CIF-STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS - Boys and Girls Relays Preview

4x100-Meter Relay

State Meet Record -  40.24 Hawthorne (SS) 1989

2023 State Leader - 40.28 Granada Hills (LA)

The state leader in this event will also be the favorite here. Granada Hills (LA) ran their season best of 40.28 while winning the Invitational section of the Arcadia Invitational. Their lineup features two of the best sprinters in the state, Jordan Coleman and Dijon Stanley. Their main competition will come from the Southern Section champion and the only school to dip under the 41 second mark this season, Oaks Christian (SS). Other contenders include the North Coast Section champion, Acalanes (NC) who sport a season best of 41.28. Central Coast Section champion Sacred Heart Prep (CC) has been impressive all season and just posted their best time of 41.60 in winning their section final. Other teams that will be in contention to make the final are De La Salle (NC), Los Altos (CC), Simi Valley (SS), Rancho Cucamonga (SS) and Sac-Joaquin Section champion Merrill West (SJ).

4x400-Meter Relay

State Meet Record - 3:08.42 Serra-Gardena (SS) 2010

2023 State Leader - 3:13.86 Long Beach Poly (SS)

The best state meet in the US always closes with this event and without a doubt, this usually ends up being one of the most exciting races of the day. The favorite to win here will be Southern Section power, Long Beach Poly (SS). They won the Invitational section of the Arcadia Invitational and just posted their fastest time of the season at 3:13.86 in winning the SS Masters Meet. The team will be anchored by one of the most talented juniors in the country, Xai Ricks. He has posted bests of 46.50 and 1:49.19. Their main competition should come from 400 relay favorite Granada Hills (LA) with senior Dijon Stanley on anchor. They posted their best time of 3:14.69 chasing LB Poly at the Mt. SAC Invitational. Cathedral (SS) finished second to LB Poly at the SS Masters Meet while setting their season best time of 3:16.68. Other contenders include Central Coast Section champion Los Gatos (CC), and Central Section champion Central (CS).

On the 103rd California State Meet, the 3200 relay, aka 4x800, will finally make its debut.

This event, similar to the individual 3200-meter run, will be conducted only at Saturday's finals. Most sections were allotted two qualifying teams per gender, with the state's three small sections (NS, OK, SF) qualified one each, and the large Southern Section will be represented by four entries per gender.

The lone distance race should be quite exciting and multiple teams will have a chance to lay claim as the inaugural winner of this event. The Buchanan (CS) team won the Arcadia Invitational led by seniors Noah Ray and Zach Weaver. San Clemente (SS) just posted their best time of the season at 7:45.93 while winning the Southern Section Masters Meet. Long Beach Poly (SS) and Wilson-Long Beach (SS) finished behind San Clemente and will both be dangerous threats here. Central Coast Section champ Menlo (CC) team have been impressive all season and posted a best 7:47.23 chasing Buchanan at Arcadia. Another notable top team is North Coast Section winner Clayton Valley (NC). Their season best of 7:46.21 was established at the Mt. SAC Invitational while finishing 3rd behind Long Beach Poly and Herriman, now led by former Great Oak (SS) coach, Doug Soles. Other podium contenders include Loyola (SS), Crystal Springs Uplands (CC), and Clovis (CS).

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GIRLS

The LA section could make a clean sweep of this event as they will also be favored to win here. Carson (LA), led by Georgia-bound sprint champion Reign Redmond, posted their best time of the season at 45.28 while winning the Mt. SAC Invitational. They also posted the fastest time at all the section meets with their 46.16 winning time at the LA Section Final. Their main competition should come from two Southern Section teams, Serra-Gardena (SS) and Wilson-Long Beach (SS). Serra has the 2nd fastest time this season at 45.77 while Long Beach Wilson won the always super competitive Southern Section Masters Meet. Chino Hills (SS) finished behind Long Beach Wilson and Serra and have a season best time of 46.79. Other contenders to make the final include another Southern Section team, Long Beach Poly (SS) and San Diego Section champ Steel Canyon (SD). Central Coast Section champion St. Ignatius (CC) will be anchored by super freshman Ellie McCuskey-Hay.

The girls' new 4x800, aka 3200 relay, will race first in this debut event. The host team Buchanan Bears have been a distance powerhouse in cross country and will be out to demonstrate their prowess here. Their best time of the season is also the fastest time for the state  as they rolled to a 8:59.12 winning the Mt. SAC Invitational. Their main competition should be the Del Norte (SD) team led by senior Hannah Riggins. Del Norte just won the San Diego Section and posted their fastest time of the season (9:00.77) while winning the Arcadia Invitational. The deep JSerra (SS) team will also be in contention as they finished 2nd at Arcadia and the just completed SS Masters Meet. The winning team at the SS Masters Meet were the Claremont (SS) girls who posted their best time of the season at 9:07.84. St. Francis Mt. View (CC) won the Central Coast Section final over Los Altos (CC) with a season best of 9:12.05 as their anchor Sabrina Zanetto completed a double victory after her individual victory in the 800.