BOYS
Yreka, Jr.
Distance
Baun is the Northern Section's top distance runner coming off an all-division title at the NS Cross Country Championships in November. Baun then placed 11th in the Division IV race at the CIF-State Championships, the No. 3 runner in the junior class in that race. The NS Final was no walk in the park, challenged by Pleasant Valley's Jackson Hein (at left in photo above) before pulling away to win by 5.35 seconds. On the track last spring he focused on the 1600m (4:58.06 PR) and pole vault (9-0 PR).
Enterprise, Sr.
Hurdles, Jumps
Zachary placed second in the 300m hurdles (41.93 PR) and third in the high jump (5-10) and is the top returner in both events from the NS Finals. He 43.29 to win the 300m hurdles at the NS Division 1 meet.
University Prep, So.
Distance
Noah placed fourth in the 1600m (4:45.57 PR) at the section final and is the top returner in that event. Gaido was seventh overall a the NS XC finals and competed at the State Meet for the second consecutive year where in placed 53rd in the Division V race, one spot behind another NS runner, Trinity's Jackson Poburko (at right in photo above).
Pleasant Valley, So.,
Distance
Jackson placed fourth in the 800m (2:03.24) at the NS Final and is the top returner in that event. Hein ran his 800m pR of 2:01.28 at the NS Division 1 finals. This fall, he placed second overall at the NS XC Championships and ran at the State Meet for the second consecutive year.
Orland, So.
Pole Vault
Logan won the pole vault at the NS Finals, clearing 14-1 personal best, and competed at the State Meet. During the spring he won the pole vault in eight meets and had five clearances of 13 feet or higher.
Trinity, Fr.
Distance
If Jackson can do on the track anywhere close to his performances in the fall on the cross country courses, he'll be one to watch for the next four spring outdoor seasons. In his first high school cross country season, Poburko placed fourth overall in the all-division NS Championships and then went on to place 52nd in the Division V race at the CIF-State XC Finals, as the No. 3 freshman in that race.
Foothill, Sr.
Hurdles
Caden is the returning NS champion in the 110m hurdles (16.26 PR) and the No. 3 returner in the 300m hurdles (44.15). He ran 16.60 in the 110s at State Prelims, and set his 300mH PR of 43.70 at the NS D-1 finals.
Enterprise, Sr.
Jumps
Jacob is the defending NS triple jump champion (42-10 PR) and the top returner in the long jump (20-08.25 PR) after placing third in last May's NS Finals. In consecutive seasons he has competed in the triple jump at the State track championships and also competed in November at the State cross country finals for a second consecutive year.
Pleasant Valley, Sr.
Sprints
Placed third in both the 100m (11.30) and 200m (23.18) at the Northern Section Finals and is the top returner from both races. Williams ran his 200m PR of 22.88 for second at the NS Division 1 finals and eclipsed 20 feet in the long jump for the first time (20-4.50) at league finals.
Photos by DeAnna Turner, Sahil Pandit, and Dan Tyree
Jeffrey Parenti is the California state editor for MileSpit