SATURDAY RUNNING EVENTS
1600 (Girls & Boys)
Girls
Meet Record: 4:47.61, McKenna Brown, La Costa Canyon (SD), 2018
Boys
Meet Record: 4:08.67, Kyle Ortega-Gammil, Reno (NV), 2022
When you look at all the entries in all the events for this meet, the girls' 1600 could give us quite a matchup. Last season, freshman Hanne Thomsen of Montgomery won two state championships, one each in cross country and track and field (3200). This season, Scotts Valley junior Ashlyn Boothby has been one of the top runners in the state from 800 to 3200. Fortunately for us, they race each other here and we could have quite the showdown.
Along with those two, the race will also include Lauren Soobrian of Los Altos and Hillary Studdert (4:51.44) of Palo Alto. Soobrian was the CCS champion in the 3200 in 2022 and led her team to NXN this past fall. Studdert will be attending Stanford next fall and was a state meet qualifier in the 800m.
The boy's race may be more wide open and we may get a surprise winner like last year. This year some of the contenders include Ryan Mitchell of Davis, Carson Hedlund of Pioneer, Nathan Short of Folsom, Mateo Malko-Allen of St. Mary's Berkeley, and Aydon Stefanopoulos of Los Gatos. If I had to pick a favorite then that might be Palo Alto senior Grant Morgenfeld who just dipped under 9 minutes in the 3200m and has been very impressive so far this spring.
4 x 100m.Relay (Girls and Boys)
Girls
Meet Record: 46.23, James Logan (NC), 2003
Boys
Meet Record: 41.03, Long Beach Poly (SS), 1998
The 400m. relays will contest trials starting at 11am. They will narrow the two fields down to the nine finalists for the boys and girls and the finals will be contested at 1:42 p.m. for the girls and 1:47 p.m. for the boys.
With trials being contested in the morning, there is no guarantee that all the top teams advance without any mishaps in those trials. Looking at the entries, one team appears to be ahead of the field and that is Long Beach Poly. The best team from the north is Oakland Technical. (Shout out to the Oakland Technical girls' basketball team which won the Division I state championship this past season.)
For the boys, last year Harker won the CCS title in this event with an all-junior lineup and will be here ready to make a statement here. Other teams that might be in contention are Los Altos and El Cerrito.
800m (Girls and Boys)
Girls
Meet Record: 2:10.11, Allie Schadler, Rio Rico (AZ), 2016
Boys
Meet Record: 1:50.53, Connor Dunne, San Clemente (SS), 2016
This race should be quite competitive and more than several athletes will have a legitimate shot at winning this event (my second plea to bring back the 4 x 800 now. JSerra's Georgia Jeanneret just ran 2:10.40 at the APU Meet of Champions and should be the favorite here. Hillary Studdert of Palo Alto set her personal best and finished second here last year with a time of 2:10.41. Other contenders should include Samira Kennedy of neighboring Castilleja, Lillian Kaelber of St. Francis of Mountain View, and Tatum Olesen of Menlo Atherton. (Olesen's dad Marc competed for Stanford University and eclipsed the 4:00 mile in HS in Canada.)
Joe Lighthall of Hughson was the Sac-Joaquin Section champion last year, and recorded a best of 1:52.47 at the state trials before finishing 7th in the state meet final. Piedmont's Parker Long won the Dublin Distance Fiesta with a best of 1:53.25 finishing just ahead of Menlo's Justin Pretre (1:53.68). At the just completed APU Meet of Champions, Lamarr Kirk Jr. of Long Beach Poly ran a PR of 1:53.15. South Pasadena's Keeran Murray also ran 1:53.99 at the same meet.
400 Meters (Girls and Boys)
Girls
Meet Record: 54.09, Kaylah Robinson, El Cerrito (NC), 2017
Boys Meet Record: 47.31 (tie), Tim Brown, McClymonds (OK), 1997,
Max Glasser, Marin Catholic (NC), 2018
The favorite to win this event is Mountain View sophomore Hannah Rutherford. Last season, Rutherford was the section champion in this event with a best of 55.88. She has already improved on that time this season with a 55.41 and should win here. Harker's Anjali Yella finished in second place to Rutherford at CCS last year and qualified for the CIF-State final race.
