This Weekend in Track: March 25-26th
Meets are heating up on the West Coast! Here is what to watch out for this weekend:
APU Meet of Champions Distance Classic: March 26
Azusa Pacific University - Azusa, CA
The APU Meet of Champions always brings big names on the track from the area and this year does not disappoint. In the girl's 800, Sam McDonnell of Newbury Park makes her CIF debut. The boy's 800 also has the CIF debut for brothers Colin and Aaron Sahlman of Newbury Park. Ellis Delvecchio of Thacher is coming off his big win a the Redondo Nike Track Classic.
The girls 1600 is loaded with a rematch of the D2 XC state race between Sadie Engelhardt of Ventura and Dalia Frias of Ventura. The field also includes top athletes like Emma Hadley of Canyon (Anaheim), Aishling Callanan of Pennisula and Grace Hutchison of Buchanan. Looking at the boy's 1600, Leo and Lex Young headline the race. Other notable boys in the race is Noah Ray of Buchanan who recorded a 1:52 800 last week, Chris Caudillo of Clovis who won the Arcadia Distance Challenge last week, and Ethan Godsey of Agoura set a school record in the 800 at 1:53 on Wednesday. Max Sannes of Big Bear is the D4 state champ in cross country and Chris Waligorski of Redondo had a big win at the Redondo Nike Track Classic a few weeks ago.
Payton Godsey of Oaks Christian has the top seed time in the 3200 and look for Sydney Sundgren of Buchanan, Isabella Frisone of Canyon of Anaheim, Georgia McCorkle of Agoura and Denise Chen of Claremont to be in the pack. In the boy's 3200, many of the 1600 athletes are entered in the race. The fresh athletes to look for are Nathan Avila of Clovis and Conor Gibson of West Torrance.
Mt. Carmel/Asics Track and Field Invitational: March 26
Mt. Carmel High School - San Diego, CA
Watch here on Milesplit
Mt. Carmel hosts a massive meet on Saturday with nearly 80 teams signed up. The girl's 800 might be the most exciting distance race of the meet with Mackenzie Browne (2:12) of JW North, Tessa Bushwell (2:14) of Poway, and Madeline Cramer (2:15) of Bishop's School (2:15) expected to race.
A pair of San Marcos teammates, Quinn Harder and Levi Taylor, with matching 1:56 800 times will compete with Nico Colchico (1:56) of Long Beach Wilson. Mackenzie Rogers of Poway is coming off a big victory in the 3200 at the Arcadia Distance Challenge and will be looking to lower her 4:57 1600 meter mark. Manuel Corrcia of Point Loma comes in with a 4:16 seed time and Nico Colchico (4:18) of Long Beach Wilson will help push the pace.
The 3200 features what should be a close battle between Lucy Sullivan of Westview and Josephine Bennetts of Murrieta Valley. Look for Pablo Chapman of High Tech and Joseph DePascale of University to be in the front of the 3200.
With 4 X 800 and DMR's scheduled in the meet, there will be lots of distance running action.
Bronco Roundup Distance & Pole Vault Carnival: March 25
Bella Vista High School - Fair Oaks, CA
A meet that combines distance running and vaulting will be in the Sacrament area with quality distance field. There are five girls listed at 2:20 or faster in the 800 with Quinn Walker of Oakridge as the top seed. Kyle Townes of Sheldon (CA) has the top 800 seed time.
Tatiana Cornejo of St Francis is looking to improve her 4:53 1600 time and Braden King of Jesuit (CA) has a top seed time of 4:16. Looking at the 3200, Cate Joaquin of St. Francis (10:39) and Anna McNatt (10:42) of McClatchy will be in a battle and Sean Lacey (8:57) of Bella Vista is the top boy in the 3200.
KM Invite: March 26
Kent Meridian High School - Kent, WA
With nearly 30 teams attending the meet, KM Invite will provide an early season test for Washington athletes. The girls 800 has four girls with the same top seed times of 2:15: Hailey Carroll of Central Kitsap, Alyssa Flindt of Eastlake, Erin Schmidlin of Eastlake and Alexa Matora of Lake Washington. The boy's 800 will feature a pair of 1:59 athletes in Connor Hom of Eastlake and Jacob Alfonso of Stadium.
In the 1600 a pair of ninth graders will match up with Taylor Palmer (5:20) of Central Kitsap and Julia Couch (5:21) of Auburn Riverside. The Stadium duo of Jacob Alfonso (4:18) and Luke Alfonso (4:22) will be racing in the boy's 1600.
Eastlake's Emily Van Valkenburg has the fastest seed time in the 3200 and will be pushed by Taylor Nichols of Central Kitsap and Jane Roos of Eastlake. Ethan Pedersen of Eastlake, Hale Behan of Sammamish and Nicholas LeBar of Glacier Peak are the top 3200 meter boys.
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