CIF-STATE PRELIMS RECAP - Boys and Girls Relays

CLOVIS --  Right from the start of Friday's preliminaries, two of California's best 4x100 relay teams made quick work of the goal: Get the time that wins a heat and advance to Saturday's CIF-State Track and Field Championship final.

The state's top girls' 4x100 relay team from Golden Valley (SS) lowered its best time down to 45.82 seconds in the day's first track race. Last week, at the CIF-Southern Section Masters Meet the Grizzlies broke 46 seconds for the first time this season at 45.98.

"Coming in we just wanted to do our best, make it to the finals and, hopefully, get the fastest time and that's what we did," said Nevaeh Williams shortly after the team's performance on the Veterans Memorial Stadium track at Buchanan High.

When it was time for the boys' 4x100 relay heats to start, so, too, did the state's leading group from Fresno Central. After turning in a 40.63 in last week's CIF-Central Section Masters Meet to set a section record and lower the top state mark, the team again went sub-41, this time with a 40.92, comfortably better than the rest of the relay entrants. Central's team of Cameron Tarver, Jeremiah Walker, Elijah Lindsey, and Imari Conley have been eyeing a state title and Saturday's final is here. 

"We'll be ready," Tarver said. 

Being in the second heat for the 4x400 relay winners who secured the fastest times, proved to be fine, too. The Calabasas girls triumphed in 3:46.73 and the Long Beach Wilson boys captured their heat race in 3:16.21.

The main objective for all relay teams in both events was to either be a relay heat winner or to have one of the six best times regardless of which heat you competed. 

In the 4x100 girls, the relay heat winners were Golden Valley, Gardena Serra (46.36), and Long Beach Poly (47.60). The six additional qualifiers are St. Mary's (46.70), Carson (46.95), Culver City (47.30), Campolindo (48.04), Central (48.15), and Whitney (48.21).

In the boys' 4x100 races, Central was joined by Granada Hills (41.46) and McClymonds (41.54) as heat winners. Also qualifying: Los Alamitos (41.33), Serra (41.57), Buchanan (41.59), Pittsburg (41.68), Clovis North (41.69), and Mission Hills (41.70).

The 4x400 girls relay heat winners were Calabasas, Clovis North (3:49.63), and Culver City (3:50.92). Fellow qualifiers are Long Beach Wilson (3:47.05), Long Beach Poly (3:51.33), Poway (3:52.21), Del Norte (3:54.67), Chino Hills (3:54.84), and Carlsbad (3:56.19).

The boys' 4x400 relay heats were claimed by Long Beach Wilson, Helix (3:17.47), and Rocklin (3:17.49). Others qualifying for tonight's final are Cathedral (3:19.25), Monrovia (3:19.84), Central (3:20.97), San Marcos (3:21.07), Fresno Edison (3:21.13), and Dublin (3:21.66).