State track meet blazes new frontiers, Metro grabs four medals

The 105th California Interscholastic Federation’s track and field championship meet, May 30-31, at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Clovis was memorable on several fronts.

It took place with a temperature of 104 degrees for preliminary events on Friday, the opening day, and 107 degrees for the finals on that Saturday. It was hot, hot, hot and didn’t need an exclamation mark.

There was some predictable physical suffering with runners vomiting and collapsing after races were finished, but there was an inner will to compete and the event went on to the final gun and final medal awarded despite the elevated temperatures.

Media coverage was enhanced by the participation of transgender student AB Hernandez from Riverside County’s Jurupa Valley High School. Hernandez, clearly the focus of a flood of photographers, captured gold medals in the girls high jump and triple jump and a silver medal in the girls long jump.

It was not without its share of controversy. The state federation announced before the event that athletes assigned female gender at birth would receive medals based on where they would have placed if a transgender athlete had not competed. Thus, two gold medals were awarded in the high jump and triple jump and two silver medals award-ed in the long jump.

Hernandez shared the rung with her cisgender equivalent.

The federation elected to allow an additional female student to compete in an event in which a transgender student was participating, so no one was left out. There are a lot of legal issues involved, on both sides of the issue, and the state CIF is wisely treading carefully, as well as respectfully.

“The CIF values all of our student-athletes and we will continue to uphold our mission of providing students with the opportunity to belong, connect, and compete while complying with California law and Education Code,” the federation’s statement read.

It should be noted that Hernandez was just one among the 1,533 student-athletes participating in the 2025 state championship meet. Their accomplishments are equally valid.

Hernandez drew scattered boos during her events but also cheers from spectators. She said her goal, despite hate messages, has been just to try to do her best.
Beyond national media attention, there was plenty of local highlights from competing student-athletes from the San Diego Section, including South County.
While the heat was scorching, it did not prevent competitors from setting personal record marks in their respective events.

Bring it on
Carlsbad senior sisters Morgan and Makenna Herbst put it all on the line in Clovis as section superstars.

Morgan Herbst finished first in the 300-meter low hurdles in a 39.64 PR while Makenna Herbst won the girls 800 run in 2:02.28. Both are headed to the University of Arkansas.

Overall, the section notched five first-place finishes.

San Diego Caver senior Anisa Bowen-Fontenot won the girls 100 low hurdles in 13.07 while San Diego Caver freshman Jasir Fontenot won the boys 110 high hurdles in a personal record 13.21.

Del Norte senior Paige Echsner won the girls pole vault by clearing 12-10.

Bowen-Fontenot was also third in the girls 300 low hurdles in 40.88 while Ramona senior Sterling Bryant finished third in the boys high hurdles event in 13.68, also a PR.

Grossmont junior Gabrielle Thomas placed fourth in the 100 low hurdles race with a 13.84 PR. while Rancho Bernardo junior Sophie Humer tied for seventh place at 11-8 in the girls pole vault to give the section multi-medalists in the events.

The Steele Canyon foursome of Evie Allison, Aniya Scott, Ily Barclay and Daylani Daniels sped to a third-place medal in the girls 4×100 relay in 46.40 — 0.22 second behind runner-up Long Beach Poly and 0.32 second off the winning time posted by Oaks Christian (46.08). It built on the school record 46.26 set in the preceding prelims.

Steele coach Charles Tyler said the quartet did not go in unprepared. “We did a morning shake out in the hotel parking lot to get the athletes acclimated both days,” he said. “It worked well and got them used to the heat.”

The third-place finish was the highest place-finish in school history at the state meet for a relay. On an equally im-pressive note, the Lady Cougars also made the finals in the 4×100 girls for the third consecutive year.

More medals to celebrate.

Oceanside sophomore Malia Jones earned third place in the girls triple jump at 39-2.

La Jolla junior Chiara Dailey, the section champion in both the girls 1600 and 3200 runs, finished third in the girls 1600 in 4:42.30. She won the section title in 4:43.57.

Eastlake junior Jaelyn Williams, three-time state qualifier in the girls 3200 run, placed fourth in 10:12.15. She entered this year’s race with a PR of 9:57.11 she set in winning last year’s race. In her first trip to Clovis as a freshman, she led late before coming in with a fourth-place finish (10:11.01). She won the event last year by making some adjustments to her strategy, which worked famously.

Williams said more alternations to her game plan were needed for this year’s sizzling race. They didn’t all work out to her advantage, however.

“The heat was definitely tough to run in, but I feel like I dealt with it pretty well,” Williams said. “I was trying my best to stay cool before the race and to hydrate well. Since my race wasn’t until 9:20 p.m., the temperatures weren’t as extreme as they were earlier that day, but it was still pretty hot during my race.

“During the race the heat wasn’t too much of a problem. It was a little warmer than I wanted but I wouldn’t consider it one of my bigger concerns.

