SATURDAY RUNNING EVENTS
The favorite to win the boys' race is Scotts Valley senior, Jeremy Kain. He has established new personal bests in the 800 and 3200 this season and seems primed to dip under the 4:10 mark in this race. His main competition should come from fellow CCS runner Harrison Dance of Saratoga who won the K-Bell Invitational earlier this season and has a lifetime best time of 4:12.26.
The 400m. relay will contest trials starting at 11am. They will narrow the field down to the 9 finalists.
With trials being contested in the morning, there is no guarantee that all the top teams advance without any mishaps in those trials. That being said, it appears that there are three teams ahead of the field with all those teams all dipping under the 49 second mark so far this season. The Lynbrook girls ran 48.65 to win the Firebird Relays while the Silver Creek girls ran 48.89 in a dual meet vs Leland. Oak Ridge is the other team with a sub 49 second time as they rolled to a 48.92 time at the Thunder Invitational.
Rocklin has the fastest entry time but has not hit all cylinders so far this season. They do feature outstanding sprinter Nathan Kent and will be a contender for a top finish. They will be challenged by McClymonds who have already rolled to a 41.88 season-best. Simi Valley will be making the long trip up north and have a best of 42.41. The other team in contention will be the Acalanes boys who have run 42.41 and hope to join the already mentioned teams in the afternoon final.
In the past, the boys' 800m has outshined the girls' race with more depth but this may not be the case this Saturday. Leading the way should be British Columbia runner, Maya Baechler. She has a best of 2:09.51 which she set in June of 2021 at The Vancouver Sun Harry Jerome Track Classic. Keeping her honest and perhaps also challenging the meet record will be Ella Borsheim of Bellarmine, Ashlee Gallegos of JSerra, Samira Kennedy of Castilleja Georgia Jeanneret also of JSerra.
The clear favorite to win this event is El Camino senior Yutaka Roberts (Jose Carlos Fajardo photo above). He has proven to be a determined racer the past two years with multiple individual section titles in 2020. He has a season-best of 1:51.95 at the Cal All-Comers meet as a victory at the Dublin Distance Fiesta. His closest competitor will be Scotts Valley's Jeremy Kain who ran a lifetime best time of 1:53.83 at the K-Bell Invitational and seems to be on a roll this spring.
Rocklin's Nathan Kent has the fastest lifetime best time at 47.47 which he accomplished last season. Orange Lutheran's Jaylen Lynch has already run 48.84 and will attempt to keep Kent honest. The same goes for Bryce Thomas of Moreau Catholic who has posted a speedy 49.13 so far this season. Yutaka Roberts of El Camino will be in the fast heat as well trying to hone his speed in order to repeat as the CCS champion in this event this season.
For the boys, St. Mary's Stockton hurdler Jadyn Marshall is the class of the field. There is no question that he will win and win by a large margin. The meet record is certainly one that draws his attention as it belongs to his older brother Jamar. He won a nail-biter at the Texas Relays with a winning time of 13.35 which now stands as the leading time in the nation over the high barriers this spring.
For the boys, Simi Valley junior Jaelon Barbarin has already recorded a lightning-quick 10.37 this season although there was a healthy tailwind to boost his time. Ian People of Franklin Elk recorded a wind-legal 10.61 at the Sac State HS Classic and will look to test Barbarin on a neutral track in Northern California.
While writing this preview, I realized that I was mentioning Rocklin quite a bit and here I am again. Rocklin will be the clear favorite to win this event and they may finish with a healthy margin of victory. Provided they can get the baton to Nathan Kent anywhere near the lead and that is all folks. Serra HS will try to post a fast time here to let the rest of the section know that they can still compete quite well in this event.