Mackenzie Browne leads the pack at the gun of the record-setting 800-meter invitational
Photo credit: Raymond Tran
ARCADIA -- The Arcadia Invitational -- Home of National Records.
There was a great air of anticipation for California distance runners, not just among themselves, but having the opportunity to live up to the challenges posed by the level of talent flooding across the state border for this year's Arcadia Invitational.
But, perhaps, unseen, was how California's best not only outmatched the competition but also used it to move up statewide and sectional all-time lists across the board.
Among the California athletes, the greatest step-up performance came in the girl's 800 from J.W. North (SS) senior Mackenzie Browne. The defending state champion matched up against last year's Arcadia Invite champion, Allison Ince, the two-time Illinois state champion, who was the heavy favorite with a lifetime best of 2:03.98. After a brisk 60.4 opening lap from Ince, Browne reeled in over the last 150 meters and went to another level in timing her lean with the third-fastest time ever in California state history at 2:03.07 with Ince at 2:03.17!
Del Norte (SD) junior Hannah Riggins pulled in with a 2:06.69 to establish a new San Diego Section record with Newport Harbor (SS) sophomore Keaton Robar (2:09.13), JSerra (SS) junior Georgia Jeanneret (2:09.55), and Castilleja (CC) senior Samira Kennedy (2:09.82) riding the vapor to break 2:10 and all walk away with new school record efforts.
Another shocking and unprecedented surprise came in the girls' 3200 meters, where, for the first time in state history, three girls eclipsed the 10:00 watermark. Patiently sitting back through the first mile and coming through with the chase pack in 10th place with three laps to go, Montgomery sophomore Hanne Thomsen, and defending state champion, released herself from that pack to unleash a 2:23 the last two 800 meters to cross in 9:55.31 and the ninth-fastest time in state history.
But, she was not alone as fellow Golden Staters, Oaks Christian (SS) junior Payton Godsey joined the elite sub-10 club with her 9:57.77 and La Costa Canyon (SD) junior Gioana Lopizzo established a new San Diego section record with her 9:59.08, seventh-place performance, both scraping off over 20 seconds off of their previous lifetime bests.
Only 10 girls in state history had ever eclipsed 10 minutes and in the same race, THREE girls added their names to that list.
Already firmly established on that list with her own 9:50.69 lifetime best, Ventura (SS) sophomore Sadie Engelhardt ran away with the win in the mile, as she did as a freshman in 2022. Arguably, already the greatest distance prep runner in state history, she went unmatched throughout and crossed in 4:36.26, just off her record-setting 4:35.16 effort from last year. Scotts Valley (CC) junior Ashlyn Boothby placed fourth, improving to a 4:47.59 for the mile.
In the boys 800, after some pre-race drama where it appeared that Newbury Park (SS) senior Aaron Sahlman false started, it was determined by officials that a warning would be granted. With that, Sahlman reclaimed the national lead minutes later with his wire-to-wire, 1:49.07 victory. Cathedral (SS) junior Ambodai Ligons improved his school record best with a 1:51.15 while Long Beach Poly (SS) senior Lamarr Kirk continues to improve with his 1:51.37 effort.
On a night when we witnessed three boys eclipse the previous meet record in the boys 3200 and where, between the three heats of the 3200, also saw 39 boys break nine minutes, several Californians took advantage of the pace.
In the seeded section, Ventura (SS) junior Anthony Fast Horse crossed in a school-record setting effort of 8:51.40 while Crescenta Valley (SS) senior Parker Simmons raced to an 8:53.77.
In the invitational section, Palo Alto (CC) junior Grant Morgenfeld rolled to a new Central Coast section record at 8:49.21, eclipsing a 42-year old record that dates back to 1981 when Jesse Torres (Independence, San Jose) ran 8:52.11.
