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Arcadia Fri Preview

Relay crews will be smokin' in Blazin' Batons session Friday night at Arcadia Invitational.

April 6-7, 2007 Arcadia CA

DyeStat on-site coverage

by Doug Speck
DyeStatCal co-editor and Arcadia track announcer

Girls Invitational 4x800 Relay

With this an “Invitational” only event in California the Golden Staters may take a bit of a spanking here,
with visitors from across the nation who really take the development of folks to cover two laps in style
quite seriously. Roosevelt (Greenbelt, Md) was the nation’s top indoor Girls Track team this winter, with
an amazing 4x200, 4x400, 4x800, and Distance Medley Relay sweep of the Nike Indoor Nationals in mid-
March. They had an indoor best this winter of 9:01.17, a 2:15 average, with a solid crew here–on the
entry list are Marka Walker, a 5:00 1600 runner and Tasha Stanley who ran 2:15 this winter. Xavier
College Prep (Az) brings in a fine team with Natalie Johnson (2:10.60 open 800 07), Jessica Tonn (4:56
1600) and Sarah Penney (5:07) stepping down in distance for this contest. Mountain Ridge HS (Az) has
folks who step up the ladder coming together here, with 57.65 400 star Andrea Menhennet, 2:20 800
runner Nadya Bishton, and 10:47 3200 runner Nastia Bishton coming together for this race. Fairfield was
the 2006 winner at 9:20.9, with Dominique Jackson (2:08.25) and sister Danzel (11:25 3200) helping lead
the 2007 version.

Boys Invitational 4x800 Relay
Wow, this is a wide-open race that will be tremendously exciting to watch. “Back East” types have
dominated in recent years, with 2006 Champ Monsignor Farrell (NY) back to battle again, with a fine
8:04.15 during the indoor season on a tight 200 meter facility. Iona Prep/Ursiline School (NY) was
7:57.27 to lead the entrants from the east, and out of state. Silverado (Nv) has 1:52 39 star Sean Zurko
on the anchor and could be dangerous also, with Nathan Hale (Wash) and Cheyenne Central (Wy) also
entering fine times. From California a good size group of squads are entered at around 8:00, with La
Sierra (Riverside), and the sub 4:10 1600 twin runners Jared and Spencer Knight, along with Steve
Norton, a dangerous group. Santa Margarita (Rancho SM), a healthy Upland group (if Ryan Gamboa is
back on track), and Lakewood seem especially dangerous.

Boys Invitational 4x200 Relay
Really competitive event that kind of depends upon where the better teams put their good runners during
the weekend. Logan (Union City) won the Simplot Indoor Games at 1:29.65 over Washington (Denver)
1:29.77, with the Colorado group a very dangerous foursome in the individual events who could stretch it
out nicely outdoors here this weekend. Desert Vista (Az) has run 41.99 in the flat 4x1 so they could step
up in style, with Middletown and Strongsville (Ohio) both entering fine times. Rancho Cucamonga, Helix,
and Long Beach Poly, if they bring everyone, could be very tough!

Girls Invitational 4x200 Relay
The Girls side of the meet will get down to real serious action right quick here, with the Nike Indoor
Champion Roosevelt (Greenbelt, Md) squad (1:39.36 best indoors) facing the National Scholastic Indoor
winners Long Beach Poly (1:39.67 in that race). Long Beach Wilson brings a super group, with a 1:39.34
win at the Simplot Games Indoors. The race will be just that close, with whoever really comes to run this
weekend emerging the winner. Roosevelt really comes to run, with a possible two wins in two Invitational
level races up to this point in Friday’s action!!

Boys 800 Medley Invitational
Keep an eye on this event as Long Beach Poly may have their eyes on the National Record 1:28.95 set
by Glenville from 2003. The Jackrabbits have 10.64 sprinter Isaiah Green running a 100m leg, with sub 22
second 200 runners Evant Orange and Joey Hughes on the next two segements (100 and 200 meters),
with 46.20 star Bryshon Nellum anchoring. Let’s see - 11-22-22 and 47 seconds will give you 1:32.0, so
some whittling will have to be done if this is the squad that Poly shows up to run with–by the way the
team can all record quicker splits than we have given them. Worth watching!! James Logan (Union City),
with stars Keagan Wethington and Quentin Powell, Inglewood, led by 21.22 spriner Dondre McDonald,
and Middletown (Ohio) all appear to have excellent squads.

