CIF State Trials: National football recruit Adoree' Jackson leads Serra track and field

CLOVIS, Calif. — Serra (Gardena, Calif.) long jumper and sprinter Adoree’ Jackson didn’t know exactly what to do with his time.

Cheer on his teammates? That was a given. Watch some jumpers? Relax? Jackson did it all.

But much like the muscular 5-foot-11, 185-pound junior started Friday’s California Track and Field Championship trials at Veterans Stadium — with an impressive one-and-done long jump of 24 feet, 7 inches and strong 4x100 relay third leg — Jackson finished it.

The nation’s No. 17 football recruit for the Class of 2014 according to 247sports powered around the track to anchor the fastest 4x400 relay team in the state this year — and fourth in the country — going 3 minutes, 13.68 seconds.

His start-to-finish performance personified a superb day for Serra, which is in great shape to breeze to a second state crown and first since 2000.

“We’re all coming together as a team,” Jackson said. “Nobody wants to let the team down. Everyone is after the same goal.”

With the two relay teams looking pretty invincible, Lloyd Sicard as the top qualifier in the 300 hurdles and No. 2 in the 110 hurdles and Jackson looking very confident to repeat as the long jump champion, Serra appears rock solid.

But stranger things have happened on the track. See Long Beach Poly's girls last season.

The Jackrabbits appeared primed to win their fifth straight title, but two disqualifications rocked their world and everything came unraveled. Serra’s girls took advantage and was nearly flawless en route to its second state crown.

You can bet Serra’s boys won’t be resting on Friday’s trials after losing to Notre Dame-Sherman Oaks (36 points) last year by four points. Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) sprinter Khalfani Muhammad led the charge last year with a sweep in the sprints and Friday, he was top qualifier again in both events, going 10.40 and 20.94.

It was his fastest wind-legal 100 time this season and ranks sixth nationally. He's gone 20.73 this season in the 200, third best in the country.

Asked what times it will take to win Saturday and Muhammad didn’t even blink.

“Whatever my time is will be the winning time,” he said boldly. “I come to win and the time is now. I put a lot of work into this and I expect great things.”

So does Jackson, but he wasn’t promising victory. He’s very clear in what he’s aiming for.

Last year he won with a leap of 25-0.5. He doesn’t just want to better that mark. He wants to jump up another foot.

“Every year I want to improve by a foot,” he said. “So, I’m going for 26.”

He went 24-7 and his coaches made him shut it down. “My competitive sidet wanted to go, but I have to use my brain too,” Jackson said. “I felt like it was a really bad jump. I just need to work on some technical things and talk with my coaches and it should all work out.”

Right after his long jump, he jumped right on the track and ran with Marques Rodger, Darrell Fuery and Ronny Hall to go 41.01, off from its season best of 40.73.

Jackson said Serra is going after the meet record of 40.24 set back in 1989 by Hawthorne.

The 4x400 team of Hall, Fuery, Stefon Goudeau and Jackson was more than two seconds faster than the next best team, Vista Murrietta.

“It will be our last race of the season and we want to lay it all out there,” Jackson said.

Despite being the heavy favorite, defending 100 and 200 girls champion Ariana Washington, of Long Beach Poly, went all out and looked strong while qualifying first in both at a season-best 11.48 and 23.39. She ran both races pretty much on her own.

Washington, only a junior, ran a wind-aided 11.20 earlier this season and has gone a wind-legal 23.18 in the 200.

Her goal in the 200 is to break 23 seconds.

“I’m ready,” Washington said. “I felt really good in both races.”

When asked what grade she’d give her effort, Washington said: “If I was just looking at the times, I’d say it was a B-. But for what I was trying to do – run relaxed and post top times — I’d have to say an A.”

Also getting an “A” would have to be the girl trying to catch her, San Leandro junior Gabrielle Cantrell, who was seeded 17th and 18th heading into the trials based on Section qualifying times.

