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Arcadia Invitational Preview

Event by Event Analysis

April 6-7, 2007 Arcadia CA High School

DyeStat on-site coverage

by Doug Speck
DyeStatCal editor and Arcadia meet announcer

 

Events in Saturday evening schedule order

Men’s Discus Throw - Foothill of Bakersfield junior Dayshan Ragans has the country’s #3 throw up through late March with a stunning 193-03 effort as the Central Section star literally gobbles up the distance between his best and 200 feet. He and a great group should start off the action with some super marks, with this ring kind of sacred, with four National Records set in the Arcadia meet over the years (Suzy Powell, Seilala Sua on the Girls’ side and Kamy Keshmiri preceding Arrhenius’s on the male side), with the still standing 234-03 by Utah’s Niklas Arrhenius from 2001 here one of prep history’s great marks ever!! Jake Fuller (West Valley, Cotonwood) 186-03 last week, Ian Lettow (Faith Christian, Colorado) a State 3A Champ at 184-03, Derek Johnson (Agoura) 183-02, Jarred Jonovich (Globe), Arizona’s best at 181-10, Colin Boevers (Judge Memorial, Utah) fifth here last year at 181-09, Christopher Krychev (Monte Vista, CCS) 180-09 , and Dan Saber (Arroyo Grande) 180-00 will fill out the top end of a stunning field that makes it worth getting to the meet before 4:00 pm when this one starts and wandering out to the east end Discus field.

Girls Pole Vault - Tori Anthony (Castilleja, Palo Alto) became US Prep History’s best over at 14-02.5 indoors and appears poised to continue the best year ever in the Vault event!! She certainly does not get a pass with the group gathered here, with National Soph record holder Allison Stokke (Newport Harbor) 13-05.75 back on top of her game, with Natasha Barthel (St. Francis, Mountain View) 12-10, and Emily Mattoon (Rancho Bernardo) 12-07 leading a challenging “chase pack.” The Arcadia Vault puts the athletes “on display” in the center of the main field on specially built run-ways!

Men’s Pole Vault - Wow! Another stunning group will battle for the winner’s watch and medals! Casey Roche (St. Francis, Mountain View) was 17-05 last summer and 16-06 a week back, with Nico Weiler (Los Gatos) a 16-06 best and win at the National Scholastic Indoor as the CCS duo has battled. Sac Joaquin star Connor Landry (Placer) has cleared 16-00 as of late, with Shea Kearney (Desert Vista) Arizona’s best at 16-02. Reno’s Cameron Kroll (15-09) leads six others over 15-06 in what is another field with scary depth!!

Women’s Shot Put - Miranda Wilson (Bishop O’Dowd, Oakland) was runner-up in the National Scholastic Indoor at 45-07 and leads a fine field. Hillary Fraser (El Toro) is closing down fast, with a dual mark of 44-11.5 this past week, with Stephanie Aliimatafitafi (Paramount) 43-09, also in a casual dual setting, looking for competition! Christine Weinreich (Arroyo Grande) was a State Finalist last June at 43-09, with super all-around Heptathlete Kelsey Rubeor (Murrieta Valley) 42-07.75. A flock of others over 40 feet will make this a deep, quality event.

Men’s Long Jump - A number here have jumped 24 feet, with a flock of others nipping at an effort near that prep standard of excellence! Toney Henderson (Gig Harbor) at 24-05.5 is the nation’s #3 returning jumper, with a group of Californians hoping to challenge the Northwest star. Terry Prentice, super all arounder from Diamond Ranch, has a 24-05 best and great series indoors and out already this spring, with Nelson Rosario (El Camino, Oceanside) popping a recent 24-02 effort. Fine soph John Byrd (Arlington) was 24-01 in a 2007 dual, with Josh Harrison (Rio Mesa) 23-09.75 and Virginia’s Rashad Cannon (Highland Springs) 23-09.5 indoors this winter, out in search of competition, which they will find no shortage of here!!

