Norman leads Vista Murrieta boys to repeat title, Roberts guides Carson to first girls championship

By Erik Boal, DyeStatCAL Editor

Just like Nellum, Norman good as gold

When Long Beach Poly won its second of back-to-back boys state team titles in 2007, the Jackrabbits’ catalyst was Bryshon Nellum, who prevailed in the 200 and 400, in addition to being a part of victorious 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 relays.

Michael Norman took on the leading role again for Vista Murrieta, contributing to 40 points to help the Broncos become the first team since Long Beach Poly to repeat as champions with a 54-40 victory over Southwestern League rival Great Oak.

Norman mirrored Nellum’s greatness by defending his individual titles in the 200 and 400, along with leading off Vista Murrieta’s championship 4 x 100 relay that clocked U.S. No. 2 40.32 and anchoring the 4 x 400 relay with a 44.9 split to help the Broncos triumph in 3:14.97.

Norman, the state record holder in the 200 at U.S. No. 1 20.23, repeated as champion in 20.42. He secured back-to-back 400 titles in 45.77, just off his national-leading 45.51. Nellum ran 20.43 and 45.54, in addition to contributing to a 40.81 4 x 100 relay and a 3:10.92 4 x 400 relay.

Roberts’ return lets Carson roll to first title

Kaelin Roberts waited two years to return to the state finals, but the Carson junior enjoyed the same experience by winning the 400 as well as capturing a team championship with the Colts.

Roberts contributed to victory in the 4 x 400 relay for Long Beach Poly during the Jackrabbits’ 2014 title run, but after missing her sophomore season with injuries she was even more instrumental in Carson’s success, anchoring a national-leading 45.06 4 x 100 relay and rallying the Colts to another win with a 52.2 anchor in the 4 x 400 in U.S. No. 8 3:42.80.

After clocking a national-leading 52.52 in the 400 as a freshman, Roberts returned to U.S. No. 1 with her lifetime-best 52.28 to defeat 2015 state champion Hannah Waller of Buchanan, who improved her own Central Section record by clocking 53.01.

Roberts also clocked a personal-best 23.40 in the 200 to place second behind St. Bonaventure’s Celera Barnes, who won her first state title in 23.25. Roberts factored into 38 of Carson’s 40 points, with Jonon Young accounting for the other two points in the triple jump with a seventh-place finish at 38-2.5.

Carson became the first L.A. City Section team to capture a girls title since Kennedy in 1980 and the section’s fifth girls champion overall.

Tara’s triple secures second, Holmes’ haul finishes fourth

Agoura junior Tara Davis and Oakmont senior Isaiah Holmes both took on the challenges of competing in three individual events at the state finals, each securing gold medals.

Davis won the 100 hurdles and triple jump, in addition to taking second in the long jump to finish with 28 points and secure a runner-up team finish behind Carson.

Holmes prevailed in the long jump, finished fifth by himself in the triple jump and tied for fifth in the high jump to accumulate 17.5 points and place fourth behind Vista Murrieta, Great Oak and Esperanza.

Davis clocked a lifetime-best 13.38 in the 100 hurdles, had a leap of 41-5.5 in the triple jump and produced an effort of 20-4 in the long jump to take second behind Clovis North’s Rhesa Foster, who won with a jump of 20-7.5 after not being able to compete at last year’s state finals because of an ACL injury.

Holmes delivered a 25-5 in the final round of the long jump to secure the title after a 48-0.75 triple jump and 6-8 clearance in the high jump.

Small schools, huge talents

Led by St. Joseph Notre Dame junior Cooper Teare capturing the 3200 title in the closest finish in meet history by edging Great Oak’s Cole Spencer 8:51.845 to 8:51.847, it was an outstanding showcase for several small school standouts in the finals.

Oaks Christian junior Cassidy Palka cleared a lifetime-best 5-9 in a sudden-death jumpoff against Academy of Academic Excellence’s Hannah Hanson in the high jump to capture the program’s first girls individual title, which Lauren Rain Williams added to later by winning the 100 in 11.39.

St. Bonaventure’s Celera Barnes secured her first state championship by running a personal-best 23.25 under all conditions in the 200.