“With the heat this year and the stacked field, I raced a little differently from how I had raced in my freshman and sophomore years. In my previous years, I would go out at a fast pace and would attempt to run even splits. This year, however, my strategy was to go out a little more conservatively in the first mile and then pick up the pace from there. I also knew that a few of the girls would go out fast, but with the extreme heat I didn’t want to exhaust myself in the first half of the race and put myself into oxygen debt too soon like I did at the CIF cross country state championships this season.

“My strategy didn’t exactly play out as planned. The leaders took it out really quick and the rest of the field followed. They went out in a 71-second first lap while I went out in a 74, which is a bit faster than what I wanted. I went through the mile in 5:01 which is faster than what I planned for. I felt that I still needed to be up there with the leading group or else I would fall off pace, but I think going out that fast exhausted me just enough to be unable to execute the second part of the plan successfully.”

In other words, Williams wasn’t able to close as fast as she would have wanted. And there was a mighty gap to be closed despite the EHS junior posting a season best time.

“I know I can run faster than 10:12, which is the time I finished in,” she said. “I just didn’t execute the race right. Although it was a season’s best, I was hoping for a better time.”

Montgomery senior Hanne Thomsen won this year’s 3200 in 9:48.98 while Corona Santiago senor Rylee Blade also dipped under the magic 10-minute mark to take second in 9:50.51.
Canyon Crest Academy Katja Dunayevich placed 12th overall in 10:27.88.

Dailey failed to finish the 3200 after nosing out Williams for the section title in 10:15.74.
Still, the prospect of being a three-time state medalist is overpowering.

“Although I didn’t place or perform how I would have liked to, I feel blessed and grateful to be able to perform at this level and continue to place on the podium every year,” Williams acknowledged. “God has given me many blessings and I am always thankful to have Him by my side in my races, especially on these bigger stages. I know California is a very competitive state in track and just making it to this level is often a huge accomplishment.”

Fleet feet
Otay Ranch senior Zamaria Mack, another state meet returner, qualified to compete at state in both hurdles events but only ran one in the state finals.

She did not finish the 100 low hurdles after being hindered by a barrier. She made amends after placing fifth in the 300 lows in 41.81. She won her heat in the preceding prelims in 41.37, a PR.

The section had two medalists in the girls 400 dash: Torrey Pines sophomore Emery Gonzalez (sixth, 54.98) and Olympian senior Gabrielle Hawkins (eighth, 56.51). Hawkins won four gold medals at the Metro-Mesa League finals.

Carlsbad finished fourth in the girls 4×400 relay in 3:45.00 while Del Norte was seventh in the girls 4×800 relay in 9:02.25, followed by Cathedral Catholic in 10th place in 9:03.91.

Sage Creek junior Josiah Bowmen placed eighth in the boys 800 run in 1:52.55 while Cathedral Catholic junior Nathan Wilber (9:15.97), Rancho Bernardo senior Camden Luecht (9:18.26) and Mission Hills senior Liam Beighley (9:34.27) finished 14th, 16th and 18th, respectively in the 24-deep boys 3200 run.

The 3200 was a fast race with five finishers placing under 10:00. Woodcrest Christian senior Eyan Turk won the duel in 8:51.62, followed by Menlo senior Landon Pretre (8:54.25), Paso Robles senior Tyler Daillack (8:55.02), Santa Cruz senior Eli Fitchen-Young (8:55.72), Martin Luther King junior Maximo Zavaleta (8:57.63) and Del Oro junior Noel Huato (8:57.90).

Beighley won the section title in 9:28.71 as 16 of the 17 entrants bested the 10-minute mark in a jaw-dropping tour-de-force.

The Helix quartet of juniors Jackson Ellis and Aiden De Hoyos, and seniors Laurence Burston and Spencer Gray combined forces to place seventh in the boys 4×400 relay in 3:11.62. Long Beach Poly won in 3:08.68.

Burston finished ninth in the boys 100 dash in 10.90 to become a double state medalist, though well behind De La Salle junior winner Jaden Jefferson (10.27).

Oceanside sophomore Brooklyn Davis finished ninth in the girls shot put (39-1.25).
In boys field events, St. Augustine senior Joseph Sutton IV placed sixth in the pole vault (16-0), El Camino ZeShaun Daley placed sixth in the triple jump (47-10.5), Mater Dei Catholic junior Mekhi Oluwa finished seventh in the long jump (22-8.5), Oceanside junior Jayden Gibbs finished ninth in the shot put (170-6 PR) and University City senior Kai Anderson placed in a tie for ninth place in the pole vault (15-8).

Also in the boys pole vault, San Dieguito Academy junior Dylan Yarbrough finished 12th (15-2).

Canyon Crest Academy junior Amaya Estes finished 11th in the girls long jump at 17-6.75.
In the boys 4×800 relay, Scripps Ranch (7:54.53) placed 13th while Pt. Loma (7:59.65) was 16th.

