CIF-SAN DIEGO SECTION TRACK AND FIELD
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SAN DIEGO -- The last time there was a real CIF-State Track and Field Championship, the San Diego Section earned a record seven gold medals and trips to the top of the victory stand.
This year could be almost as strong, depending on the outcome of Saturday's section championships at Mt. Carmel High. The girls' meet, which will be held in three divisions, runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. with the boys going from 2 p.m. to 6:30.
San Diego is allotted three automatic qualifiers into the State Meet from each event. Additional athletes and relay teams can advance to the State Championships on May 27-28 at Buchanan HS in Clovis by hitting the State Meet At-Large Standards.
Here are some of the key events:
Girls 100-meter hurdles (10:40 a.m.)
Just three running events into the meet comes the biggest showdown of the day. San Diego is absolutely dominant in this event statewide, standing 1-2-3 with section record-holder Aaliyah McCormick leading the way with a wind-aided 13.46 and a wind-legal 13.61. Any other year, San Diego High's Charlize James would be the favorite coming off her school record 13.92. Cathedral Catholic junior Kapiolani Coleman is looking to crack the 14-second barrier, having run 14.07. The closest outsider to this trio with a wind-legal mark is Lincoln Stockton's Y'Vette Harris at 14.25.
Girls 100-meter dash (11:20 a.m.)
With just 40 minutes of rest, McCormick comes back with the fastest wind-legal time of 11.86. In that race she got an explosive start and she'll need that again running against Madison sophomore Amirah Shaheed (11.89) and Sage Creek senior Elizabeth Hatton (11.97).
Girls 300-meter hurdles (11:57 a.m.)
Coleman has dropped the long jump and this is her event. The junior leads the state at 42.19 and not only are McCormick (43.13) and James (43.69) back to challenge her, but Torrey Pines junior Karina Janik (43.06) and her twin sister Dominika (44.21) are looking for a top-three finish and at least an at-large (43.96) berth.
Girls 3200 (12:37 a.m.)
Poway's Mackenzie Rogers is looking for a double here. She is the top seed in the 1600, the second event of the day, at 4:52.97, and is hoping to double back in this race where she has run 10:17.91-just six seconds off the section record and No. 3 all-time in section history. There are nine runners between 10:39 and 10:56 to provide the push, led by La Costa Canyon's Kyra Compton (10:39.89). Only one heat here, so all 27 runners will compete.
Girls Shot Put (9:10 a.m.)
Quietly, Cathedral Catholic's Kennedy Clarke has not only positioned herself atop the state with her 47-foot, 5-inch effort, she is within range of the 48-3.50 section record set by Mount Miguel's Laulauga Tausaga in 2015. She'll also double back in the discus where her 147-9 in the prelims last week is No. 4 in the state.
Girls Pole Vault (10:30 a.m.)
This one should be much like last year when Rancho Bernardo's Ashley Callahan needed a section record 14-6 to beat Del Norte's Allison Leigh's 14-footer. Leigh returns but is currently second in the section behind state leader Lexi Evans of Scripps Ranch, who scaled 13-10. If both flew over 14 feet no one would be surprised. Very deep event for San Diego, so keep in mind the at-large standard of 12-3. There are eight entries with that mark or better. (Read more about girls pole vault.)
Boys High Jump (2:20 p.m.)
OK, it won't be until 3:30 or later but eventually state co-leader Leon Gillis (6-9) of Steele Canyon, Co-No. 3 Justin Cardoza (6-8) of Eastlake and co-No. 5 Max Meisterlin (6-7) of Fallbrook will battle to see who's the best. More depth than usual could produce some impressive marks here. Gillis is Mr. Consistency.
Boys 400 (4:00 p.m.)
Although he is no longer the state leader and will be in four events, Helix junior Adren Parker (47.36) is overdue for a really fast time. He'll be warmed up from the 4x100 relay and fast-charging Haydn Brotschi (48.18) of Otay Ranch should be there to provide the push.
Boys 100 (4:20 p.m.)
That 400 should be a nice warmup for one of the day's featured events when Lincoln's Jalil Tucker (wind-legal 10.54) and sophomore Matthew Priest (10.56) from Maranatha Christian go head-to-head. In the Division 3 prelims last week, Tucker ran a windy 10.51 after Priest ran his wind-legal a heat earlier 10.56.
Boys 3200 (5:37 p.m.)
OK, everyone knows that Newbury Park looks to be dominant, even without Colin Sahlman (8:33.32) and Lex Young (8:35.72), who opted to compete elsewhere, but that doesn't mean the section championship will lack drama. Sage Creek's Bryce Gilmore dropped the 800 and 1600 to focus on this one race and his 8:53.23 at Arcadia makes him the favorite even though he has not shown that same speed lately. If he falters -- or even if he doesn't -- Francis Parker's Kenan Pala, who is also favored in the 1600 earlier, is ready to break 9 minutes. The state Division 5 cross country champ and EastBay National runner-up has run 9:04.86. But wait, what about Patrick Henry's Preston Bowlds who ran 9:00.32 at Arcadia? If they come to run, look out.
Boys Shot Put (2:10 p.m.)
Good facility could produce a 60-footer as El Camino's Hawkin Miller is No. 6 in the state at 59-11.75 (Arcadia) and El Centro Southwest's Guillermo Lopez is No. 8 at 57-7. Throw in Del Norte's Dillon Holmes (56-5) if someone slips. Lopez returns later in the meet as the favorite in the discus off his section-leading 172-2.
Team Races
There will be three boys and three girls team champions crowned after the last race. This is where numbers really count. Mission Hills, Helix, and San Marcos look strong for the D-1 boys while Poway is the girls' favorite with Torrey Pines, El Camino, and Del Norte right there. In D-2, Mt. Carmel, Cathedral Catholic, and Point Loma look strong on the boys' side and Cathedral Catholic, Mt. Carmel, Sage Creek, and Scripps Ranch girls should contend. D-3's boys Mission Bay and Francis Parker have quality numbers and La Jolla, Madison, and Bishop's look strong for the girls.
CIF-SDS FINALS TIME SCHEDULE
Steve Brand is a freelance writer and a regular contributor to MileSplit with a focus on the San Diego Section
Photos by Angel Pena, Daniel Hernandez, Jeffrey Parenti, Raymond Tran