.21 |
| Katie Kopec - Whitney (SJ) | 5:02.61 | 11:04.24 | 16:06.85 |
| Ava Kopec - Whitney (SJ) | 5:05.79 | 11:08.11 | 16:13.90 |
| Brooke Butler - Oak Ridge (SJ) | 5:06.83 | 11:09.13 | 16:15.96 |
| Ava Maier - Oak Ridge (SJ) | 5:02.27 | 11:22.01 | 16:24.28 |
| Leila Swenson - Bella Vista (SJ) | 5:10.68 | 11:18.56 | 16:29.24 |
Dan Tyree, a freelance writer/photographer, is a regular contributor to MileSplitCA with a focus on the Sac-Joaquin Section.
MileSplitCA editor Jeffrey Parenti contributed to this report.