Payton Smith (La Jolla HS) has been at the top for over a month now, her time of 23.67 for the 200m being the only sub 23.70 performance of the season so far. Smith, a 400m specialist, is holding off a series of shorter range sprinters heading into the postseason.
Within roughly a quarter of a second sit the next seven competitors, the #2 seed, Amirah Shaheed (Madison HS), also of the San Diego Section like Smith. Shaheed, a senior bound for the Univ. of Oregon in the fall, has a Top 5 position in both the 100m and 200m, an excellent spot to be in at the start of May.
Meanwhile on the boys side, Brandon Arrington (Mt. Miguel HS) shocked the state at the Arcadia Invitational in early April when he dropped a blazing 20.76 over the 200m.This is the lead time to date, and is the only sub-21 second time of the season thus far.
Within a second of Arrington's time, there are roughly twenty more individuals that are in contention for a trip to the state prelims should they be able to finish highl...