Putting himself in that top group through the first half, Millikan (SS) junior Jason Parra moved up to 11th on the all-time Southern Section list with his 8:46.50 lifetime best as the top Californian finisher. Clovis East (CS) junior Carter Spradling improved, too, going 8:50.79. Cathedral (SS) junior Emmanuel Perez also improved to 8:53.07 while Highland (SS) senior Matthew Donis crossed the finish line in 8:53.66.
Redwood (NC) senior Daegan Cutter (8:54.85), Templeton (CS) junior Josh Bell (8:55.52), Monte Vista (NC) senior Ethan Miller (8:56.86), Newbury Park (SS) senior Aaron Cantu (8:57.26), and Albany (NC) senior Sean Morello (8:59.12) all joined the sub-9 club.
Altogether, 10 Californian boys joined that group with five of them being underclassmen. On a side note, Cantu became the seventh Newbury Park boy to break 9:00 in just the past four years.
In the invitational section of the Distance Medley Relay, Loyola (SS) senior Jake Ratkovich held off a determined junior Brett Ephraim of San Clemente (SS) to bring home the 10:12.91 to 10:13.86 win. That moved Loyola to fourth in the nation and San Clemente up to sixth.
For the girls, it was a wire-to-wire victory for JSerra Catholic (SS) in a nationally leading 11:52.45 effort. Junior Brook O'Brien opened with a 3:38.8 leg for the 1200 meters to give the Lions the lead for good. Palo Alto (CC) closed well with a 4:56 anchor leg by sophomore Kinga Czajkowska to cross in 11:58.80 and move them up to fifth in the nation.
In the Rising Stars Mile, two Central Coast stars clashed down the last straightaway, with Pioneer (CC) sophomore Carson Hedlund holding off fast charging Los Gatos (CC) sophomore Aydon Stefanopoulus with the 4:15.47 to 4:16.00 win. This was a new meet record.
On Friday evening, the 4x800 relays created the headlines for California. With highly touted JSerra Catholic (SS) coming in as the favorites, especially after establishing a new state record of 8:52.68 last June and three legs returning from that crew, it was the girls of Del Norte that pulled the upset.
Del Norte's (SD) Hannah Riggins uncorked a sub-2:09 split to break it wide open and lead the Nighthawks to a new San Diego section record of 9:00.77 and the fifth fastest time in California state history. JSerra's Georgia Jeanneret anchored at 2:10.9 to bring her team back as their 9:03.27 now ranks as the ninth fastest in state history.
The boys of Buchanan (CS) took to the stage for the boys 4x800, with senior Zach Weaver anchoring with a 1:52.7 split to elevate the Bears to the top time in the nation at 7:43.84 and new Central Section record. Menlo was runner-up with 7:47.23, fourth fastest in the nation, while San Clemente placed third at 7:48.34, good for eighth in the nation.
Staying with the Friday night relay session, Buchanan's girls put on a show by capturing the 4xMile Relay in 20:01.12 to move to the national lead in the event. Converting that to a sub-19:54 effort for the 4x1600, it is the fourth fastest in state history while breaking their own previous Central Section record.
Other noteworthy performances in the distances include Santiago (SS) sophomore Rylee Blade. On Friday night, in the seeded section of the 3200 meters, Blade patiently sat with the leaders before unleashing a sub-2:27 last 800 meters to run 10:21.08, shaving 17 seconds off her previous school record best. Laguna Hills (SS) sophomore Holly Barker also closed well with her 10:25.91 runner-up effort.
