2009 CALIFORNIA RELAYS!
Day One (Friday) photo album - 100 images by Rich Gonzalez
Day One (Friday) Results | Full Results
Saturday Race Videos (Doug Speck 20 Race Action Videos - Rich G interview Gedyon)
Meet Story
Meet Record Summary - 21 New Standards!
 
Photos by Rich Gonzalez and Bill Leung
Dana Hills quartets were the big headline achievers in the opening hours of the 2009 California Relays, with the
Valdes Twins-led crews posting nation-leading marks in the distance medley (left photo, 10:11.99) relay on Friday
night, then returned to post a nation-leading 4x800 (right photo) on Saturday morning! The Dolphins, who dominated
during the championship phase of the cross-country season, are the distance kids to beat in 2009 track and field!
Distance medley relay order was: Zak Phillips, Mikey Fischetti, Ryan Valdes and Tyler Valdes. 4x800 relay order
was Cole Guerin, Jesus Molina, Tyler Valdes and Ryan Valdes.
Doug Speck - Editor DyeStatCal
In a super two day affair at Cerritos College, Friday March 20th and 21st, the California Relays powered to an impressive fourteen
state leading efforts, with a couple of hot distance relays by the powerful Dana Hills HS Boys’ program heading the show. A good
representation from up and down the state brought a huge group to the facility that is featured as one of the State Meet sites here
at Cerritos. On a blustery day that never was above 60 degrees the sun broke through enough times to shine on some good efforts
on the track in an affair that on Saturday started early and ended in the evening.
Dana Hills (Dana Point) had a super Fall Cross-Country season, taking the State Division I title as one of the nation’s top teams,
with Tyler (4:11.58 1600) and Ryan (1:54.42 800) Valdes leading the group with fine track credentials also from the 2008 spring.
Here, they hit the Distance Medley relay on Friday hard, then came back in the 4x800 on Saturday early then did a fine job in a
couple of individual races! In the Distance Medley the Dolphin crew of Zak Phillips, Mikey Fischetti, Ryan Valdes and Tyler
Valdes was chased by Loyola, as super soph Elias Gedyon continues to cash in on the promise he has always shown, riding
a 58 second opening 400 on the way to a 4:09.2, with DH finishing ahead at 10:11.99-10:14.88 (Loyola), the nation’s two top
times of the spring! In the 4x800 early Saturday morning Dana Hills came back unpressed in the 4x800, with Cole Guerin
(1:57.3), Jesus Molina (2:00.5), Tyler Valdes (1:54.1) and Ryan Valdes (1:53.5) cranking 7:45.42, another stunner and 1:56
average that beats anything run outdoors in the country this outdoor campaign so far. The Dana Hills group was not through,
with Ryan Valdes returning for third in a competitive 800 at 1:55.47, and Tyler racing away from a good 3200 group to record
a 9:14.98 clocking. Elias Gedyon (Loyola) came back to win that Invitational 800 at 1:55.16 for Loyola. It was quite a day
for the Orange County Dana Hills crew and the super soph Gedyon!
The fine distance efforts carried over, with Tyler Brady ((Upland) closing with an impressive sub 2:04 final 800 on the way to
a 4:16.36 1600 romp that had him win by nearly four seconds, and Dana Hills senior Heather Balbier racing 4:56.03 over
four laps on the Girls’ side. In the Girls’ 3200 Mira Costa soph Savanah Pio raced 10:54.10 to win over Dana Hills’ Alaina
Alvarez 10:56.79. The Dana Hills Dolphin crew added a 21:55.47 4x1600 early Saturday morning. Kevyn Murphy (Unat/
Mira Costa) competed in the open division and raced a fine 4:38.85 1500 meter, worth under 5:00 for a 1600/mile.
On the speed side at the Cal Relays, the ascension of the Serra HS of Gardena program to one of the top rungs statewide
was marked, with the Cavaliers program picking up top female age-groupers by the score to go along with the athletes they
already had to build a Girls’ squad to go along with a dynamite group of Boys at the area school. With Girls’ squad-leader
Turquoise Thompson appearing to not race this weekend, the others in the program did fine, with Breyonna Hunter 12.40
+0.7 and 25.21 nwi 100 and 200 Saturday finals wins, with fine frosh Alexis Faulknor second in the 100 at 12.40 after a
12.27 (+1.4) heat on Friday. In the Relays the Serra Girls group blasted 47.79 (47.67 heat) 4x1 win and a 1:40.10 (4x200)
victory. With all the kinks out and everyone out on the track Serra can challenge anyone in the State as a group, with
defending State team titlest Long Beach Poly certainly taking notice already. The Serra Boys group focused on the
Relays, with a fine 1:28.46 4x200 and second in the 4x100 to Rancho Cucamonga, Charles Saseun flying on the anchor
for the winners, 42.53-42.64 (Serra).