Women’s Triple Jump - Simply US prep history’s top “in-season” Invitational field ever gathered!! The group is aptly led by Indoor National Record setter Ke’Nyia Richardson (Holy Names, Oakland), who smashed the old indoor National Record of 43-11.5 by Juliana Yendork (Walnut) by over half a foot with an amazing 44-06.75 jump at New York’s National Scholastic Indoor Championship meet. The National Outdoor record is 44-11.75 by Brittany Daniels (West, Tracy) from 2004!! A tremendous pack will try to keep the Bay area star honest!! Jamesha Youngblood (Hercules) took the Nike Indoor Nationals title at 42-02.5, with Briana Stewart (Logan) a 41-06 last summer. Vashti Thomas (Mt. Pleasant) was second in the NSIC indoors at 40-06.75, with Taylor Nichols (Stockdale, Bak) 40-05 this spring, and Amanda Hunter (Marlborough) 40-00.25 for a PR. A ton of others go in search of bests out of over 40 feet here!
Men’s High Jump - Arizona’s Phil Feinberg (Corona del Sol) was a 7-01 winner in the March National Scholastic Indoor Championships in New York, with recent 7-00 star Gary Francis (De la Salle, Concord) hoping to best the neighboring state star, along with a ton of 6-08 or better local folks!! Daniel Kirkpatrick (Trabuco Hills) was 6-10 recently, with Nelson Rosario (El Camino, Oceanside) 6-09, and a half-dozen 6-08 jumpers out looking for some good competition this weekend!!

Women’s High Jump -A flock of California high-flyers have been over 5-08 this year and last, with someone bound or a big break-through, probably here! Susan Jackson (Napa) was 5-10.5 last year and is the nation’s #2 returnee in the event. From around the state a strong group has emerged to challenge! Rachel Welz (Bear River) impressed with a recent 5-08 effort, with Prospect of San Jose soph Kristin Rimbach and Jessica Robson (Newport Harbor) 5-08 clearances in a casual dual setting. All-arounder Moira Robinson (Mt. Whitney, Visalia) was 5-08 last spring, with frosh Ashley Smith (Millikan, Long Beach) possibly the most talented of all, 5-08 this year with multi-event excellence showing tremendous athletic ability!

Women’s Long Jump – A super group here with the defending State Champ, National Indoor
Leader, and 2007 National Outdoor Leader, all different folks!  Amber Purvis (Benicia)
surprised with a 19-10.25 personal best to take last June’s State Meet in a fair upset and is
therefore always a huge factor in big meets!  Karynn Dunn (Diamond Ranch) was the Co-
National leader outdoors last spring at 20-03 as just a frosh athlete, and led the country indoors
this winter with a fine 19-10.25!!  Ke’Nyia Richardson (Holy Names, Oakland) jumped 19-10.5
a week ago and she leads the nation outdoors this spring! What a group!!  Great all-arounder
Jamesha Youngblood (Hercules) has jumped 20-1.5, with Ashtynn Baltimore (Marlborough) 19-
04.5 (2006) and Vashti Thomas (Mt. Pleasant, San Jose) 19-03.5 helping fill out a very talented
group!!   


Men’s 4x100 Meter Relay - Long Beach Poly likes to show who is boss right off the bat with a win here, cranking a 40.83 victory last year. With flying starts and quality stick work the Jackrabbit potential is very high this year–the crew is anchored by World Junior Gold Medalist Bryshon Nellum! The field includes the state’s top seven teams on the watch, and the best from Ohio (Middletown) and Arizona (Chandler)!! With a packed house this is one event where you can cut the tension in the air with a fine stiletto, with lonely afternoons on the backstretch of some isolated track in practice carrying over here with the momentary focus or loss of same resulting in a win or loss–what the sport is all about to start the running action!!

Women’s 4x100 Meter Relay - The ladies will not let us down either as we wade into the running event action! State and National leader Rancho Verde (Moreno Valley 46.61) headed north last week and won at Stanford over that area’s top squads, with Long Beach Poly (46.92) and next five teams on the state yearly list, along with Tennessee’s Knoxville West (led by National Record Holder in the hurdles Jacquelyn Coward), hoping to mix it up in style. It will be another classic with someone running really fast!!

