PREVIEW Central Section - Boys TF Athletes To Watch

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CORRECTION: This article has been updated to correct the photo of Nikolas Miller.

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There is so much that goes into becoming a champion that when you do realize your goal, get to experience the sensation of that accomplishment, there's nothing else like it.

As the 2023 CIF Central Section track and field season begins, Fresno Central High boys' program enters as the defending CIF State team champion. It has been nine months since that late May evening at Buchanan's Veterans Memorial Stadium field. It is the night when Grizzlies team members, family and friends flashed wide smiles, hammed it up for phone photos and videos with the trophy. It was the best feeling for them, knowing they were at their best in that moment. 

Central Coach Gary Davis, forever happy about what the boys' program achieved in 2022, knows it is 2023 and new challenges have arrived.

Indeed, graduation came for Central's 400-meter State champion Jeremiah Walker, who also finished sixth in the 200, ran on the State-winning 4x100 relay and anchored a runner-up finish in the State's 4x400 relay to secure the team title despite injury and fatigue. Another senior sprinter, Cameron Tarver, was a relay standout, finished third in the 200, and was fifth in the 100 at State. Both athletes are now at San Jose State University.

Turning the page is something everyone must do eventually, but Davis said he feels good about those who are ready to step up: Imari Conley (sprints/relays), Walter Pierce (sprints/hurdles/relays), Terrell Johnson (200/400/relays), Jerome Brown (200/400/relays), Noel Felix (hurdles/relay), EJ Manuel (200/400/relays) and 2022 Central Section Division 2 cross country champion Alazar Teffra (distances) to name a few.

Below is a closer look at some of the other top returning boys track and field athletes in the Central Section.

RETURNING RANKINGS - Central Section Top 50 Boys By Event

MALACHI CARRASCO

Selma, Jr.

Hurdles/Jumps

Gained postseason experience as a sophomore in the Central Section division and Masters meets in the high jump, triple jump and in the AAU West Coast National Track and Field Championships last summer. In CIF meets, Carrasco won the Division 3 triple jump title in 43-9.5 and then set a PR with a 45-4.5 to finish fourth in the Masters. In the high jump, Carrasco was second in Division 3 (6-2), and was fourth in the Masters at 6-0. His PR was set earlier in the year, a 6-6.25 at the Rafer Johnson Invitational. He also set a PR in the 110 hurdles at the Johnson invite, going 17.07 to win it, and later, Carrasco won the CSL championship in the event in 17.25. Took home a first in the high jump (6-2.8), second in the triple jump (40-10.16) and eighth in the 110 hurdles (17.29) at the AAU West Coast national meet.

CHRISTOPHER CAUDILLO

The defending 1600-meter State champion (4:10.72) also finished third in the 3200 State final in 9:00.11. He also won the 800 (1:54.77) in the Central Section Division 1 race. Committed to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Caudillo is coming off another solid cross country season that saw him win the CIF Central Section Division 1 individual title (5000 meters, 15:01.98) and finish as CIF State Division I runner-up (15:03.9). He ended 2022 by winning the Winter Mile indoor event at Buchanan High in 4:09.20.

IMARI CONLEY

Central, Sr.

Sprints/Relays

Conley ran on the State-winning 4x100 relay and 4x400 runner-up, but finished 11th in the State 200 prelims. A football defensive back who will be heading to San Jose State in the fall, Conley has always been a solid contender in the 100 (10.63 PR) and 200 (21.48 PR), but this year is different. "Imari is focused this year on placing at State in the 100 and 200 and he really wants to break our school record in the 100 (Jeremiah Walker, 10.49)," Davis says. "He is our leader this year and will be a workhorse for us."

NOEL FELIX

Central, Jr.

Hurdles/Relay

As a sophomore, Felix's star shined in both league and Central Section championship meets. He won the 110 hurdles in TRAC (15.27) and was runner-up in the section final. His fifth-place showing in the Masters Meet was in a PR time of 15.16. In the 300 hurdles, he won the Central Section title in 40.11, and notched a 39.65 in the Masters Meet to finish second and qualify for State. He finished 18th overall in the State prelims.
"Noel is ready to lay down some fast times in the 110 and 300 hurdles along with competing on the 4x400 relay," Davis says.

HILTON GREEN

Buchanan, Sr.

Green, who has committed to Oklahoma, turned in quite a junior track and field season in 2022. A football and track athlete at Clovis North his freshman year, he sat out his entire sophomore year when he transferred to Buchanan. Having a top 11-6 mark in limited attempts as a freshman at Clovis North, Green's junior year, saw him go from an relatively unknown pole vaulter to CIF State runner-up and Buchanan's school record holder at 16-5. He initially broke Buchanan's school record of 15-7 in a dual meet between Buchanan and host Clovis North. When he's not pole vaulting, Green competes in the 100 and the 4x100 relay.