We could be in for quite a show in the boy's 400 as Xai Ricks of Long Beach Poly will be aiming for the win and potentially break the meet record. Last Saturday, Ricks rolled to an impressive 1:49.19 800m win at the APU Meet of Champions. He has a best of 47.27 indoors and it wouldn't surprise anybody if he dipped under 47 seconds here. Other contenders that will try to keep up with Ricks include Moreau Catholic's Bryce Thomas, Los Gatos duo Levi Romero and Wil Brennan Jr. as well as Junipero Serra's Parker Harrison.
Girls 100m Hurdles / Boys 110m Hurdles
Girls
Meet Record: 13.41, Trinity Wilson, St. Mary's College (NC), 2012
Boys
Meet Record: 13.61, Jamar Marshall, St. Mary's-Stockton (SJ), 2017
This event gives us a unique matchup of the two fastest hurdlers in California as well as the top two finishers from last year's Stanford Invite. Lincoln of Stockton's Y'vette Harris won last year's race and has a 2023 CA best of 13.90. Gigi Kirchner of Rocklin finished in second place and has a best of 14.18 so far this season. Christian Brother's Keilee Hall has the next best season time in the state at 14.57 and should be the 3rd best hurdler here. (Harris and Kirchner pictured above in Dan McSweeney photo.)
The top hurdler this season competing at this meet is Pleasant Grove's Stephen Dahdouh who has a best of 14.42. Myles MacFarland of Cosumnes Oak has a best of 14.67 this season and should be in the hunt for a win here. Kathir Balakrishnan of Fremont has a best of 15.08 (on the third rerun at the Firebird Relays) this season but has a best of 14.34 from last season.
100 Meters (Girls and Boys)
Girls
Meet Record: 11.50, Ashton Purvis, St. Elizabeth (NC), 2007
Boys
Meet Record: 10.44, Deondre Batson, Laguna Creek (SJ), 2010
Marlee Cavitt of Kennedy in the Sac-Joaquin Section has a season-best of 12.19 but ran a wind-aided 11.85 last year on her way to the state meet. St. Ignatius freshman Ellie McCuskey-Hay has a best of 12.01 and will also be one of the top long jumpers in that event.
Andrew Fu of Harker just posted a 10.69 time and will be aiming for a top finish along with Robert Stitts of El Cerrito and Justin Johnson of Jesuit. Carter Shaw of Sacred Heart Prep has already posted a best of 10.83 which will definitely place him in the fastest heat. His dad David Shaw just recently stepped down as the Stanford Football coach after 12 seasons.
4x400m Relays (Girls and Boys)
Girls
Meet Record: 3:44.4y, Kennedy-Granada Hills (SS), 1981
Boys
Meet Record: 3:14.0y, Berkeley (NC), 1981
The impressive meet record dating back to 1981 is quite safe but we might still witness a fast time by the favorite team here, JSerra. They have already posted a 3:51.57 best this season which ranks them as the second-best team in California behind only Long Beach Wilson's 3:50.18. Monte Vista will give them a run for their money and have a potent anchor in future Cardinal, Cate Peters. They posted a season-best of 3:54.31 while winning the Castro Valley Relays. Clayton Valley has had an abundance of 400 meter runners the past few seasons and has a best of 4:02.36. Los Altos and Long Beach Poly will be in the mix and looking to challenge the already-mentioned teams.
The favorite to win the boy's 1600 relay is Long Beach Poly. If they are anywhere near the lead, Xai Ricks will bring them home in first place. The fast heat should have some other strong teams such as Los Gatos (currently the best team in CCS), Los Altos, Piedmont, Homestead, and Junipero Serra. From the Southern Section, Serra Gardena, and JSerra should also bring the heat and we should have an exciting finish to the high school section with this race.