The sprints were interesting, with Charles Saseun (Rancho Cucamonga), second in last year’s State Meet 100, and a
lifetime sub 10.40 best, racing a State leader 10.70 (+1.8) in the Prelims Friday in the 100. In the Saturday Finals though,
it was the Nevada duo of Garic Wharton (Valley, Las Vegas) (10.78 +0.2) and Joeal Hotchkins (Chapparal, Nv) 10.86, who
went 1-2, with Kyle Middlebrooks (Fountain Valley) 10.87, and Saseun 10.93 leading the Golden State charge in third and
fourth only.
Reggie Wyatt (La Sierra, Riverside) showe up here in the Invitational flat 400, with one of the nation’s top athletes, given a
good chance at breaking all the long prep hurdle records before the spring is over, racing 47.68 in what appeared a very
controlled effort. His squad-mate, super frosh Laura McDowell, who raced 55.42 (400) and 2:09.56 (800) last year as
the nation’s top age-group 800 runner, showed up over two laps here, and impressed with her 2:12.95 winner over a good group.
Dante Thomas (Fairfield) came down and looked good in the Hurdles, racing 14.57 (+1.0) to win the Finals in an interesting
re-run when no photo showed up the first time through (Thomas won that won also), then came back to just outlean Mikey
Fischetti (Dana Hills) 38.38 in the 300 Meter Intermediates. Nyjah Cousar (Long Beach Wilson) led the Girls’ barrier efforts
with a fine 43.98 run over the 300 Meter Lows, with Monisha Davis (Etiwanda) 14.40 (+1.1) the 100 Hurdles winner over
Ashley Smith (Millikan) 14.61 who is branching out with success this spring.
The super results continued through a huge number of events here, with the Long Beach Wilson Girls racing a fine 4:06.83
1600 Medley. The Ashley’s battled in the Girls High Jump, with Ashley Smith (Millikan, Long Beach) taking Ashley Henry
(Rancho Cucamonga) on misses with both at a fine 5-08. Off lead-off 4:29 and 4:20 legs, El Rancho raced 18:13.53 to run
away with the Boys 4x1600 relay. In the field for the Boys, Jeff Tran (Fountain Valley) won the Pole Vault at 15-00 over
improved Cameron Savage (Upland) and Kyle Ballow (El Camino Real, Woodland Hills), both also over that magic 15-foot
barrier here early in the season. John Byrd (Arlington, Riverside) marked a good win over Devon Harrison (Dana Hills) in
the Long Jump 22-04 nwi-22-00 nwi, with Bryan Bennett (Crespi, Encino) 45-07 nwi to win over San Fernando Valley rival
Tyler Ruiz (Notre Dame, Sherman Oaks) 45-01 nwi.
The competition kicked off the elite end of the prep sport in Southern California in fine style and left fans looking down the
road this season to what will be another great campaign as the Invitational weekends lead to May and June’s championship
affairs
MEET RECORD SUMMARY - 2009 21 NEW MEET RECORDS - 11 Girls - 10 Boys
GIRLS
INDIVIDUAL EVENTS (Running)
100 Meters
12.02- Ebony Collins, Woodrow Wilson HS, Long Beach, California (2006)
200 Meters
24.37- Shelise Williams, Woodrow Wilson HS, Long Beach, California (2007)
400 Meters
54.04- Myra Hasson, Gardena HS, Gardena, California (2004)
800 Meters
2:12.95- LAURA McDOWELL, LA SIERRA HS, RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA (2009)
1600 Meters
4:56.03- HEATHER BALBIER, DANA HILLS HS, DANA POINT, CALIFORNIA (2009)
3200 Meters
10:54.10- SAVANNAH PIO, MIRA COSTA HS, MANHATTAN BEACH, CALIF. (2009)
100 High Hurdles
14.27- Kori Carter, Claremont HS, Claremont, California (2008)
300 Low Hurdles
41.72- Ebony Collins, Woodrow Wilson HS, Long Beach, California (2004)
FIELD EVENTS
Long Jump
18-11.50- De Ana Carson, Woodrow Wilson HS, Long Beach, California (2004)
Triple Jump
38-04.50- Artensia Young, Junipero Serra HS, Gardena, California (2004)
High Jump
5-08- ASHLEY SMITH, MILLIKAN HS, LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA (2009)