Women’s 1 Mile Run - Regular running event action starts in stunning style!! Alex Kosinski (Oak Ridge) emerged from fall injury in amazing style at the end of the indoor season, racing to a Nike Indoor Nationals Mile win over the nation’s #1 ranked Miler, Danielle Tauro, then was 4:40 for a 1600m leg over the weekend at the Stanford Invite during a distance medley! Christine Babcock (Woodbridge) pulled one of state history’s great ever upsets last June with an eight second 1600m improvement on the way to a 4:41.29 run. If Christine shows here, instead of the 3200, which we understand she is considering, this will be one of prep history’s great four lap contests!! Shannon Murakami (Saugus) was 4:43.04 last year for 1600 meters, with the trio the fastest group ever gathered in the early season! Be aware that Jordan Hasay (College Prep) set a National Federation record last week at a solo 4:39.13, taking down the over 20 year old 4:39.4 by Michigan’s Laura Matson, with event changes here possible until the last minute to include the talented soph! With a flock we have not mentioned of quality this could end as prep history’s deepest ever regular season 1600!

Men’s 1 mile run - San Diego area soph Mac Fleet (University City) amazed with an early spring 3:50.48 1500 meter run, with a talented group gathered here for the mile distance. 3:51 1500m star Julian Matthews from New Zealand, Virginia’s Axel Mostrag (Fork Union) a 1:51.63 Nike Indoor National 800 Champ and 4:14.65 1600 indoors this winter, and Washington’s Michael Chinchar (Kentwood) a 4:12.02 miler last year have the top credentials in a group that took well under 4:20 to qualify for.

Women’s Discus Throw - The nation’s top group gathered in 2007 will battle here! Miranda Wilson (Bishop O’Dowd) hopes for a weight event sweep, with a 155-06 win here last year. Lauren Guerriri (Davis) was 151-01 last spring, with Hillary Fraser (El Toro) the nation’s #2 toss in 2007 at 150-06. Anna Jelmini (Shafter), a soph, is the latest star from the Central Section schol with the super weight tradition, shocking with her improvement to 149-08 already this spring, the nation’s #3 throw for the campaign! Jessica Bonner (Chaparral) 143-04 and Brandi Dyer (Vista) 141-05 are listed among the nation’s top ten for the 2007 season, with Elisa Bryant (Inglemoor) a State 3A star in Washington at 148-08 last spring. Super depth at the top!!

Men’s 110 Meter High Hurdles - Super all-arounder Terry Prentice (Diamond Ranch), the nation’s #2 returnee at 13.59, will be challenged by a dynamite group! While Colony upstart Maruice Shaw (14.08 #3 US) was keeping Terry honest last week, pushing Prentice to a 13.99 (#2 US) win, Ray Stewart (Logan) was racing to a Nation-Leading 13.91 in winning at Stanford! The contest here actually has the nation’s top five for the current year on the clock, with Jeshua Anderson (Taft) 14.13, and Arizonanan Ray Polk 14.17. Do not count out Alhambra’s Zion Babb (14.02 in 2006) or Ohio’s Skylar Jones (Middletown) 14.13 as this is the best west coast prep gathering of hurdlers in recent years!!

Men’s Shot Put - Judge Memorial of Salt Lake City’s Colin Boevers had one of the nation’s top throws indoors, at 64-01, with Joe Canavan (Palm Desert) the winner over Boevers and the field at the Simplot Games with a fine 62-05 lifetime best. Christopher Krychev (Monte Vista) 59-04 leads a ton of others with bests between 56 and 58 feet who are looking for good competition, assured here!

Women’s 100 Meter Hurdles - Another event that can challenge for the best depth ever in a regular season meet is this hurdles field!! A National Record Holder leads a half dozen who have broken 14.0 for the event!! Jacquelyn Coward (West, Knoxville, Tennessee) had a Cinderella indoor campaign, where she battered a good National 60 Meter Hurdles record from 8.33 all the way down to 8.17, a stunning clocking! Coward returns to win here after being rundown last year near the end by Shana Woods. However, she will have to hustle to stay ahead of a quickly improving group of West Coasters! Vashti Thomas (Mt. Pleasant) blasted a 13.46 last weekend (#4 Californian ever) and inside the top twenty all-time among US Preps. Coward’s outdoor best last spring was 13.59, with the indoor clocking showing ability to press 13.00. State Champ Julian Purvis (St. Elizabeth) was 13.60 last year, with Ke’Nyia Richardson (Holy Names) 13.88 recently, and Dahlys Marshall (Valley Christain, CCS) improving to 13.90! The Four Californians top the National list this spring awaiting the arrival of Coward! Washington’s Devin Brooks (Holy Names, Seattle) was 13.93 (13.86w) last May and will add to the field, with possibly Ebony Collins (Locke, LA 13.86 2006) on the track also. Do not miss this contest!!