KYLE HUGHES

Bullard, Sr.

Hughes is the defending 110-meter hurdles champion for the Central Section Division 2 (15.03) and the Central Section Masters Meet (PR time, 14.87). He also ran the 100 and has a 6-2 PR in the high jump. He finished sixth in the Division 2 section finals in the high jump.

CALEB JACKSON

Clovis, Sr.

High Jump

Jackson, whose high school PR in the high jump is a 6-6 mark as a sophomore at the 2021 Clovis West Freshman-Sophomore-JV Challenge, won high jump titles in the Central Section Division I final (6-3), won the Masters Meet title at 6-4 and went 6-4 again in the CIF State prelims, good for sixth place.

McKAY MADSEN

Clovis North, So.

The sky's the limit for McKay, who as a freshman last year worked his way into the CIF State finals for both the discus and shot put. He finished ninth in the discus in 180-10, a PR after a 178-10 top mark in the State prelims. McKay's second PR came with a top throw of 57-9 for eighth place in the shot put final. He went 55-8.75 in the State prelims. He won discus and shot put titles in the TRAC championships and won the shot put and finished second in the discus in the Central Section Division I final.

NICKOLAS MILLER

Clovis North, Sr.

Miller (No. 6 in photo) is the top returning sprinter in the Central Section. He finished runner-up in the CIF State 200-meter final in a wind-aided 21.18. He finished 15th overall in the State 100 prelims (10.65 wind-aided). Miller's PR times are 10.51 in the 100 when he was second in the TRAC League championships and he secured his best in the 200, a wind-aided 21.00, when he finished third at the Mt. SAC Relays. In the long jump, his top mark of 22-9 came in winning the Central Valley Classic last March. He topped out at the CIF Central Section Masters Meet at 21-11.50 to finish fourth. He ran on Clovis North's ninth-place 4x100 relay team, which finished 44.11 in the State final after a 41.69 in the State prelims. Miller's 2023 season started with a mid-January indoor appearance at the Spokane High Invitational. He went 6.95 to finish fifth in the 60-meter-dash final and won the 200 in 21.53.

NOAH RAY

Buchanan, Sr.

A solid 800- and 1600-meter runner for the Bears, this University of Arizona commit put together a string of fine performances in the 800 last spring, winning it in 10 different meets, including the TRAC league title (1:56.02), finishing second in the Central Section Division 1 final (1:54.93) and winning the CIF Central Section Masters Meet in 1:54.78. His 800 PR time is 1:52.66, set in a win at the Gateway to Track and Field Invitational. His performances in the 1600 were equally strong (seven wins, 11 top three finishes) and he reached the CIF State prelims, finishing 13th in 4:13.20. He won the Central Section Division 1 race in 4:12.10 and was second in the Central Section Masters meet in a PR time of 4:09.68. He closed out 2022 by running the Winter Mile at Buchanan event in December, finishing third in 4:12.61.

AUGUSTUS REMLINGER

Buchanan, Sr.

This versatile sprinter/hurdler did a 10.88 PR in the 100 in a league tri-meet with Clovis West and Clovis East, but his finest efforts have been in the 110 and 300 hurdles. Remlinger won Central Section Division 1's 110 hurdles race in 15.18, but then eclipsed that time in a fourth-place showing at the section's Masters Meet at 15.03. He won the Masters Meet 300 hurdles in a PR time of 39.57, but finished 17th in the CIF State prelims.

MILO SKAPINSKY

San Luis Obispo, Sr.

The Stanford committed student-athlete has experienced successes in both cross country and track and field, both individually and as a key member of SLO's teams. He competed in the Champs National Cross Country Championships after a second-place finish in the regional meet. He was second in the Central Section Division 1 final, but SLO won the team title. SLO was fifth in the State Division I team standings and Skapinsky was fourth overall. Last season in track, he was the 3200 Central Section Division 2 champion and it came after he set his PR at the Arcadia Invitational in 8:57.19. He was the 3200 runner-up at the CIF Central Section Masters to reach the CIF State 3200 final.

CARTER SPRADLING

Clovis East, Jr.

The defending 3200 CIF Central Section Division I champion (9:12.62) finished third (9:07.68) in the Masters Meet and was 10th in the State meet race in 9:05.10. He's another distance runner coming off a solid cross country season. He competed at the West Regional Championships after finishing second in the TRAC League championship meet, third in the section final in a 5000 PR time of 15:16.30. He was seventh in the State meet in 15:17.92.