Santiago’s Braelyn Combe continues to raise the bar by lowering her times.
Combe brought home the title in the girls 1600-meter run at the CIF State Championships on Saturday evening at Buchanan High School in Clovis. The junior won the race in 4 minutes and 35.64 seconds, a time that smashed her previous Inland Empire record by 4 seconds and some change.
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Santiago wins the Girls 4×800 Meter Relay during the CIF State Track and Field Championships on Friday at Buchanan High in Clovis on Saturday, May 31, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
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Santiago wins the Girls 4×800 Meter Relay during the CIF State Track and Field Championships on Friday at Buchanan High in Clovis on Saturday, May 31, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
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Combe was sitting fourth midway through the race but moved up to second behind Hanne Thomsen of Santa Rosa Montgomery with one lap to go. Combe split 1:05.18 over the final 400 meters and beat Thomsen in a tight finish (by .05 seconds) to win the first individual state title of her career.
“I’ve never leaned in a race in my life. That’s the first time I ever leaned,” Combe told Youth Runner Magazine about the final moments of the race.
“I just remember looking at the screen like, ‘who’s name in going to be first?’ … I was praying, I was not sure at all. I knew she (Thomsen) was right there, and I just ran for my life. … I’ve never been that close to someone at the finish line. I was so scared. … It’s just such a blessing to be here.”
Combe’s time is the second fastest by a high school girls runner in the country this year, trailing only Jane Hedengren of Timpview, Utah (4:32.61).
Later in the evening, Combe returned to anchor Santiago’s 4 x 800 relay that also featured Taylor Davis, Nicole Samson and Kinsley Whitecavage. Combe spilt 2:07.43 on that final leg and pulled away from JSerra’s Anne Elise Packard. Santiago’s time of 8:49.01 was a CIF State meet record.
Santiago and Long Beach Poly tied for second place in the team standings with 28 points. Long Beach Wilson claimed the state title with 46 points.
The victories by Combe and the relay were worth 10 points each. The other eight came from Rylee Blade’s second-place finish in the 3200 meters.
Blade was looking for her second state title in the 3200 meters in three seasons. She went out fast and led the majority of the race. But Thomsen would not be denied a second time. She passed Blade on the final lap of the race and crossed the line in 9:48.98 for a new CIF State meet record. Blade’s time of 9:50.91 also was under the previous meet record of 9:52.13 set in 2008 by Jordan Hasay of San Luis Obispo Mission College Prep.
Blade’s time also smashed a Riverside County record, as she topped the previous best of 9:53.79 set by Great Oak’s Destiny Collins in 2015. Thomsen and Blade’s times are No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, in the nation, Hedengren set the national record (9:30.68) at the Arcadia Invitational
“I’m overjoyed right now. It was an incredible race, and I’m so happy to have Hanne there with me,” Blade told Youth Runner Magazine. “I honestly don’t have too many words besides that was just really fun to be out there. … Hanne had an incredible kick, and I feel I just want to get back to work and work on that a little bit more. I was really happy with how I closed, but having that little bit extra at the end definitely would help you a bit more.”
Jurupa Valley’s AB Hernandez made history by becoming the first known transgender athlete to win a CIF State track and field title. Hernandez won titles in the high jump (personal best of 5 feet and 7 inches) and triple jump (personal best of 42-2 3/4) and placed second in the long jump (another personal best but a wind-aided 20-8 3/4). Hernandez shared the titles because of a newly-enacted CIF provision that allowed for a cisgender female competitor who was displaced by Hernandez to also win in those respective events. Jurupa Valley was fourth in the team standings with 27 points.
Chaparral’s Keelan Wright had a pair of runner-up finishes in the girls sprints. She was second in both the 100 meters (11.55) and 200 meters (23.41).
Claremont’s Grace Smith capped a phenomenal freshman season with a second-place finish in the 800 meters (personal best of 2:07.33). Smith also helped Claremont’s 4 x 800 relay team to an eighth-place finish.
Murrieta Valley’s Taylor Anyansi ran a personal-best time of 11.59 to finish fourth in the 100 meters. Summit’s Amira Whitehead placed fourth in the 400 meters (54.62). Chino’s Arelle Middleton finished fourth in the shot put with a personal-best mark of 43-9 1/2.
Chaparral’s Katelynn Suemnick placed sixth in the pole vault (12-2), while Riverside Poly’s Kylani Gaines finished eighth in the 100 hurdles (14.06). Roosevelt’s Alyssa Jones was eighth in the high jump (5-5). Temescal Canyon’s Megan Crum placed ninth in the 3200 meters (10:21.84), while Murrieta Valley’s Jordin Lieberman finished 10th in the 1600 meters (4:49.18).