Mission Bay sophomore Alijah Cheeks, the section champion at 6-9, failed to clear opening height along with three other finalists.

Dress rehearsal
Athletes with the top nine prelim times for shorter running events and top 12 times for longer running events advanced to the finals while athletes with the top 12 marks for field events did so. (An extra qualifier for girls in the case where a transgender student is involved are added for the finals).

The heat and the talent level throughout the state nixed the best-laid hopes of many athletes expecting better finishes to end their seasons.

Hawkins finished eighth in 55.23 to advance from the prelims but did not expand on her mark in the finals the next day.

Otay Ranch senior Dallas Corbett finished 22nd in the boys 400 dash in 48.74.

Oluwa finished in a tie for ninth in the long jump prelims (22-9.25) to advance to the finals but placed 25th in the triple jump prelims (42-5.5) to not advance.

Olympian finished 18th in the girls 4×400 prelims in 3:53.88 courtesy of seniors Ivanna Ruiz, Sophia Getman and Hawkins while Eastlake’s quartet of seniors Jenna Cecena and Sheridan Roche, junior Samara Maldonado and freshman Kareli Rascon placed 19th in 3:54.00. Neither squad advanced

Para events
The CIF state track and field championship meet once again spotlighted Paralympic-style and unified events for an all-inclusive program.

Events took place both days to complement performances by able-bodied students.
The San Diego Section was represented by Torrey Pines senior Ivan Chaban (third, 14.22), Mission Bay junior Chris Adamson (sixth, 14.65), Mission Bay senior David Cervantes (seventh, 14.68) and West Hills senior Logan Mann (eighth, 15.13) in the ambulatory boys 100 dash.

Chaban (28.83) also finished third in the ambulatory 200 dash while Mann (31.50) was sixth, Mission Bay’s Adamson (33.16) was seventh and teammate Cervantes (33.23) was eighth.

Guajome Park Academy sophomore Angelo Sanchez (21.28) took second in the 100 wheelchair race while Imperial junior Adrian Gonzalez (22.91) was third. Rancho Verde senior Angel Guzman was first in a personal record time of 20.09.

Guzman won the 200 wheelchair race in 36.59 (PR) while Sanchez (41.16) was second and Gonzalez (44.78) was third, both PRs.

Piedmont Hills senior Dillon Thomas was first in the 100 ambulatory dash in 12.68 and first in the 200 ambulatory dash in 25.45, both PR times.

Finals were held in 100 unified sports, 400 ambulatory and wheelchair events and ambulatory shot put.

Hoover seniors Benjamin Mbodo (fourth, 11.96) and Damian Mungin (seventh, 12.27) both participated in the 100 unified dash.

Mann placed seventh in the 400 ambulatory dash in 1:15.35. Sanchez placed second in the wheelchair 400 event in 1:23.35 while Gonzalez was third in 1:28.35, both PR times.

Eastlake sophomore Gianna Juarez (13.64) and EHS senior Sofia Garcia (17.75) finished fourth and 12th, respectively, in the 100 girls unified finals. Juarez (20-1.25) was sixth and Garcia (9-11.75) was 14th in the unified shot put finals.

There was even a 4×100 unified relay.

Adamson (20-0.50) finished fifth in the boys ambulatory shot put while Gonzalez (17-9.5) took first and Sanchez (14-3.75) was third in the boys shot put wheelchair finals.

In the unified shot put finals, Hoover senior Alex Rodriguez (38-0) was fourth while Hilltop junior Micah Hopkins (31-6.25) was ninth, Mungin (30-9.75) was 10th and Hilltop junior Damian Aceves (30-7) was 11th.

New frontiers
Hernandez finished in a three-way tie for the lead in the high jump at 5-7 with Monta Vista junior Lelani Laruelle and Long Beach Poly senior Jillene Wetteland. Brea Olinda junior Julia Teven was awarded the third-place bronze medal by clearing 5-6.

Hernandez finished with a mark of 42-2.75 in the triple jump while St. Mary’s College junior Kira Gant Hatcher finished at 40-5. Clayton Valley senior Santia Ali was awarded the second-place medal following a 39-10.75 mark.

Hernandez finished with a mark of 20-8.75 in the long jump while Long Beach Wilson senior Loren Webster finished at 21-00.25 to win the event. Hernandez shared the silver medal with River City senior Brooke White, who jumped 19-4.25.

For comparison, Hernandez’s marks would have placed her outside of a medal in the three boys jumps.

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame junior Joshua Harel cleared 6-9 to win the boys high jump, Santa Margarita senior Leo Francis won the boys long jump with a 25-00.75 PR and Cajon senior Keith Cotlage won the boys triple jump with a PR 51-4.5.

The medal cut-off was 6-5 in the boys high jump, 22-3.25 in the boys long jump and 45-7.25 in the boys triple jump.