Southern California has long been known for producing world-class sprinters who dominate the CIF State Championships. Icons like Allyson Felix, Michael Norman, Remontay McClain, and Marion Jones all hail from SoCal. But in 2025, the storyline shifted dramatically.
This year, Northern California swept the boys' and girls' 100m and 200m state titles in a rare shift in short sprints.
Naiaja Sizemore of Vanden High School became the first girl from outside SoCal to win both short sprint events since Ashton Purvis of St. Elizabeth in 2018. Sizemore was one of the three athletes who secured double victories at the CIF State Championships.
In the boys' 100m, Jaden Jefferson of De La Salle High School ran 10.24 to win the 100m championship. He's the first 100m state champion outside of Southern California to win a state title in 20 years. The last winner was Kenny O'Neal from Skyline High School in Oakland, who won the 100m State Championship in 2004.
But perhaps the most surprising result came in the boys' 200m. Prince Babalola Buchango shocked the field with a 20.79 victory, becoming the first Northern California boy to win the event since Andre Ammons (Skyline, 1997).
An even more impressive fact from these three fantastic performances is that they are juniors. Sizemore, Jefferson, and Buchango will have the opportunity to return in 2026 and extend NoCal's new dominance in the Sptints.
*Flip through the next pages to watch their outstanding performances.