Men’s 100 Meter Dash - Northern and Southern California’s best meet the Nation’s Best here! Brandon Saine (Piqua, Ohio) is “Mr. Ohio Football,” a 6 foot 200 pounder with 58 touchdowns in the last two years has stunning track credentials, with 10.38-20.74 and 46.69 bests up through the 400, and will be at The Ohio State University as a running back battling for playing time as a frosh star in the Fall. He was third here last year at 10.54 behind Jamere Holland and returns to win, with Golden State area stars Jahvid Best (Salesian, Richmond) and Dondre McDonald (Inglewood) hoping to keep the winner’s watch local this go-round! Best was 10.39w to take the Seeded Arcadia race last year, and moves to the Invitational race this year with confidence. McDonald has run 10.66, the nation’s #5 time for the season, and was 21.22 last weekend while stretching it out a bit over the half lap!! Randall Carroll (Cathedral), a soph, took the other top California gathering last weekend and the former age-group national champ looks ready to rock and roll with the ‘big boys.’

Women’s Invitational 100 Meter Dash - A super group of flyers will battle here! The State’s next great dasher has arrived, with upstart frosh Ashton Purvis (St. Elizabeth) smashing all previous prep indoor bests nationally for the 60m (7.49) and 200 (23.55), the latter mind-blowing as it is almost a second better than Marion Jones ran at the same age! Last weekend Purvis continues to show no respect to elders, taking State Leader Cherrelle (Mt. Eden) 11.64-11.65, with the duo currently sitting #3 and #4 on the National Yearly lists! Dominique Lauderdale (Ridgeview, Bakersfield) looks for competiton, with an 11.81 win last week (#7 nationally) adding to her confidence and credentials! Yasmin Woodruff (St. Mary’s) 11.71 in 2006 is always tough here, with last year’s winner Kenyanna Wilson (Peoria, Az) adding greatly to the mix off her 11.36 personal best and 2006 win.

Men’s 800 Meters - California State Champ Cory Primm (Westlake) proved sharpness a week ago with a solo 1:50.60, and he should find someone who can go along for the ride through 600 here. Washington’s Isak Bergman (Ellensburg) was 1:50.68 last year and is the nation’s #3 returnee, with North Carolina 1:51.95 star Dylan Ferris one place ahead of Primm at the recent Nike Indoor Nationals. Ryan Gamboa (Upland) 1:51.67, Rocky Richardson (Madera) 1:52.33, and Sean Zurko (Silverado, Nv) 1:52.39 help provide the depth that could push the winner under 1:50 here!

Women’s 800 Meters -A great group here will force the winner well under 2:10. More than a few below listed cannot sit on a casual early pace, with folks like Utah’s Nachelle Stewart, Marlborough’s Kate Grace, and Emily Dunn great foot speed near the end! Justine Federonic (Carlmont) is super hot with a 4:55.29 1600 win last week and 2:09.59 800 two weeks ago, with Emily Dunn (Esperanza) 2:10.54 in a comfortable recent win, and Dominique Jackson (Fairfield) 2:08.25 last June. Mia Lattanzi (Palo Alto) was 2:09.61 during a Cinderella story 2006 outdoor season! Jordan Diaz (Leigh, San Jose) (2:11.65 indoors) and Kristen Sanzari (Maria Carrillo) (2:12.66 during the undercover season) lead another amazing field!

Men’s Triple Jump - Amazing Arizona sophs Will Claye (Mountain Pointe) ane Bryce Lamb (Chandler) lead a formidable out of state challenge to the Golden State’s best here, with Lamb a National age-15 record last year of 49-01.75, but Claye out to 48-09 this spring to lead the tough duo! Jonathan Clark (Loyola) 49-00, Nelson Rosario (El Camino, Oceanside) 48-03.5, and Gyasi Rivers (Hollywood) 48-02.5, and Jonathan Clark (Loyola) 47-09 hope to defend California’s honor in the three-bound contest.