Pacific Collegiate’s Erika Malaspina tied Mater Dei’s McKenna Caskey for second in the pole vault with a 13-8 clearance.

Immanuel senior Zoe March followed her Central Section Masters title in the 300 hurdles by placing third in a personal-best 42.23, with Fortuna freshman Katy Hurst tying for third in the high jump clearing 5-5.

Junior Nikki Iyer of The Harker School placed third in the girls 3200 in 10:24.39, with McKinleyville senior Morgin Coonfield fourth in 10:24.90.

The O.C. back in primetime

The only state meet record belonged to Anaheim Canyon junior Rachel Baxter, who cleared 14-2 in the pole vault to eclipse the standard of 14-1 set in 2007 by Castilleja’s Tori Anthony.

But Baxter, the U.S. prep leader this year at 14-3 who had three attempts at a potential national high school record 14-8, wasn’t the only state champion representing Orange County.

Marina senior Jett Gordon made it an Orange County sweep in the pole vault, clearing 16-8 on his third attempt to clinch the title, before taking three attempts at a potential meet record 17-4.

Esperanza junior Bronson Osborn doubled in the discus throw and shot put to capture his first titles. Osborn won the discus with a throw of 200-10 and prevailed in the shot put with a mark of 69-10.75, just ahead of Amador Valley’s Nathan Esparza at 69-4.75.

Tesoro senior Amanda Gehrich became the first back-to-back girls 1600 champion since Woodbridge’s Christine Babcock won three in a row in 2006-08. Gehrich clocked 4:45.51 and then returned to place sixth in the 3200 in 10:30.42.

Mater Dei’s McKenna Caskey tied for second behind Baxter in the pole vault with a personal-best 13-8 clearance. Trabuco Hills sophomore Sean Lee cleared 7 feet and finished third based on attempts.

Los Alamitos senior Thomas Heib finished second in the boys 800 in 1:51.52, El Toro sophomore Maliyah Medley placed third in the girls 400 in 53.99 and Woodbridge freshman Emily Garner took fourth in the triple jump with a leap of 38-9.

Cortes showcases speed in distance double

Great Oak senior Isaac Cortes became the first male athlete to capture state titles in the 800 and 1600 in the same meet since San Jose Mission’s Jon Stevens in 1998, relying on impressive closing speed to secure both championships.

Cortes held off Madera South’s Eduardo “Lalo” Herrera 4:04.62 to 4:05.63 in the 1600, then rallied from last place after the first lap of the 800 to unleash an incredible kick in the final 100 meters to prevail in 1:50.75.

The Wolfpack almost had another individual title in the 3200 from Cole Spencer, who was edged by St. Joseph Notre Dame’s Cooper Teare 8:51.845 to 8:51.847 in the narrowest margin of victory in state finals history.

Historic hurdles

Vacaville junior Jurnee Woodward ran a personal-best and U.S. No. 2 40.62 to capture the girls 300 hurdles title, producing the No. 8 mark in state history and elevating to the 10^th-fastest female prep performer all-time.

Woodward also took third in the 100 hurdles in 13.66, with Agoura junior Tara Davis winning in U.S. No. 7 13.38, equal to No. 11 in state history.

La Quinta senior Koty Burton prevailed in the 300 hurdles in U.S. No. 3 36.34, ascending to No. 11 all-time in the state.

Upland junior Joseph Anderson captured the 110 hurdles championship in U.S. No. 5 13.59, which is equal to No. 8 in state history.

Williams won’t be denied

Oaks Christian junior Lauren Rain Williams appeared poised to sweep the 100 and 200 titles, before falling to the track less than 100 meters into the 200 with a strained right hamstring.

Williams, who prevailed in the 100 in 11.39, had her sights set on the 200 meet record of 22.52 set in 2003 by Allyson Felix. But after being attended to by trackside medics, she had to be helped to the finish line before walking off the track under her own power.

Williams, who ran a wind-aided 22.44 and wind-legal 22.80 in consecutive weeks in the 200 leading up to the state meet, is hoping to be able to compete June 24-26 on the same track at the U.S. Junior Nationals.

Hometown honor roll

Clovis North senior Rhesa Foster made it 16 consecutive years a female athlete from the Central Section captured a state individual title with a wind-legal personal-best 20.7-5 in the long jump.