ASHLEY HENRY, RANCHO CUCAMONGA HS, RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA ,2009
Camille Dencer, Louisville HS, Woodland Hills, California (2006)
Pole Vault
11-00- DARA BROWN, WOODROW WILSON HS, LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA (2009)
Nicole Larson, Upland HS, Upland, California (2008)
Shot Put
41-05.00- JANAY TILLET, BIRMINGHAM HS, LAKE BALBOA, CALIFORNIA (2009)
Discus
171-10- Anna Jelimi, Shafter HS, Shafter, California (2008)
RELAY EVENTS (VARSITY)
4x100 Relay
46.23- Woodrow Wilson HS, Long Beach, California (2004)
4x200 Relay
1:36.85- Woodrow Wilson HS, Long Beach, California (2004)
4x400 Relay
3:41.34- Oakridge HS, Orlando, Florida (2004)
4x800 Relay
9:21.53- Woodrow Wilson HS, Long Beach, California (2004)
4x1600 Relay
21:55.47- DANA HILLS HS, DANA POINT, CALIFORNIA (2009)
Sprint Medley Relay (200-200-400-800)
3:53.60- Oakridge HS, Orlando, Florida (2004)
Distance Medley Relay (1200-400-800-1600)
12:42.18- Woodrow Wilson HS, Long Beach, California (2004)
FROSH-SOPH RELAY RECORDS
4x100 Relay
50.49- JUNIPERO SERRA HS, GARDENA, CALIFORNIA (2009)
4x200 Relay
1:44.93- JUNIPERO SERRA HS, GARDENA, CALIFORNIA (2009)
4x400 Relay
4:12.30- WOODROW WILSON HS, LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA (2009)
4x800 Relay
10:09.19- WOODROW WILSON HS, LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA (2009)'
Sprint Medley Relay (100-100-200-400)
1:49.64- JUNIPERO SERRA HS, GARDENA, CALIFORNIA (2009)
BOYS
INDIVIDUAL RUNNING EVENTS
100 Meters
0.56- Lionel Larry, Dominquez HS, Compton, California (2004)
200 Meters
21.40- Lionel Larry, Dominquez HS, Compton, California (2004)
400 Meters
47.13- David Gettis, Dorsey HS, Los Angeles, California (2004)
800 Meters
1:55.16- ELIAS GEYDON, LOYOLA HS, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA (2009)
1600 Meters
4:16.36- TYLER BRADY, UPLAND HS, UPLAND, CALIFORNIA (2009)
3200 Meters
9.14.98- TYLER VALDES, DANA HILLS HS, DANA POINT, CALIFORNIA
110 High Hurdles
14.33- Jordan Paul, Loyola HS, Los Angeles, California (2005)
300 Int. Hurdles
38.38- DANTE THOMAS, FAIRFIELD HS, FAIRFIELD, CALIFORNIA (2009)
MIKEY FISCHETTI, DANA HILLS HS, DANA POINT, CALIFORNIA (2009)
FIELD EVENTS
Long Jump
24-02.00- Anthony Wright, Compton HS, Compton, California (2007)
Triple Jump
48-00.00- Richard Sherman, Dominquez HS, Compton, California (2005)
High Jump
6-8- Jonathan Clark, Loyola HS, Los Angeles, California (2007)
Pole Vault
15-00- JEFF TRAN, FOUNTAIN VALLEY HS, FOUNTAIN VALLEY, CALIF. (2009,2008)
CAMERON SAVAGE, UPLAND HS, UPLAND, CALIFORNIA (2009)
KYLE BALLOW, EL CAMINO REAL HS, GRANADA HILLS, CALIFORNIA (2009)
Shot Put
57-04.00- Rashard Scott, Harry S. Truman HS, Brooklyn, New York (2005)
Discus
173-00- Jeramy Cutler, Lakewood HS, Lakewood, California (2008)
VARSITY RELAY EVENTS
4x100 Relay
41.92- Rancho Cucamonga HS, Rancho Cucamonga, California (2007)
4x200 Relay
1:28.46- JUNIPERO SERRA HS, GARDENA, CALIFORNIA (2009)
4x400 Relay
3:16.97- Chaparral HS, Temecula, California (2004)
4x800 Relay
7:45.42- DANA HILLS HS, DANA POINT, CALIFORNIA (2009)
4x1600 Relay
18:13.53- EL RANCHO HS, PICO RIVERA, CALIFORNIA (2009)
Sprint Medley (200-200-400-800)
3:30.14- East HS of Transit Tech, Brooklyn, New York (2004)
Distance Medley
10:11.99- DANA HILLS HS, DANA POINT, CALIFORNIA (2009)
BOYS FROSH-SOPH RELAYS
4x100 Relay
45.11- Loyola HS, Los Angeles, California (2007)
4x200 Relay
1:31.34- Loyola HS, Los Angeles, California (2007)
4x400 Relay
3:33.36- Notre Dame HS, Sherman Oaks, California (2008)
4x800 Relay
8:32.10- LOYOLA HS, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA (2009)
Sprint Medley (100-100-200-400)
1:37.31- Woodrow Wilson HS, Long Beach, California (2008)
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