Boys 1600 Sprint Medley Invitational
Rancho Cucamonga has a fine squad entered here, with Ridgewood (New Jersey) another with a quick
3:30 clocking coming in. Helix, Cimarron Memorial (Nv), and Fairfield will battle for the other medals.

Girls 800 Medley Relay Invitational
Another cooker with Eleanor Roosevelt (Md) bringing a fine group including yearly indoor National Leader
at 500m, Takecia Jameson, and 55.36 indoor 400 star Tasha Stanley. Logan (Union City) has burners up
through anchor Thandi Stewart, a frosh who blazed 54.24 in the eighth grade for a 400. Centennial
(Compton) is undergoing a real resurgence, with this probably their big “coming out” meet. The squad
has run some some dual times, with this a chance to get out and prove their mettle in an “Invitational”
setting. This will be a great contest!

Girls 1600 Sprint Medley Invitational
Roosevelt (Maryland) again takes on the world, with 1:32.53 600 meter indoor star Tameka Jameson (her
sister Takecia in last race in case you think you are seeing double here) anchoring a very capable squad.
Logan has entered a fine 4:02.48 squad, with the team probably needing to focus on this or the shoter
800 medley version, and if it is here, they will be very solid, as Thandi Stewart and Jami Hardy are both
2:12 800 runners to complete the event with great back-up out front on the 200 and 400 legs! Centennial
(Compton) has star 2:15 800 star Robin McClendon anchoring what will be a very competitive group.

Girls 4x1 mile relay
Some super squads will hook up here. Eleanor Roosevelt (Maryland) is amazing in its ability to enter
quality teams in all these relays. No team in the history of this relay portion of the meet has had a squad
that can compete for the top spot in as many races as the Maryland crew, truly amazing group!! The
Roosevelt group gets the job done in all event areas, with the program showing true excellence at the
longer distances, taking part in the first two Nike Team Nationals competitions in cross-country in
December, emblematic of excellence up to the 5000 meter distance. They will bring the core of a group
that won the Nike Indoor Nationals Distance Medley Indoors at 11:48.68, quite a clocking! O’Connor HS
of Arizona had a super Cross-Country team this Fall, with Camille Olson and Lindsay Prescott both
having run 4:59 for 1600 meters outdoors already, Aleina Eisenhauer a 5:11 four lapper, with Jade Riley,
fourth team member, a fine fall harrier campaign. Crescenta Valley (La Crescenta) and Maria Carrillo
(Santa Rosa) have the ability to go under the tough 21 minute barrier, with Fountain Valley, St. Francis
(Sacramento), Los Gatos, Esperanza (Anaheim), Murrieta Valley, and Oak Park traditionally strong
distance programs who will be very solid here.

Boys 4x1 Mile Relay
If some strong groups go seriously at this event there will be some great clockings!! Trabuco Hills had
JT Sullivan 4:12.8, Riley Sullivan 4:16.3, Scott Blair 4:16.4, and Chris Mosier 4:25.2 in a recent
Invitational, right at about 17:10 when added up, one of prep history’s fastest ever group clockings
should they be able to put it together separately here!! Area rival El Toro will be dangerous, with Abdow
Haji 4:15, Marc Hausmaninger 4:21, and Kip Miller 4:25 in the same competition to put them potentially
way under an 18:00 4:30 average. Shenendehowa (NY), symbolic with the best in prep distance running
will wander west and certainly give everyone all they can handle, with two of the four off a 17:26 NSIC
4x1 mile winning squad. Horizon (Az), Valencia (Placentia), Arcadia, Ventura, and Willow Glen have
entered excellent squads with a number expected to run under the 18:00 barrier here.


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