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On a night highlighted by several thrilling finishes at the 34th Hi-Racer Meet of Champions Distance Classic, Makenna Herbst continued to demonstrate that it will be a significant challenge for any female athlete in the state to keep pace this spring with the Carlsbad High standout in the 800 meters.
Herbst, an Arkansas signee, produced the second-fastest performance in meet history in the girls invitational 800 by clocking 2 minutes, 4.72 seconds Saturday on the new Beynon Track at Arroyo High in El Monte.
Following more than a decade of elite racing at Azusa Pacific University’s Cougar Stadium, the Meet of Champions Distance Classic added another impressive chapter in its debut at the new venue at Arroyo.
Herbst followed the deepest girls 800 in meet history last year – including a meet-record 2:03.48 by Sadie Engelhardt from Ventura High – by producing one of the event’s most dominant victories Saturday, one week after achieving a lifetime-best 2:03.83 to secure second place at New Balance Nationals Indoor at the TRACK at New Balance in Boston.
Grace Smith, a freshman at Claremont High, finished second Saturday in 2:11.77 behind Herbst – the state runner-up last season – with Lexi Schartmann of Reedley Immanuel taking third at 2:12.40.
For only the fourth time at the meet, but the third occasion in the past four years, the boys invitational showcased a pair of sub-1:51 performances, as Josiah Bowman from Sage Creek held off fellow junior Alden Morales of JSerra by a 1:50.39 to 1:50.80 margin.
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Bowman, who finished 11th in last year’s 800 state final, achieved a lifetime-best effort Saturday, in addition to elevating to the No. 5 competitor in meet history.
Morales, who prevailed in last year’s invitational 800 race in 1:52.39 at Azusa Pacific, ascended to the No. 8 all-time performer at the Meet of Champions Distance Classic.
Jack Paradise of Great Oak took third in 1:51.50.
The Michael Paredes boys invitational mile also featured a narrow margin of victory, with the drama building from the outset after a false start forced a recall.
Tyler Daillak of Paso Robles, a Cal Poly San Luis Obispo commit, edged Duke-bound senior Griffin Kushen from Tesoro by a 4:10.63 to 4:10.65 margin for the full mile.
Kushen held a 4:09.02 to 4:09.08 advantage over Daillak at the 1,600-meter split.
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Dylan Jubak of Trabuco Hills took third in the mile at 4:11.91.
Charlotte Hopkins, a junior at Arcadia High, was victorious in the girls invitational mile in 4:55.10, leading six competitors to sub-5 efforts.
Hopkins prevailed against fellow junior Chloe Elbaz from JSerra, with the UCLA commit clocking 4:56.75, as well as Yorba Linda sophomore Isabella Wroblewski (4:56.78).
Hopkins also posted the fastest 1,600 split of 4:53.56 and was able to maintain her advantage against Elbaz (4:55.06) and Wroblewski (4:55.12) the rest of the way.
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Kaitlin Kenney of Crescenta Valley placed fourth in the mile in 4:57.72, Abigail Errington from South Pasadena was fifth in 4:58.41 and Ananya Balaraman of North Hollywood secured sixth in 4:59.97.
Evangeline Williams, a freshman at Trabuco Hills, triumphed in the girls invitational 3,200 in 10:44.27, with 10 athletes in the field achieving sub-11 performances.
Williams relied on a strong surge in the final two laps to move out of the middle of the pack and earn the victory, ahead of SMU-bound senior Erika Kirk of Vista Murrieta in 10:46.93 and Stanford commit Maya de Brouwer of La Canada in 10:47.77.
The race was a more tactical one than last year’s competition, which de Brouwer won in 10:24.69.
Carol Dye from San Juan Hills finished fourth Saturday in 10:50.74, Emilia Greenway of Crescenta Valley achieved fifth in 10:51.33 and Amelia Sarkisian from Brentwood secured sixth in 10:51.98, just ahead of Buchanan freshman Brooklyn Buckley in 10:52.27.
Paul Tranquilla, a senior at Venice High, prevailed in the boys invitational 3,200 in a lifetime-best 9:00.44, improving significantly from his 9:22.26 debut in the event March 1 at the Marie Smith/Malibu Invitational.
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Nine competitors achieved sub-9:10 marks, including Biola-bound senior Grant Miller of La Serna and his personal-best 9:03.60 effort placing second.
Luke Sanders of Buchanan held off Zion Ortiz from Burroughs Ridgecrest by a 9:04.36 to 9:04.46 margin for third place, with Oliver Hunter of Dana Hills edging Theo Udelson-Nee from Wildwood 9:05.01 to 9:05.06 for fifth place.
Downey celebrated a pair of victories in the earlier sections of the girls invitational 800, with Natalie Gonzalez clocking 2:15.68 and teammate Nyla Nolan winning her race in 2:18.47.
Marco Franco, a junior at Great Oak, won his section of the invitational 800 in 1:53.84, with Anthony Barrera of Beckman securing victory in his 800 race in 1:55.38 and Peter Jordan from St. Augustne earning a win in his 800 section in 1:55.77.
Mattheus dos Santos, a sophomore at San Clemente, produced the fastest 800 among all the boys frosh/soph sections by running 1:56.46.
Gweneth Williams from El Toro held off Kamilah Salim of West Torrance in a showdown among two of the state’s top sophomores by a 4:58.74 to 4:58.84 margin in their section of the girls invitational 1,600.
Isla Bulmer, a junior at Claremont, clocked 5:00.19 to prevail in her invitational 1,600 section.
Kevin Sandoval, a Glendora senior, won his invitational 1,600 race in 4:13.81, with junior Lyle Mideiros from Claremont emerging victorious in his 1,600 section in 4:16.64.
Killian Cistone, a sophomore at Mira Costa, achieved the fastest boys 1,600 among all the frosh/soph sections by running 4:21.86.
Becky Osorio, a junior at West Covina, triumphed in her invitational 3,200 race in 11:04.52.
Sebastian Peraza, a Saugus senior, clocked 9:16.24 to produce the win in his invitational 3,200 section, with Owen Teague of Hemet securing victory in his 3,200 race in 9:18.77.
Gavin De La Fuente, a ninth-grader at Chino Hills, achieved the top mark among all the boys frosh/soph 3,200 races by running 9:28.26.
– Erik Boal
Photos courtesy of Jimmy Su | Link to more photos
