CIF San Diego Section Track and Field Championships
What: Individual and team champions will be crowned in 17 events, boys and girls. The top nine finishers earn medals. The first three finishers automatically move on to the State Championships on May 30-31 in Clovis in all but the 4×800 relay where two qualify. Individuals making the state qualifying standard also advance.
When: 9 a.m. Saturday
Where: Mt. Carmel High School
Tickets: $10 for adults, $7 for students and seniors. Tickets must be purchased at GoFan.co
Boys preview: The boys championships took a major hit when defending state champion and section 100 and 200-meter record-holder Brandon Arrington of Mount Miguel suffered a hamstring injury in the league championships and was forced to bow out of the 200. He scratched all events in the divisionals. San Diego High freshman phenom Jasir Fontenot, who leads the state in the 110-meter high hurdles with his section record time of 13.62 seconds, is the runner to watch in that event. Two more events could also see all-time section-best marks. University City pole vaulter Kai Anderson, the returning state champion, cleared 17 feet, 1 inch at Mt. SAC, just one inch off the record of 17-2 set by La Costa Canyon’s Garrett Brown in 2021. He is also just an inch behind state-leader Khaliq Muhammad of Pittsburg. Sage Creek 800/1,600-meter runner Josiah Bowman clocked a state-leading time of 1:50.39 in the 800 at the Arroyo Meet of Champions, putting him within a step of the all-time section best of 1:50.15 by Scripps Ranch’s Shyan Vaziri. Cathedral Catholic senior long jumper Steven Evans-Glynn sured 24 feet for the first time at the Division 2 meet, when he hit 24-3. That is the third-best performance in the state this season.
Girls preview: Section record-setters will compete in six events. Carlsbad High’s Herbst sisters, Makenna and Morgan, for half of the 4×400 relay team’s record-breaking 3:46.95 at the Arcadia Invitational. The other two runners are Rayne Hawkins and Jillian Herrera. Makenna Herbst leads the state by 3 full seconds in the 800 after clocking a 2:04.72 at the Arroyo Meet of Champions. Morgan Herbst is No. 1 in the 300-meter hurdles at 40.26 and is looking to crack 40 seconds. A year ago, Eastlake’s Jaylen Williams set section records in the 1,600 and 3,200, but La Jolla’s Chiara Dailey eclipsed the shorter record this season with her state-leading 4:40.28 at Arcadia. Williams is looking to better her 2024 bests of 4:40.29 and 9:57.11. Defending state champion and section-record 100-meter hurdler Anisa Bowen-Fontenot of San Diego High is No. 1 in the state at 13.16, and is No. 3 in the state in the 300-meter hurdles, where she has clocked a personal-best times of 41.25. N one in the state has been better in the pole vault this season than Del Norte’s Paige Echsner, who cleared 13-10 at the Division 1 meet. That mark is 10 inches higher than her nearest rival.
— STEVE BRAND
