PREVIEW CIF-Southern Section Division Prelims

This event has not featured a true clear-cut favorite in 2022. But Roosevelt's Karyssa Owens, who has traditionally headlined more in the Discus, came forth with a much improved 40-9.5 effort a month ago. Etiwanda's Sinaiah Pointer placed sixth here in 2021, and enjoyed her best day this season in this same ring with her 40-2 lifetime best. Meanwhile, Vista Murrieta's Kennedy McKee steps into the ring with a 40-1 best in 2022. Our top seed, based on league finals, is Kathleen Nelson of Pacifica (Oxnard). She was fourth in 2021 as she is coming on strong with a 39-6.5 seasonal best last week to capture the Pacific View League title. Edison's Alexa Sheldon saw her best performance to date (39-5.5) in taking home the title in the Sunset Surf League. Also, in that 39-foot range, Cajon's Kailea Satterwhite (39-3) and Tesoro's Sydney Gontang (39-1.75). Three others have eclipsed the 38-foot tape in Los Alamitos' Taylor Hofland (38-3.5), Erica Collins of Chino Hills (38-3), and Los Osos' Nadia Combs-Mahone (38-3).

Third place a year ago, Karyssa Owens is the favorite here and one of the reasons why the Mustangs of Roosevelt are, once again, in the title hunt! Owens is fifth in California and second in the Southern Section with her 140-7 lifetime best. Taylor Hofland of Los Alamitos, who placed seventh in 2021, moved up to fifth in the section with her 127-9 effort at the Surf League Finals. The Camarillo trio of Trinity Tipton (127-3), Ava Crouse (126-6), and Laynie Tuimaualuga (120-10) all look to advance to next week's final. Nadia Combs-Mahone of Los Osos is coming in strong off her Baseline League title performance of 125-6. Five others own 120+ foot seasonal bests as this will be a tight competition in regard to the nine qualifying.

Five of the top nine in the Southern Section are ready to go in this one. Ranked fifth in California, sophomore Aspen Fears of Vista Murrieta comes in as the heavy favorite after clearing the 13-2 bar, moving her up to the top of the Southern Section leader board. Placing fourth a year ago, Ayala's Madeline Seifert steps on the runway with a 12-2 seasonal best, ranking her fourth in the section. Meanwhile, Marina's Britain Polk checks in with a 12-1 seasonal best, which has her sitting there in fifth for the section. Vista Murrieta junior Katie Rodriguez has cleared the 12-0 bar this season while Natalia Wilson (11-8) of Trabuco Hills will feel at home here this weekend. Others projected to advance include Peninsula's Francesca Villain and Great Oak senior Bailie Horton, with both coming into the postseason with 11-6 bests. Claremont's Bella Sanvictores was sixth a year ago and comes in off her 11-3 effort at the Palomares League finals.  

Our defending champion from 2021, Zharia Taylor of LB Poly, is back! Her 5-9 clearance from the Redondo Track Festival in March lands her second in California and atop the Southern Section lists. But, as she seeks valuable team points for her squad next weekend, it will be all about simply qualifying and being amongst the top nine at this weekend's prelims. Her teammate, freshman Jillene Wetteland, captured the Moore League title last week with a 5-6 best, while Valley View's Amara Thomas has also cleared the 5-6 bar. Thomas was fifth in 2021. Meanwhile, Orange Vista's Kailah McKenzie is back from placing sixth a year ago with a 5-5 seasonal best to capture the Ivy League title over Thomas and Elsinore's Dajeauna Williams (5-3). Kendra Duffey of Aliso Niguel has cleared 5-5 this season while another one projected to advance is Chino Hills sophomore Makena Bailey, who cleared the 5-4 in March. Several girls have cleared 5-2 in 2022, but the one that stands out is senior Mackenzie Kirk of Los Alamitos, who was our runner-up in 2021.