Other note-worthy performances
Girls 3200 meters:
Grace Hutchison (Buchanan) 10:27.13
Evangeline Marheineke (Archbishop Mitty) 10:28.21
Mackenzie McRae (Huntington Beach) 10:28.25
Caroline Mendyk (Buchanan) 10:28.57
Marjourie Lopez (Shadow Hills) 10:30.04
Sydney Sundgren (Buchanan) 10:30.40
Katie Kopec (Whitney) 10:30.48
Anna Chittenden (Mira Costa) 10:31.23
Lauren Soobrian (Los Altos) 10:31.33
Ailish Hawkins (Newbury Park) 10:34.79
Jaelyn Williams (Eastlake) 10:38.73
Brianne Smith (Quartz Hill) 10:39.13
Renae Searls (Alhambra) 10:39.59
Boys 3200:
Josh Chu (Ponderosa) 9:00.35
Broen Holman (Sonora) 9:01.38
Roland Ruckmann-Barnes (Granada) 9:03.90
Van Filek (Santiago) 9:06.02
Devin Pereira (Rocklin) 9:07.20
John Cooper (Wilcox) 9:07.52
Evan Markelz (Mountain View) 9:08.73
Landon Pretre (Menlo) 9:09.57
Garrett Hartline (El Toro) 9:09.63
Tom Bell (Mt. Carmel) 9:10.46
Owen Ahten (Hart) 9:10.80
KC Barber (Westlake) 9:11.39
Max Fields (Palisades Charter) 9:13.01
Luca Romero (El Segundo) 9:13.15
Troy Esparza (Oak Ridge) 9:13.53
Alec Redmond (McClatchy) 9:13.78
Jacob Moffett (St. Mary's) 9:14.01
Nick Herrmann (Whitney) 9:14.25
Niall Monteleone (El Cerrito) 9:14.40
Josh Razo (Walnut) 9:14.43
Emmanuel Perez (Cathedral) 9:14.89
Girls Mile:
Annie Ivarsson (Dana Hills) 4:50.18
Allura Markow (Dana Hills) 4:54.80
Jaelyn Williams (Eastlake) 4:55.10
Sofia Lieberman (Murrieta Valley) 4:55.27
Adeline Johnson (Branson) 4:55.67
Chiara Dailey (La Jolla) 4:57.46
Janelle Avilez (Etiwanda) 4:58.20
Boys Mile:
Ryan Thomas (Torrey Pines) 4:12.54
Justin Pretre (Menlo) 4:13.42
Noah Ray (Buchanan) 4:14.75
Mateo Malko-Allen (St. Mary's) 4:14.81
Brandon Moreno (Jesuit) 4:15.71
Asher Patel (Miramonte) 4:16.33
Cameron Rhone (Long Beach Poly) 4:16.94
Andreas Dybdahl (Santa Barbara) 4:17.05
Westin Brown (Great Oak) 4:17.91
Gabriel Rodriguez (Great Oak) 4:18.06
Tom Bell (Mt. Carmel) 4:18.44
Girls 800:
Cate Peters (Monte Vista) 2:10.25
Kaitlyn Arciaga (Westview) 2:10.89
Tatum Oleson (Menlo-Atherton) 2:11.14
Makenna Herbst (Carlsbad) 2:11.37
Hillary Studdert (Palo Alto) 2:11.85
Sabrina Zanetto (St. Francis-CC) 2:12.74
Dominque Abbott (JW North) 2:13.71
Arielle McKenzie (Calabasas) 2:14.20
Adeline Johnson (Branson) 2:14.40
Elle Lomeli (Buchanan) 2:14.65
Tessa Buswell (Poway) 2:14.73
Nicole Samson (Webb) 2:14.88
Boys 800:
Parker Long (Piedmont) 1:53.35
Tarron Johnson (Vista Murrieta) 1:53.43
Alex Naehu (Palos Verdes) 1:53.96
Zach Weaver (Buchanan) 1:54.10
Noah Gordon (Etiwanda) 1:54.85
Jordan Berkley (Don Lugo) 1:55.05
Angel Cordero (Olympian) 1:55.12
Landon Archuleta (Murrieta Mesa) 1:55.76
Juan Juarez (Liberty-SS) 1:55.90
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Mark Gardner is a teacher, coach, popular announcer and a regular contributor to MileSplit
Photos by Raymond Tran