What: 91st Annual California Interscholastic Federation State Track and Field Championships
Where: Buchanan High School, Clovis
Friday’s trials: Field events, start at 3 p.m., track events, 5 p.m.
Saturday’s finals: Field events start at 4:30 p.m., running events, 6 p.m.
Qualifiers by marks: Click here.
All-time California records: Click dyestatcal.com list.
2009 California state leaders: Click here.
Returning champions (school, event, last year’s mark): Ashton Purvis (St. Elizabeth, 100, 11.92), Jessica Davis (Highland, 200, 23.46), Akawkaw Ndipagbor (Long Beach Poly, 400, 53.35), Randall Carroll (Cathedral, 100, 10.42; 200, 20.91), Kori Carter (Claremont) 300 hurdles, 41.28), Jordan Hasay (Mission Prep, 3,200, 9:52.13), Tara Richmond (Long Beach Poly, high jump, 5-11), Emily Mattoon (Rancho Bernardo, pole vault, 12-6), Anna Jelmini (Shafter, shot put, 51-9½; discus, 169-4), Johnny Carter (Ridgeview, triple jump, 49-0¾).
Current California national leaders (according to USA Today): Boys 100 — Carroll 10.30; Boys 300 intermediate hurdles — Reggie Wyatt (La Sierra) 35.71; Girls 3,200 — Hasay 10:06.74; Girls 100 hurdles — Carter 13.67; Girls 300 hurdles — Carter 41.09; Girls triple jump — Ciarra Brewer (James Logan) 42-3; Girls shot put — Jelmini 54-4¾; Girls discus — Jelmini 190-3.
Live results: Click here.
Last year’s meet finals: Click here.
CLOVIS, Calif. – If the weather is any indication, then the 2009 California Interscholastic Federation Track and Field Championships is in for a shocker.
With the new venue — clean and vast Veteran’s Stadium on the campus of pristine Buchanan High School — everyone’s worst nightmare was seasonal sizzling heat in California’s Central Valley.
Kori Carter is not only a defending hurdles champion but she's a national leader in two events.
Photo by Kirby Lee
Instead, thunderstorms and temperatures in the high 70s are expected. There are even slight concerns about lightning strikes.
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Undoubtedly there were be bolts in the form, among others, reigning sprint champions Randall Carroll, Ashton Purvis or Jessica Davis.
No matter what the conditions, the 91st running of the state track meet promises to be one of the top athletic events in the country.
The 3.5-hour final on Saturday is considered one of the top track and field spectacles no matter the level, considering the quality and swiftness of athletes, the rapid pace of the meet and the high drama generated by the stakes — everyone wants to be tabbed a California champion.
Consider some of the sport’s greats who have participated here over the years: Mary Decker-Slaney, Lee Evans, Marion Jones, Quincy Watts, Bob Mathias, Angela Williams, Allyson Felix, Gail Deevers and Suzy Powell to name a few.
Last year’s meet produced the greatest distance performances in state history as Riverbank’s German Fernandez, Woodcreek’s Christine Babcock and Mission Prep’s Jordan Hasay inspired one raucous standing ovation after another in front of 10,712 delirious fans at Cerritos College in Norwalk.
Babock started the long-distance game of “can you top this?” by winning the 1,600 meters in 4:33.82, breaking her own NFHS record of 4:36.57 set eight days earlier on the same track. Not bad for a long, strong and bashful sort who started her track career as a discus thrower. (See story).
The angular and fluid Fernandez then ripped off an almost perfectly symmetrical 1,600 with eight consecutive 30-second half-laps, nearly breaking the magical 4-minute barrier with a state-meet mark of 4:00.29.
A couple hours later, Hasay and Davis’ Laurynne Chetelat set out on a magical 3,200 trek that was pulled out by the small but mighty Hasay 9:52.33 to 9:52.51, the first ever double sub-10 race in high school history. Like Babcock in the 1,600, it was the third straight state crown for Hasay, who could never shake the Stanford-bound Chetelat, whose best time as of two weeks ago was 10:15. (See story).
Granite Bay's Justin Sutter is ranked third in the long jump at 23-6.
Photo by David Steutel
Somehow, indomitable robo-runner Fernandez finished off the flurry with the most jaw-dropping performance of all, going 8:34.23, wiping out the previous NFHS 3,200 mark by almost eight seconds.
This, 2½ hours after missing Alan Webb’s NFHS 1,600 mark of 3:59.51 by less than a second. Fernandez covered his last 400 meters in 62 seconds
All of it made fans forget the 2007 meet, one which was considered the best in recent memory. The 2007 meet produced three national, four state and six state-meet marks.
In all five meet records were set in the 2008 meet along with eight 2008 national-leading marks.
So what can 2009 do for an encore.