Women’s 3200 Meter Run - Ho, hum, last weekend for Jordan Hasay (Mission Prep) it was a steady 69-70-70-70 4:39.13 1600m pace that took down a National Federation record that had stood since 1985!! This week, who knows!! A steely determination and conditioned ability to maintain a pace that wilts the opposition mark the recent efforts of the blond-tasssled star whose 3200 meter win here last year was saluted by an unscripted standing ovation from the sell-out crowd. Hasay seems capable of “matter-of-factly” recording clockings in low-key settings that are better than last year’s times, with a 10:07.56 3200 here taking all the age and class records up through the universal level! She has a 10:04.7 2007 best, a National Soph Class Record, with a really great national level field joining her here. Christy Adamyk (Glendora) 10:19.83 and Marie Lawrence (Reno, Nv) 10:20.95 among the nation’s top handful over 8 laps, with Christine Babcock (Woodbridge), the state 1600 champ at 4:41 said thinking of joining the 3200 fray! Over a dozen in one of the best early season gatherings of prep female distance runners ever have run under 10:45 for 3200! Only three preps ever have run 3200m under 10 minutes outdoors!

Women’s 400 Meters - A ton of people who rank among the top twenty in the nation will do battle here. A talented sister duo from Utah, Nachelle and Natalie Stewart (Spanish Fork), with 53.94 and 54.36 bests, respectively last spring and good indoor winter seasons this year, look ready to roll. They will be challenged by the nation’s fastest indoor 500m runner, Tameika Jameson (Roosevelt, Greenbelt, Maryland), LB Poly’s Jasmine Joseph (54.02) and super frosh Thandi Stewart (Logan) 54.24 in the eighth grade! With everybody in the field under 56 seconds, you had better run fast if you wish to medal!

Men’s 400 Meter Dash - Bryshon Nellum (LB Poly) has a ton of experience, up through the International level at the World Youth (under 18) and World Junior (under 20) competitions, where he brought home gold medals in the 4x400 baton event. He is the defending champ here, cranking a 46.20 while reining in Colorado’s quick-starting JT Scheuerman, and hopes to add to his watch collection again this season. Ohio’s Kendall Gregory is a strong finisher, with the 47 second star racing prep history’s #6 600 Meter times ever indoors at 1:19.43! Arizona’s best, sub 48 second star Tyler Arnold (Highland) comes west in search of competition, with Chris Barton (Notre Dame) and Quentin Powell (Logan) also sub-48 second stars in the field!

Men’s 300 Meter Hurdles - Round two in the classic showdown between two California all-time greats! Last week National Leader (36.26) Jeshua Anderson (Taft) jumped in at the last minute when he saw Terry Prentice (36.79 from 2006) was racing, and Anderson raced to a 36.46-36.88 win, with Prentice starting patiently, then actually closing down a bit over the final half of the event. The duo sit #1 and #3 on the yearly prep lists, with their race here and how each of them approaches it one of the classics! Hope you remember David Klech’s ‘go for broke’ 35.45 win here last year, with Anderson appearing to favor that style, with some magic possible this go-round also! Middletown Ohio’s Skylar Jones has run 37.18 and could be in the hunt l!!

Women’s 300 Meter Hurdles - A great field will gather here also, one on the clock at this time of the year as good as ever has been put in nine lanes! Jacquelyn Coward (West, Knoxville), in addition to being a National Record short hurdler, has run 59.31 for the full 400 meter barrier distance, with California’s Jamesha Youngblood (Hercules) 41.72 (#4 returnee in nation) last spring and Kiani Profit (Muir) among the nation’s top half dozen back at 41.97 (#5 back nationally). Takecia Jameson, another part of the super Roosevelt of Maryland group has run 42.24 (#9 returnee nationally). The appearance of Ebony Collins (Locke, LA), the #2 prep all-time at 40.10 could really cap the act!!

Women’s Distance Medley Relay - Another super Arcadia distance gathering looks to have defending champions Corona del Mar determined to take home that championship title once again. This could be the deepest race eve in this meet, with a flock of schools capable of well under 12:00, a prep standard of excellence. Oak Ridge was 11:51.00 a week back, with Torrey Pines (San Diego), Arizona power O’Connor, Fairfield, Woodbridge, Xavier Colllege Prep (Az), and Saugus all capable of pushing well under 12 minutes!!


