PREVIEW: Top Returning Girls in the Southern Section

2022 Southern Section Track and Field - Top Girls To Watch

The University of Arizona-bound senior had her coming out party at Arcadia last year in both the 800 and Mile only to end the season on the same track with a 2:08.12 victory at the state meet.  She is the top returner in the state for the event and already displayed that same ability with a 1:35.43 (600 meters) at the Winter Championships.  She is the defending CIF-SS Div. 2 champion in both events and owns a best of 4:55.72 for the full mile.  

Finishing right behind Chavez at the state meet in the 800 meters, Cichon's 2:08.86 is the second-fastest returner in the event for Calfornia.  Being only one of three girls in the section that eclipsed 2:11 in 2021, she is the defending Div. 1 champion for the 800 meters.  With a best of 4:57.36, she is also one of the best in the section for the 1600 meters. 

The senior is the top returner in the section for the 300 Hurdles and third-best in California as she placed second at the 2021 state meet with a 43.55. As she placed second at the CIF-SS Div. 3 finals for the 100 hurdles (14.73w) she captured the title for the longer hurdles. With the focus being the 300 hurdles, do not discount her in the 100s, as she owns the third-fastest wind-legal effort (15.01) in the section as well.  

The defending CIF-SS Division 2 champion in the 400 meters (55.64) also played a pivotal role in both relays in 2021 while also earning points in the 200 meters (24.79 wind-legal best).  She placed third at the state meet in a lifetime best of 55.17.  But, where she really cemented herself onto this list was her performance in the 300 meters at last month's Winter Championships. Her time of 38.97 victory was impressive against a solid field while she placed third in the 150 meters (18.39).

Poised to lead her squad to its first team title in 2022, Davis has already impressed this Winter.  At LEAP Fest in early January.  Davis returns to defend her CIF-SS Div. 2 titles in the Long and High Jump as her 19-2.25 wind-legal effort is second-best in California. She is amongst an elite group that has cleared 5-6 in the high jump while she also was a postseason qualifier in the 100 meters.     

Our only freshman on the list, Englehardt comes in with a resume unmatched of any other incoming student, perhaps, in state history!  Her runner-up 4:40.16 performance for the full mile last June against a field of all juniors and seniors sent shockwaves across the nation. That would be the sixth-fastest effort in California state history!  She is coming off a Cross Country that saw her role to a 16:58.7 at the State Meet for a second-place performance and the second-fastest freshman in Woodward Park 5k course history. 

The junior's main competition may very well come from her own squad as Fontenette returns as the fourth-best in California for the Shot Put (42-3) and second in the Southern Section. While she may be the fifth top returner in California for the Discus, her 137-7 ranks atop the list for the section.  She is the defending CIF-SS Div. 3 champ for the Discus while she placed third in the Shot Put. 

Frias is coming off a monster Cross Country season that saw her claim the Division 2 State Title in route to also being named California Gatorade Athlete of the Year. She owns the best credentials across the board for the three distance events (2:09.43/4:46.34/10:15.61) in the state!  The Duke-bound senior is the third-fastest returner in the state for the 800 and 1600 meters, along with the second-fastest mark for the 3200!  It all comes down to which two events she will focus on once May rolls around as she celebrated one of the best distance campaigns in sectional history in 2021. 

The junior is coming off a huge breakout campaign in 2021 that yielded her the CIF-SS Div. 2 title in the Triple Jump (39-0.25) as she returns as the top girl in California!  She is the only girl in the section with a wind-legal effort over 38-feet and also one of the top returners for the Long Jump against a loaded field in Division 2.     

The senior transferred over to Notre Dame for the 2021 season and continued to improve from there.  Her 45-8 performance last May ranks her as the top returner in California for the Shot Put as she also ranks tenth in the nation for all returners. She improved at the 2021 state meet at 133-10 in the Discus, ranking her third in the section. Gordon and her teammate, Fontenette, look to earn 36 points between the two of them at the divisional finals.    

Almost overlooked and forgotten due to a late-season injury in 2021 and losing the 2020 season, the senior is headed off to attend the University of Alabama.  Remember that Harris captured major headlines when she easily captured the California state title as a freshman in the Long Jump.  Her monster 20-8.5 measurement is the 13th best wind-legal effort in state history (ninth in sectional history). She is also an accomplished sprinter and hurdler that looks to play a role in their relay squads.  

Known solely as a high jumper when looking at the 2021 stats, as her 5-6 best came in April of 2021 before she settled in for a third-place finish at the Div. 2 final.  But, over this past Winter, she established herself as one of the top long and triple jumpers as well and will play a major role for the Grizzlies. 

