WEST COAST RELAYS PREVIEW
The epicenter for the conclusion of California's outdoor high school track and field season since 2009 has been Clovis Buchanan High's Veterans Memorial Stadium to be exact. It has been the CIF State Championship meet host site for 11 years, but due to COVID-19 cancellations, though, it has not hosted the state's finest since 2019.
The 2022 CIF-State Meet is back on the schedule for May 27-28, but Clovis and Veterans Memorial Stadium is already in 
the spotlight with another traditional meet this weekend. The West Coast Relays is Saturday, April 2. Field events start at 10 a.m. and track events at 10:30 a.m. MileSplit has livestream coverage of the West Coast Relays.
Whether coaches and athletes want a competitive sneak preview or a motivational boost, the West Coast Relays and its home site are popular draws.
"The number of teams and individual entries has gone up and it was harder to qualify for multiple events," said Buchanan High School track coach and meet director Brian Weaver. "I think a lot had to do with people wanting to get onto the track in preparation of wanting to qualify for the state championships."
There are more than 950 entries from 78 teams representing CIF's Central, North Coast, Central Coast, Sac-Joaquin, Southern, and Los Angeles sections on Saturday. Running events have three divisions (gold, silver, and bronze) and two for field events (gold and silver).
This meet kicks off April, or what Weaver terms "a coming-out party month." Choosing the right meets outside of league duals is part of the mindset toward success. Finding the right balance of competition and conditions to earn top qualifying times and marks is important. The West Coast Relays is a solid choice and being at the State Meet venue is a big plus. April's competition cycle ramps up with two popular Southern California meets, the Arcadia Invitational and Mt. SAC Relays, on April 8-9 and 15-16, weekends, respectively.
"Track times have been impressive so far. It will be interesting to see kids keep improving their times. That is the exciting part because if they continue this trend, it will truly be something special this year," Weaver said.
West Coast Relays entries include a few female state leaders: Clovis North senior Takiya Cenci, in the 200 meters (24.25 seconds) and 400 (53.77); Golden Valley (SS) senior Kylee Davis, a UC Davis commit, in the long jump (20-0.5); and Clovis East's senior discus thrower Feyi Olukanni (153 feet, 7 inches).
Weaver said Golden Valley's 4x100 girls relay, which leads the state in 46.26, will not be competing on Saturday. Cenci, meanwhile, is slated for the 200 and 400 and a leg of Central's 4x100 and 4x400 relays.
Also scheduled to run in the 800 meters and 4x400m relay is Ventura (SS) freshman sensation Sadie Engelhardt, the national class leader in the 800, 1600 and 3200 and the national class record-holder in the mile.
Clovis' Central High senior Jeremiah Walker is close to state-leading distinction. While he is scheduled to run in the 100-meter dash and on the 4x100 and 4x400 relays, Walker is not entered in the 200, where his time of 21.22 (0.6 FAT) is the state's best based on fully automatic time (FAT). The boys' gold division 100 race, with Walker in the mix, should still be crowd-pleasingly fast as the field includes Clovis senior Nathan Johnson and two of Walker's Central teammates, senior Cameron Tarver and junior Imari Conley, too.
Buchanan comes into the meet with the most entries overall (55), including six relay races. They will have a major presence in distance running events with junior standouts Grace Hutchison (800, 3,200), a healthier Sydney Sundgren (800 and 1,600), plus freshman standouts Ell Lomeli and Sierra Cornett, and top boys runner Noah Ray (800, 1,600 -- his 1:52.66 for 800m ranks CA No. 6).
The meet also features a number of top athletes across CIF sections including Arroyo Grande senior Daniela Ruelas in the 100 and 300 hurdles; Christopher Caudillo, a junior at Clovis High, in the 800 and 1,600; Clovis East sophomore distance standout Carter Spradling; Golden Valley junior sprinters Adonijah Currie and Ta'Ahjah Fann; Carson junior sprinter Reign Redmond, Caruthers thrower Nailea Fields; Campolindo distance standout Ellie Buckley; Clovis North senior Miliana Perez, a UCLA commit, in the 800 and 1,600; Clovis North senior Tatum Zinkin, a San Diego State commit, in the 800 and 4x400 relay; Concord De La Salle senior Anthony Trucks in the 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles; St. Marys (NC) junior Mateo Malko-Allen, who starred in the 800m and 1600m races at the Dublin Distance Fiesta; Shafter senior Nick Godbehere, a Cal commit, in the shot put and discus; Dublin sophomore Jathiyah Muhammad, who is tied for CA No. 2 in the pole vault (13-7); Clovis North senior Jake Parnagian in the 100, 200, 4x100 relay and 4x400 relay; and Parnagian's Clovis North teammate Nickolas Miller, a junior, who is entered in five gold events (100, 200, long jump, and both relays).
Redmond is the state leader with a wind-legal 100-meter time of 11.77 (1.8), while Currie and Fann ranks No. 2 and No. 6, respectively, for all-conditions marks. Caudillo ranks No. 5 in the U.S. after his 4:03.83 clocking at the APU Meet of Champions Distance Classic last Saturday.
West Coast Relays History Runs Deep
The West Coast Relays high school meet this Saturday will conclude a busy week for Veterans Memorial Stadium. The event, which started April 30, 1927, serves as a fantastic opportunity for Central California to showcase track and field on multiple levels now.
This week's lineup consists of three meets, all of which will have livestream coverage on MileSplit or FloTrack: The Junior West Coast Relays, highlighting middle school athletes, took place on March 31. A college version of the West Coast Relays was on Friday, April 1.
The initial West Coast Relays were held at Fresno's Ratcliffe Stadium with elementary, junior high, high school and college meets. It became a meet known for world and national record-setting performances and big. Area athletes such as Bob Mathias, Rafer Johnson, Tommie Smith, Dutch Warmerdam, and Lee Evans competed in it. So, too, did Jackie Robinson, O.J. Simpson, Willie Gault, Henry Ellard, Ollie Matson, and Bill Russell before each found athletic fame in other sports. The meet was discontinued at Ratcliffe Stadium after the 1982 event, but it was revived in the early 1990s as the Bob Mathias Fresno Relays and held at Fresno State's Warmerdam Field. It was moved to Buchanan High and revived as the West Coast Relays in 2006.