Womens’ 200 Meter Dash - Many a fabled prep career has had its serious start here. Marion Jones related to a Sydney Australia newspaper in 2000 that the first sense that she could achieve eventual Olympic gold started with her successes in this Arcadia Invitational competition. A young lady from the Bay Area, Ashton Purvis (St Elizabeth, Oakland) has shown the same type of early talent and achievement and will be on display here. A very successful age-grouper, Purvis exploded this winter, twice taking down the US Prep Indoor frosh 200 standard with 23.97 and then an amazing 23.55 run at the National Scholastic Indoor Meet in New York. She also lowered the frosh 60 meter standard to 7.49 along the way. Marion Jones was one of the holders of the class 200 record at 24.40 her first scholastic season in 1990. Purvis took State leader Cherrelle Garrett (Mt. Eden) in the 100 last week 11.64-11.65, the nation’s #4 outdoor time of the year, with the frosh star better as the sprint race becomes longer! Keep an eye on her here and we can witness the further development of this special young lady. Yasmin Woodruff (St. Mary’s) 23.82 and Cherrelle Garrett (Mt. Eden) 23.87 lead a talented pack that will more than challenge!

Men’s 200 Meter Dash - The ‘football’ dash crew will step up here in style once again! Dondre McDonald (Inglewood), a wide receiver who highlighted one game this fall with a touchdown receiving, rushing, and returning a kick, focused on the 200 this past weekend and lowered his Nation Leading clocking to 21.22. He will face a big challenge, as Mr. Football Ohio, Brandon Saine (Piqua), 20.74 last spring and Ohio State sprint titles, rolls in here with 46.69 400 meter strength! Jahvid Best (Salesian, Richmond), who scored a mere 48 touchdowns this past Fall in football (and scored on 13 of 26 “first touches” of the ball in games over the last two years), was 21.03 last spring, and munched a good group at Stanford in the 100 this past weekend. It should be another classic match-up!!

Mens’ 3200 Meter Run - A huge number of people sit time-wise as they do before another titanic Arcadia eight lap event that destroys the personal and yearly best depth lists! Mikel Thomas (Clovis), was uner 9 minutes here last year, and he faces a widely diverse geographic national and international group. Ten states and Australia have sent their best and if someone will get out on the pace there will be a ton of folks under 9:00, with Dominic Channon (Australia) an 8:25 3k star, Matt Frerker (Skyline, Issaquah, Wash) 9:05,and talented JT Sullivan (Trabuco Hills) an impressive 4:12-9:08 double a week ago!

Men’s Distance Medley Relay -Another talented National level field will have early season national bragging rights sorted out. Fork Union was just outleaned for the Nike Indoor title, with Indian Hills (NJ), 2006 Champ Monsignor Farrell (NY), Royal (Simi Valley), and an appearing fresh La Sierra of Riverside crew, with dangerous twins Spencer and Dylan Knight, capable of the win!!

Women’s 4x400 Relay - Eleanor Roosevelt of Maryland took the 4x2, 4x4, 4x8, and Distance Medley at the Nike Indoor Nationals in one of prep history’s greatest team performances, with this the cap on their weekend here!! All the Golden State’s top squads hope to put an end to the Roosevelt successes this weekend. LB Poly was third at the National Scholastic Indoor Meet at 3:49.14 (Roosevelt was 3:45.02 in taking the Nike Indoor title), with James Logan second to Roosevelt at the NIN meet at 3:49.21. Bishop O’Dowd has been 3:52.63 winning by a mile up north, with Rancho Verde, Wilson (Long Beach), St. Mary’s, and Rancho Cucamonga all capable of well under 3:50. The great competition will be a great close to the weekend on the Girls’ side!


Men’s 4x400 Relay - Long Beach Poly led the nation indoors with their 3:16.28 win at the National Scholastic Indoor Meet in mid-March the best prep time in the nation this winter. Two groups from Ohio will challenge , with Middletown, a 3:16.77 2006 best, and Strongsville, with super Kendall Gregory on the anchor, an impressive 3:21.55 indoors this winter on a flat floor facility. Dorsey has been under 3:20 the last two weekends, with Middletown (Ohio), Shenendehowa (NY), Dominguez, and Rancho Cucamonga also talented groups.

 

 

 

 

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