Dublin Distance Fiesta – March 17 & 18
Dublin, CA – Dublin High School
Many of the top distance runners from Northern California are competing at the Dublin Distance Fiesta on Friday and Saturday.
3200 - Friday
It is still early in the season and for several athletes, Friday’s 3200 will be their first of the year. Based on the results from the first few weeks, Ashlyn Booth of Scotts Valley enters the meet with a time of 10:37.35. Renae Searls of Alhambra has run a time of 10:41.25 and Katie Kopec of Whitney enters Friday’s meet with a time of 10:54.84 and has a personal best of 10:30.72. Hanne Thomsen of Montgomery set the California indoor 2-mile record on Friday at New Balance Nationals Indoor in Boston by running 10:07.06. Campolindo’s Ellie Buckley (10:36.95) and Shea Volkmer (10:55.27) are also entered in the 3200.
The boy’s 3200 has a pair of Champs XC qualifiers competing with Trey Caldwell of De La Salle and Broen Holman of Sonora. Dax Daley of Oakdale and Jude Devries of Montgomery finished second and fourth at division 3 at state cross country and are racing Friday. Another entry is Sean Morello of Albany who was a state qualifier in the 3200 last spring and has a 9:00.27 personal best. Ethan Miller of Monte Vista is another threat to win the 3200. Nathan Short of Folsom qualified for state last spring in the 3200 and has a 9:08.55 personal best. Andrew Richards of Dougherty Valley is another state qualifier in the fast heat of the 3200 and has a personal best of 9:15.15
1600 – Saturday
Based on early season times, the top girls in the 1600 are Ashlyn Boothby of Scott’s Valley in 4:52.58, Hanne Thomsen of Montgomery in 4:54.32, Adeline Johnson of Branson in 4:57.98 and Renae Searls of Alhambra in 4:58.72. Athena Ryan of Sonoma Academy was a state qualifier in the 1600 last spring with a personal best of 4:52.60. Another state qualifier in the 1600 is Julie Soderbery of Sacred Heat and she has a personal best of 4:56.81. The top times in the boy's 1600 is by Sean Morello of Albany (4:18.12 this spring and last year ran 4:14.21). Morello will be pushed by Mateo Malko-Allen of St. Mary's College, Aydo Stefanopoulos of Los Gatos, Ryan Mitchell of Davis (state qualifier last spring in the 1600 and a 4:13.02 personal best) and Jude Devries of Montgomery. Carson Hedlund of Pioneer qualified for state in the 1600 last spring as a freshman with a personal best of 4:13.34. Miles Jones of Oakland Tech was a state qualifier last spring in the 1600 and is entered in the final heat of the 1600. Brandon Moreno of Jesuit is a state qualifier in the 1600 with a 4:12.58 personal best.
800 – Saturday
Stanford bound Cate Peters (2:06.89 PR) of Monte Vista leads the girl’s 800 field along with Jessica Chisar of College Park who has run 2:18.48 in this young season. Katherine Peacock of Carlmont has a personal best of 2:19.32 and Kylie Hoornaert of Prospect has run 2:20.45. Clayton Valley teammates Isabelle Ruff (2:19.78), Skylar Bennett (2:20.29) and Peyton Dolan of Monte Vista (2:20.43) are also challengers in the fast heat of the 800. Carson Hedlund of Pioneer has an early season time of 1:56.38. in the boy’s 800. Mateo Malko-Allen of St. Mary’s College has posted a 1:57.77 800 time this season. Carter Oates of Homestead is another athlete to watch in the 800 with a season best of 1:58.49 Justin Pretre of Menlo has already shown his fitness this winter by winning the California Winter Championships and racing at Nike Indoor Nationals. Shane Badcock of Dougherty Valley with a personal best of 1:54.91.
Arcadia Distance Challenge – March 18
Arcadia High School – Arcadia, CA
Arcadia High School hosts the second annual Arcadia Distance Challenge as a warm up for the larger Arcadia Invitational.
In the invitational 800 Janelle Avilez of Etiwanda is entered with an early season time of 2:14.61. Tessa Buswell of Poway, who qualified for NXN last fall and in the 800 at the California State Meet last spring, is entered in the 800 with a 2:09.54. Rachal Laisette of Quartz Hill ran 2:16.55 last spring. Malia Leupold of Sage Creek ran 2:16.68 on this track at the Arcadia Invitational. Ryder Want of Redondo Union is entered in the boy’s invitational 800 with an early season time of 1:57.44. Dylan DeLoyola of Santiago (Corona) has a personal best of 1:53.90 in the 800. Keeran Murray of South Pasadena is entered in the 800 with a personal best of 1:55.62.
Athletes entered in the invitational 1600 include Kelli Gaffney of Great Oak who ran a 4:58.43 for the 1600 last spring. Brianne Smith Quartz Hills as run 5:08.34 this spring. Lyla Fedio of Redondo Union has run 5:11.78 this spring. Kaya Scuba of Sage Creek has a personal best of 5:03.82. Emma Arredondo of Bishop Amat is coming off a strong cross-country season and has a 5:08.18 personal best. Mark Cortes of Great Oak has one of the top early season times in the 1600 in 4:19.75 and teammate Gabriel Rodriquez has run 4:20.14 this season. Ramses Cortes of Great Oak ran 4:18.51 last spring in the 1600 and Aaron Thomas of Redondo Union ran 4:20.24 last spring. Bille Issa has run 4:22.24 and ran an impressive 9:07.20 3200 last week at the Redondo Nike Track Festival. Gabriel Castillo of Etiwanda ran 4:22.54 in the recent Sound Running meet.
In the 3200, Aishling Callanan of Peninsula has a personal best of 10:39.37. Rylee Blade of Santiago (Corona) is running her first high school 3200 and qualified for NXN last fall. Luke Metcalf of St. Francis won the Redondo Nike Track Festival 1600 in 4:19.66 last week and is entered in the 3200. Joshua Razo of Walnut ran 9:15.39 on this same track last year. Quinn White of San Luis Obispo enters the 3200 with a personal best of 9:15.60. Joshua Bell of Templeton has a personal best of 9:13.29 and qualified last fall for the Champs XC meet in San Diego. Other Champs XC qualifiers in the 3200 are Milo Skapinski of San Luis Obispo (8:57.19) and Micah Sanchez of Liberty Charter (9:15.84).
Look for a photo gallery of the invitational 800, 1600 and 3200 after the meet!
Oregon Preview – March 17 & 18
Hayward Field – Eugene, OR
University of Oregon hosts the first outdoor meet of the season at Hayward Field. Friday starts with a 10,000 and 800, 1500, 2000 steeplechase and 3000 will be raced on Saturday. Aaron Bienenfeld of Oregon is running unattached in the 10,000 and the race includes Tyrone Gorze from Crater who won the New Balance Indoor Nationals 5000 and set the national record in the distance. Alex Garcia-Silver of Marshfield is listed in the 3000. Garcia-Silver won Oregon's 4A cross country title last fall and was an All-American at NXN. Teaghan Knox (Summit grad) and Ellie Quintana (Crescent Valley grad) of Oregon State make their college outdoor debuts in the 1500.