What became a topic of discussion this season was how to properly gauge the validity of the horizontal jumps, with most meets not using a wind gauge and the depth of some of the pits at invitationals being questioned. With that, ranking some of the top jumpers has been challenging. But, what we do know is that the re-emergence of Upland senior Caelyn Harris is valid! The University of Alabama-bound senior was the 2019 State Champion in this event as a freshman and has been popping off consistent efforts in the 20-foot range this past month. Orange Vista's Kailah McKenzie is the defending champion and owns a seasonal best of 19-1.5. Fourth a year ago, Redondo's Eve Divinity placed third at the Mt. SAC Relays with a wind-legal 19-4 effort. A finalist in 2021, ML King's Alyssa Hope has a wind-aided best of 19-5.5 when she won the Arcadia Invitational last month. Vista Murrieta's Alyssa Alumbres (5^th place in 2021) is coming in off a 19-4.5 victory at the Southwestern League Finals while Poly senior Lauren Reed owns an effort of 19-11 (nwi) and captured the Moore League title last week with her 18-8.75 performance. Reed, one of only four athletes this weekend with State Meet experience, looks to take teammates, Zharia Taylor and Alyssa Perkins onward to next week's final for huge team points. Others to be right there in advancing include Elsinore's Dajeauna Williams and Vista Murrieta's Kaila Robinson (finalist in 2021).

ML King's Alyssa Hope is our top returner from 2021, earning the bronze, and has bounded out to the top performance in California with a 41-3 effort. No wind-readings were kept that day, but the junior proved herself her 40-3.25 win at the Arcadia Invite and going out to 39-11 in these same Trabuco pits last month. Mackenzie Kirk of Los Alamitos was fourth in 2021, while this season, her best came at Arcadia with a wind-legal effort of 39-9.5. Upland junior Simone Smith produced a 39-0.25 effort at the Baseline League prelims but it was Etiwanda's Alaya Robinson that captured the league title with a 37-10 effort. One of the new faces to emerge this season is that of Elsinore's Dajeauna Williams. The sophomore captured the Ivy League title with a 38-10.5 measurement. LB Poly's Lauren Reed has been consistently out beyond the 37-foot mark all season, and like in long jump, hoping to join teammates Zharia Taylor and Alyssa Perkins to the finals. Kathryn Thompson of Redlands, Alyssa Alumbres of Vista Murrieta, and Chino Hills sophomore Makena Bailey are also in the running for one of those nine spots to the finals.

Cajon's Seth Johnson (Daniel Hernandez photo above) checks in to simply advance onto the next week as he has dropped the 300 Hurdles to place his focus on this event. Placing third in 2021, his 6-9 clearance from last month remains the top mark in California as the UC-Berkeley bound decathlete is the heavy favorite. San Clemente junior Griffin Schwab has shown tremendous improvement, ranked fifth in the state with his 6-6.75 best from several weeks ago. Kwabena Banahene of Rancho Cucamonga is looking to get back up to match his 6-6 best and in only one of five boys in the Southern Section to clear that height. Riverside Poly's Owen Pennington was a finalist in 2021 and has levitated up over the 6-4 bar, as has Arcadia's Matthew Le and Tyler Hampton of Edison. Umaree Harris of Oxnard Pacifica and Zach Owens of Riverside Poly both bring 6-3 seasonal bests to the competition. A slew of athletes have cleared 6-2, including CIF Finalist from 2021 and Bay League champion, Tyler Doiron of Redondo Union.

Boys Pole Vault

Six of the top 11 in the Southern Section get up onto the runway that is headlined by California state leader, Hunter O'Brien of Roosevelt. Establishing a new Riverside County record at 16-9 and the winner at the Arcadia Invite, the UCLA-bound senior is one of the most improved vaulters in the nation. Adam Garrison of Fountain Valley cleared 16-6 to kick off his season in March and should also be a lock to advance onward next week. Dylan Curtis of Redondo has steadily improved this season, coming off the 15-3 Bay League title effort that moved him to sixth in the Southern Section. San Clemente's Aiden Bennett joined the 15-foot club last week in clearing the 15-1 bar to capture the Sea View League title. The top sophomore in the section is ML King's Jaden McKee with a 14-8 effort at the Inland Empire Championships. Great Oak's Austin Pepito comes in off his 14-7 best from the Southwestern League finals while Peninsula's Cole Whitten enrolls with a 14-5 resume. Valley View's Pablo Nunez is the only other boy in the competition to clear 14-feet as he improved to a 14-3 lifetime best to capture the Ivy league title last week.