It marked the third state title in four years for the Broncos, who had Mikaela Smith capture 800 championships in 2013 and 2014.

Clovis North also had junior Brooke Tjerrild clear 12-2 in the pole vault to tie for fifth and senior Lauren Moffett place sixth in the 1600 in 4:51.09, helping the team place ninth with 16.5 points.

Led by McKay Johnson finishing third in the shot put at 60-7.25 and fourth in the discus with a throw of 188-4, Clovis North, which had Jacob Veres clear 6-6 in the high jump for seventh place, also finished ninth in the boys competition with 13 points.

Jacob Wilson made the podium in both throws for Buchanan, helping the Bears tie for fifth in the boys team battle with 16 points. Wilson was third in the discus with a throw of 188-6 and fourth in the shot put at 59-8.75, with Paramveer Chohan fourth in the 300 hurdles in 37.48.

Hannah Waller was the spark for the Buchanan girls to finish tied for sixth with 18 points, which didn’t include a personal-best from freshman Meagen Lowe to place ninth in the 3200 in 10:36.51.

Waller was second in the 400 in 53.01 and third in the 200 in 23.53, in addition to helping the Bears take eighth in the 4 x 100 relay in 47.12, with Remington Mahlum placing sixth in the triple jump with a leap of 38-3.75.

After winning a Central Section Masters title in the 300 hurdles, Immanuel senior Zoe March continued her breakthrough season by placing third in a personal-best 42.23.

Madera South senior Eduardo “Lalo” Herrera was second in the boys 1600 in 4:05.63 and finished 15^th in the 3200 in 9:10.51, just ahead of teammate Miguel Villar in 9:10.85. Fresno’s Evert Silva placed ninth in 9:02.46.

Kingsburg senior Emmett Brooks placed second in the long jump with a leap of 24-3 and Bakersfield Liberty senior Dennis Hicks took runner-up in the triple jump with a mark of 48-6.25, with Seth Brooks placing fourth for Kingsburg at 48-1.25.

Future bright for young stars

For the second year in a row, a sophomore captured the girls 800 title, with California’s Alyssa Brewer clocking a personal-best 2:06.86 to hold off fellow 10^th-grader Cathilyn McIntosh of Del Oro in 2:07.98.

Calabasas’ all-freshman 4 x 400 relay of De’Anna Nowling, Janiah Brown, Kyla Robinson-Hubbard and Tierra Crockrell pushed Carson to its limit, before taking second in 3:43.27. Freshman Saundria Martin was instrumental in Carson’s victory in 3:42.80 and Nowling finished fourth in the 100 in 11.69 for Calabasas.

Roosevelt sophomore Breanna Bernard-Joseph took second in the girls 300 hurdles in 42.10, with Long Beach Poly sophomore Ariyonna Augustine taking fifth in both the 100 and 200 in 11.82 and 23.94.

Davis Senior sophomore Olivia O’Keeffe took third in the girls 1600 in 4:48.66 and Sonoma Academy sophomore Rylee Bowen was fourth in 4:50.40.

Trabuco Hills sophomore Sean Lee cleared 7 feet, just off his season-best 7-0.25, to place third in the boys high jump.

El Toro sophomore Maliyah Medley finished third in the girls 400 in 53.99, with Bishop O’Dowd sophomore Tierra Robinson-Jones taking fourth in 54.05.

Fortuna freshman Katy Hurst placed third in the girls high jump, clearing 5-5 and St. Mary’s Berkeley sophomore Kali Hatcher took third in the triple jump with a leap of 39-8.75, followed by Woodbridge freshman Emily Garner at 38-9.

Yucaipa sophomore Asani Hampton was sixth in the boys 100 final in 10.64, with Chatsworth sophomore Daniel Kamulali seventh in 10.74, putting themselves in position to contend for the title next year following the graduation of two-time champion T.J. Brock of Chaminade, who repeated in 10.43.

Oak Park freshman Sylvia Cruz-Albrecht was eighth in the 3200 in 10:34.11, with fellow ninth-grader Meagen Lowe of Buchanan ninth in 10:36.51.