TORRANCE -- The headliners did not disappoint. The story kept to the script. And the joy of high school track and field was on display throughout a warm Thursday at the CIF-Los Angeles City Section Championships at El Camino College.
Senior Reign Redmond and freshman Christina Gray led Carson's latest domination of the girls competition. Senior Dijon Stanley and junior Jordan Coleman were front-runners as Granada Hills Charter was a runaway winner of the boys competition.
And the fireworks started early when the boys 4x100-meter relay team of Coleman, Stanley, Kanye Martin, and anchor Jayden Smith moved the baton around the track in 40.68 seconds, the fastest ever by an LAC Section team, breaking the previous record of 40.74 run by Taft in 2002.
Stanley, the state leader in the 400m, would also win the 200m (21.14/1.4), the 400m (46.17), and anchor the 4x400m relay team to victory in 3:17.61. The University of Utah football recruit will be heading back to the State Meet where he was third in the 400, seventh in the 4x100m relay, and eighth in 200.
Coleman, in addition to his lead-off leg on the 4x1, won the 100m (10.67/-1.5), ran second to Stanley in the 200m (21.36), and ran third leg (and passing to Stanley) on the winning 4x4 team (3:17.61) as GHC put up 124 points to win its second consecutive LAC team title.
Palisades, which got a 1-2 finish in the 3200m by Owen Lewicky (9:34.08) and Max Fields (9:37.30), a win by Zaire Peters in the shot put (52-5), and a runner-up medal in the 100m by Amari Yolas (10.87), placed second with 46 points.
Redmond, the future Georgia Bulldog and defending State Meet champion in the 100m, won three events. She opened anchoring the winning 4x100m relay team in 46.16, then she went 11.75 (-1.5) to defend her 100m title, and she wrapped it up with a 24.43 (1.8) to defend her 200m title. Gray ran the opening leg on the 4x1 relay, won the long jump (17-10.25), and placed second to Redmond in the 100m (12.02).
Golden Valley (SS) senior transfer Ta'Ahjah Fann placed third in the 100m (12.08), giving Carson one of three event top-3 sweeps of the meet. The others came in the long jump, where Mia Jamerson placed second (17-4.25), and Kylah Hyatt was third (16-8.75), and the in the shot put, where junior Lauryn Williams took the title with a best of 41-1 followed by Mi'ah Molette (39-8.75), and Jazmine Cannon (36-1.75). Camrynn Williams Carson was the runner-up in the triple jump (34-3.50)
In posting 166 points in winning its eighth consecutive title and 10th since 2006, Carson also got event wins from Jamerson in the triple jump (36-1), Jaya Westby in the 300m hurdles (45.91), Eva Walker in the 800 meters (2:18.54), and the 4x400m relay team of Hyatt, Westby, Samira Stevenson, and Walker (4:00.82).
Granada Hills Charter was second in the girls competition with 96 points. The Highlanders got event wins from London Williams in the high jump (5-4), and Jocelyn Pacheco as part of a 1-3 sweep of the 3200m (11:08.51). Pacheco placed second in the 1600m. Isabella Vally placed second in the 400m (57.07), Monique Fulling was second in the 300mH (48.20).
Hamilton sophomore Brooklyn Harris won the 400m in 56.89, Ava Baak of Palisades won the 1600m in 5:05.68, Caylin Norwood of El Camino Real won the 100m hurdles (16.20/-2.5), and Valentina Amescua of LACES won the pole vault (10-0) as the only girls not from Carson or GHC to win an event.
Boys event titles were spread out a little more than the girls. Gabriel Pearson of Hamilton swept the hurdles, winning the 110mH event in 15.19 (-2.4) and the 300s in 39.41. Birmingham's Deshawn Banks won the high jump (6-6), Marco Romero of Garfield won the pole vault (10-0), Isaiah Atkins of Venice won the triple jump (41-10.50), Isaac Torres of El camino Real defended his title in the 800m (1:55.47), and Joseph Vargas of Cleveland won the 1600m (4:20.92).
The futures is clearly bright for the Carson boys. Sophomore Jerald Martin Evangelista won the long jump (21-9.25) and was part of the runner-up 4x100m relay team (42.24), and freshman Jayden Rendon placed second in the 300m hurdles (39.62) and third in the 110mH (15.57).
Lincoln senior Jaden Rattay placed second to Stanley in the 400m (47.35) and third behind the GHC duo in the 200m (21.93).
Jeffrey Parenti is the State Editor for California MileSplit
Photos by Jeffrey Parenti
Video by James Escarcega