The senior closes out a brilliant prep career as she was a State Meet qualifier in the 400 meters as a freshman in 2019 and comes into 2022 with the second-fastest (54.25) time for the event.  She placed third at the CIF-SS Div. 1 finals while coming back to place fourth in the 200 meters.  She is one of the top girls in the state (24.38 wind-legal best).  Based on her wind-legal 11.72 posted last August, Johnson actually returns as the top girl in California for the 100 meters.  Always anchoring, she will be their catalyst on two of the best relay squads in the state as well.  

As a sophomore in 2021, she left no doubt in capturing the CIF-SS Div. 1 title in the 400 meters (53.94) with almost a full-second personal best and returns as the state leader for the event.  Her 24.20 wind-legal best is the second-fastest in the section and fourth in California amongst all returners. She is also a main cog on both relay teams that left the 2021 season with the best time (46.53) in the state for the 400 relay and second-fastest (3:47.79) for the 1600 relay.  

Forgoing the CIF postseason in 2021, the University of Alabama-bound senior rolled to the 4:43.11 for the full mile in early June!  This catapulted her up into the top 10 list ever in Southern Section history and 16th overall on the all-time California list.  McDonnell put together a huge Cross Country season as well, placing second at the California State Meet and placing right behind Frias at the Garmin Runninglane Championships with a sixth-place performance. 

Coming off one of the best track seasons in the nation for a freshman, McKenzie is already proven to be one of the best in California as evidenced by her 4:34.28 victory for the 1500 meters at the Winter Championships.  She is the defending CIF-SS Div. 3 champion for the 800 and 1600 meters but shined brightest with her 4:48.96 runner-up effort at last year's state meet.  Poised to improve upon her 2:13.57 best for the 800, the sophomore is also coming in off a second-place effort at the Div. 4 Cross Country CIF-SS Finals.  

As a sophomore, McKenzie burst onto the scene at the 2021 CIF-SS Div. 1 finals, earning medals in three individual events, including the title in the Long Jump and placing second in the 100 Hurdles.  She comes in 2022 with the fourth-fastest time (14.27w) in California under all conditions in the event.  Her 19-8.5 effort in the Long Jump is the top returning effort in the state while she has also cleared 5-4 in the High Jump.  

The senior burst into the national spotlight as a freshman in 2019 when she rolled to a second-place finish at the California State Meet while winning the SS Masters Meet in a lifetime best of 54.16. After losing the 2020 season, she reemerged as one of the best in the state, placing second at the CIF-SS Final and coming back to earn the silver in the 200 meters (wind-legal best of 24.47) as well. Monrroy looks to advance back to the State Meet in both events in 2022!  Her move over to LB Wilson makes them the team favorites for the 2022 title!  

She first shined for ML King as a freshman in 2019 but rose to one of the best at JW North in 2021. As a junior, she led her squad to the Div. 2 team title, racing to individual titles in the 100 200 meters. Her 23.89 wind-legal win at those finals sees her return as the only girl under 24.10 for the event in California!  Also an accomplished 400-meter runner, she will play a huge role in both her relay teams being two of the best in the Southern Section.  

The senior impressed at last month's Winter Championships with her second and third-place finishes in the 60-meter and 150-meter events, respectively.  Off of most radars, she was the CIF-SS Div.2 runner-up for the 400 meters (55.94) in 2021 and came back for a wind-legal lifetime best in the 200 meters (24.23) to place third. Richmond actually returns with the fourth-fastest wind-legal marks in California in both the 100 and 200 meters!  Her 11.99 was the fastest regular-season wind-legal mark in the section in 2021.  

MacKenzie Browne (JW North, Jr.), Aishling Callanan (Peninsula, Jr.); Eve Divinity (Redondo Union, Sr.), Olivia Dowd (Golden Valley, Sr.), Madison Forbes (Mater Dei, So.), Ashlee Gallegos (JSerra, Sr.), Payton Godsey (Oaks Christian, So.), Sadia Green (Long Beach Wilson, Jr.) Emma Hadley (Anaheim Canyon, Sr.), Georgia Jeanneret (JSerra, So.), Tenly Kuhn (Oaks Christian, Sr.), Kayla McBride (Ayala, So.), Karyssa Owens (Roosevelt, Sr.), Alyssa Perkins (Long Beach Poly, Sr.), Lauren Reed (Long Beach Poly, Sr.), Zharia Taylor (Long Beach Poly, Sr.), Rebel Tuinuknafe (Orange Lutheran, Sr.), Samaria Usher (Lakewood, Sr.),  Zanae Woods (Calabasas, Sr)