For starters, Hasay is back and she seems more than rested and ready to challenge the state record. She is one of 10 returning champions, including Carroll (100 and 200) and Shafter’s Anna Jelmini (shot put and discus), who each one two crowns last year.
Carroll is the national leader this year in the 100 at 10.30 and he may threaten the state record of 10.25 set in1985 by Henry Thomas (Hawthorn).
Jelmini has already established herself as the greatest female weights person in state history, having earlier this season set a national mark in the discus, going 190 feet, 3 inches, breaking the 1994 mark of Powell (188-4).
Here are the top 10 storylines heading into today’s trials.
1. Will Hasay finish on top?
Barring a true lightning strike, Hasay will win her fourth straight 3,200-meter title but will she be considered the greatest distance runner in state history? Some believe she already cemented that by establishing a new high school record in the 1,500 last July at the Olympic Trials. But the state 3,200 record is still owned by Kim Mortensen of Thousand Oaks, who went 9:48.59 in 1996. Hasay needs another four seconds to bust that mark and without someone to push her like Chetelat, Mortensen’s mark may be safe.
Reggie Wyatt is headed to USC.
Photo by Kirby Lee
2. Will Carroll repeat? Will Carroll repeat?
We doubled our question because Carroll, who will likely make money on Sundays running pass routes in the NFL, is a returning double winner. He looks like the complete class of the group in the 100, but six had faster times in the 200 coming into including Vallejo’s Rashad Ross, the leader at 21.22.
3. Will Wyatt steal the boys show?
While Carroll should draw the most oos while trying to collect two more sprint titles, it is La Sierra’s Reggie Wyatt who might be the meet’s most talented athlete. He’s after Jeshua Anderson’s 300 hurdles national record of 35.28 and with a national-leading 35.71 this year, the USC-bound star isn’t far behind. Wyatt is also the favorite to win the 400.
4. Can Novato junior Eric Olson continue his fast rise?
As an unknown sophomore last year, Olson finished sixth at the North Coast Section Meet of Champions in the 3,200 to barely qualify for the state meet. He’s improved by 30 seconds in one season and after breaking nine minutes for the fourth time in 2009 last week – a feat Fernandez never even did — and breaking a 30-year meet mark, he seems primed to finish off his dream season in style.
6. How will the Purvis-Davis rivalry shake out?
Purvis won the 100 last year in 11.92 to 11.97 for Davis. In the 200, Purvis took the early lead only to lose 23.46 to 23.51 to Davis. This season, Purvis has been superior and owns qualifying marks much faster, 11.48 to 11.84 in the 100 and 23.60 to 24.24 in the 200. But Davis, with her long loping, effortless stride, is a tremendous competitor. This should be loads of fun.
6. Can anyone get Carter in the hurdles?
Not likely. Not only is she the defending champion in the 300 hurdles, but she is the current national leader in both the 100 hurdles (13.67) and 300 hurdles (41.09).
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7. How will Anna Jelmini stay hungry?
The Shafter senior leads the nearest shot putter in the competition by more than six feet and the nearest discus thrower by a whopping 25 feet. In fact, the No. 3 seed in discus is another 16 feet beyond that. Just make sure she gets good direction to the ring.
8. How is Ciarra Brewer’s hamstring?
The national leader in the triple jump injured her hammy at practice just a day before the NCS MOC last week. She did just enough to qualify for state (39-7¾), but it was well off her best of 42-3. In the meantime, area rival, USC-bound and extremely versatile Alitta Boyd has her eyes aimed at the national record of 44-11 set in 2005 by Brittany Daniels (West, Tracy). Boyd will be busy, having also qualified in the long jump, 100 and 200.
Poly's Akawkaw Ndipagbor won't be running alone in 400 finals.
Photo by Kirby Lee
9. Can De La Salle win on Grit?
Their fabled football team hasn’t had a blue chip recruit in years, but still challenges for mythical national championship each year. Now, all four members of the school’s 400 relay team is made up of football players and what they lack in sheer speed — only second man Kenneth Egu made the open 100 field — they’ve made up with perfect handoffs and a competitive edge. The Spartans shocked most at the prestigious Arcadia Invitational by taking the race from lane eight. The team of Terron Ward, Egu, Chase Wheeler and Tyler Anderson is seeded fourth at 41.43 well back of leader Serra-Gardenia (40.74).
10. How will current Poly quarter-miler respond to former Poly runner?
The girls 400 should be a doozy as 2008 state champion Akawkaw Ndipagbor tries to fight off former Poly state champion Turquoise Thompson, now at Serra, who has the top qualifying mark at 53.45 compared to Ndipagbor at 53.77.
Look for updates, features and results all weekend from Stephens at the state track meet. E-mail him at mstephens@maxpreps.com.