Granted Cantrell raced against the wind in the North Coast Section Meet of Champions, but on Friday she set big PRs and qualified second in 11.50 and 23.77. Last week, Cantrell ran 12.15 and 24.70.
   
She also ran a leg on San Leandro’s No. 4 400 relay team (46.74).

“You could see all week she was determined,” San Leandro coach Richard Ellison said of Cantrell. “She was primed for a big meet. She’s very competitive.”

Castro Valle senior Sasha Wallace looks primed to defend her two championships while qualifying first in the triple jump (40 feet, 10? inches) and 100 meter hurdles (13.49 seconds), and was seventh in the long jump (18-10.5).

While her effort was expected, her male teammates, an unsung group, surprised many people.

The 400 relay team of sophomores Cameron Edwards and Aaron Jones along with the senior twins Myles and Matt Speegle won their heat and recorded the day’s third fastest time at 41.45 seconds.

Add in the top qualifying triple jump (49-0?) and second best long jump (24-2) by teammate Nate Moore and people around Buchanan High were asking, “Who or what is Castro Valley?”

The Trojans have a chance to medal as a team (top six). Not bad for a school with little or no track tradition before this season.

“I’ve had a lot of strangers come up to me and say ‘Go Castro Valley,’ “ Myles Speegle said. “It was at breakfast at the hotel and all sorts of people were congratulating us. It’s very cool.”

Wallace was one of them, who said beyond just being fast, “those four of the best people I’ve ever met. I’m so happy for them.”

CIF TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIP TRIALS

At Veterans Stadium on the campus of Buchanan High

Top qualifiers BOYS
100: 1. Khalfani Muhammad (Notre Dame-Sherman Oaks) 10.40.

200: 1. Khalfani Muhammad (Notre Dame) 20.94.

400:  1. Miles Parish (Etiwanda) 47.16.
 
800: 1. Ivan Gonzalez (Ridgeview (Bakersfield) 1:51.60.

1,600: 1. Blake Haney (Stockdale (Bakersfield) 4:13.05;

110 H: 1. Marquis Morris (De La Salle (Concord) 13.92;

300 H: 1. Lloyd Sicard (Serra-Gardena) 37.30;

400 relay: 1. Serra-Gardena 41.01.

1,600 relay: 1. Serra-Gardena 3:13.68.

HJ: 1T. Taylor Smith (Buchanan (Clovis) 6-7.

PV: 1T. Jake David Ventura 15-5?.

LJ: 1. Adoree Jackson (Serra-Gardena) 24-7.

TJ: 1. Nate Moore (Castro Valley) 49-0.5.

SP: 1. Amir Ali Patterson (Crespi (Encino) 62-8.5. 

DT: 1. Marty Taylor (Newport Harbor) 189-11.

GIRLS
100: 1. Ariana Washington (Long Beach Poly) 11.48

200: 1. Ariana Washington (Long Beach Poly) 23.39.

400:  1. Nia Dorner (Cordova (Rancho Cordova) 53.12.

800: Mikaela Smith (Clovis North (Fresno) 2:10.63.

1,600: 1. Nikki Hiltz (Aptos) 4:50.70. 

100 H: 1. Sasha Wallace (Castro Valley) 13.49.
 
300 H: 1. Jade Miller (Great Oak (Temecula) 41.60.

400 relay: 1. Long Beach Poly 45.57.

1,600 relay: 1. Piedmont Hills (San Jose 3:44.47.

HJ: 1T. Rachel McCoy Miller (Fontana) 5-6.

PV: 1T. Holly Tokar (Ventura) 11-10.

LJ: 1. Courtney Corrin (Harvard-Westlake (Studio City) 20-8;
 
TJ: 1. Sasha Wallace (Castro Valley) 40-10.5

SP: 1. Stamatia Scarvelis (Dos Pueblos (Goleta) 51-11

DT: 1. Nikki Okwelogu (Clovis West (Fresno) 170-6

For complete results, CLICK HERE