This is the most competitive event on the slate as the top three in California enter the ring along with five of the top eight in the Southern Section. Headed off to the University of Michigan, Murrieta Mesa's Cade Moran is No. 2 in the United States with his 66-10 performance from the Arcadia Invitational while also here to defend his 2021 divisional title. Meanwhile, just outside the top ten on the national lists and fifth place a year ago, Redondo Union's Kai Deines launched a 63-5.25 shot at the Pasadena Games. Great Oak's Aiden Pastorian steps in with a 63-4.5 best from the Redondo Track Festival to round those top-ranked State Meet bound throwers. Elsinore's Elijah Ignacio comes in hot off his 56-3 lifetime best at the Ivy league finals while his teammate, Matthew Hodges celebrated a new PR at 52-2. Fountain Valley's Nicolas Mendez checks in a 54-1 seasonal best while Etiwanda's Samuel Archie boasts a lifetime best of 52-5.5. Chaparral's Leland Godfrey (52-0.5) advanced out of the tough Southwestern League while Vista Murrieta's Joshua Stovall (50-8) also projects to advance.

As we notice in Shot Put, some of the top throwers in California get to indoctrinate the brand new Discus ring at Trabuco Hills. Runner-up in 2021, Murrieta Mesa's Cade Moran steps in with a 201-6 best, which currently ranks him third in the nation and atop the California state list. Redondo's Kai Deines measured out to a 188-6 lifetime best at the Mt. SAC Relays. In his first season on devoting to the throws, Murrieta Mesa's Chimobi Onye improved out to a 172-7 effort at the Inland Empire Championships, moving him to eighth in the Southern Section. Aiden Pastorian of Great Oak survived the Southernwestern league and advanced under the 'wild card' option, bringing his 169-2 seasonal best to the competition. Both finalists in 2021, Elsinore's Elijah Ignacio is expected to easily advance coming in with a 166-0 best while his teammate, Matthew Hodges, steps in with a 156-8 effort. Oxnard's Adam Alfred is part of the 150-club with a best of 154-2 while Trabuco Hills' Andrew King will not travel too far after his 147-10 runner-up effort at the South Coast League finals.

Great Oak's JC Stevenson continues the legacy of family lineage as his older siblings have dominated the action at the Division 1 prelims for almost a decade. After only taking one jump at his league finals (23-8), he comes in with a seasonal best of 24-9.5 from his win at the Arcadia Invite. Placing third as a sophomore in 2021, LB Poly's Javon Hampton will be Stevenson's greatest threat as he measured out to a 23-10.5 effort in March. Elsinore's versatile Elijah Yoshinaga is looking to get back to that 23-10.5 that we witnessed at Arcadia. A finalist in 2021, Bryson Williams of Rancho Cucamonga is coming in off his 22-11 Baseline league title effort. Some new faces emerged here recently as Anthony Woods of Palmdale flew out to a 22-8.75 title in the Golden League while sophomores Chance Harrison of Rio Mesa and sophomore Donnie Parish of Chino Hills also measured out into the mid-22 foot range at their respective league finals. Valley View's Kyan Thomas has been consistent all season, with a 23-5.5 (nwi) from a dual meet in recent weeks while Trabuco Hills' Will Burns is very familiar with his home pits.

We return four of our top five from last year's 2021 final. In that competition, Great Oak's JC Stevenson became the fourth Stevenson to earn the Division 1 title in the triple jump over the past seven seasons! He owns a wind-legal best of 48-5.5 from winning the event at the Mt. SAC Relays. With five of the top seven in the Southern Section taking the stage here, Elsinore's Elijah Yoshinaga bounded out to wind-legal 47-5.75 at the Arcadia Invite and was third here in 2021.  But, Valley View's Kyan Thomas captured the Ivy League title over Yoshinaga last week as he did so in 2021, when he earned the silver in this event. Vista Murrieta's Kyran Jackson was runner-up to Stevenson at the Southwestern League finals and brings his wind-legal best of 46-5.5 to the runway. Fountain Valley's Jonathan Yu earned the fifth-place medal last year and should also advance back as he comes in off his 46-2.5 Sunset Surf league title. Others that are favored to advance include ML King's Gavin Henry, Etiwanda's Darrian Robinson, and Anthony Woods of Palmdale.