The competition will be fierce at this year’s CIF State Track and Field Championships, and so too will be the conditions the athletes will have to battle.
Temperatures are expected to reach triple digits Friday and Saturday for the annual championship meet hosted by Buchanan High School in Clovis.
Field events Friday start at 3 p.m. with track events beginning at 5 p.m. Saturday’s field finals start at 4:30 p.m. and running finals begin at 5:45 p.m.
A total of 45 athletes representing Inland schools qualified for the CIF State Championships in individual events, along with nine Inland relay teams.
Here is a closer look at some of the Inland athletes and relay teams that could contend for state championships and top podium spots this weekend.
BOYS EVENTS
Rancho Cucamonga’s Rodney Sermons won CIF Southern Section Division 1 titles in the 100 meters and 200 meters, and he also brought home the Masters Meet title in the 200 meters. Sermons ranks second in the state this year in the 200 meters (20.88) and is tied for second in the 100 (10.30). Brandon Arrington Jr. of Spring Valley Mount Miguel is the defending champion in both events.
Temecula Valley’s Jack Stadlman won the Southern Section Division 1 title in the 400 meters and placed second at the Masters Meet qualifying meet. Stadlman is the state leader in the event (45.69) and is the only runner in the state to go sub-46 this season. He also ranks sixth in the 200 (21.03). North’s Dontae Smith also will compete in the 400 meters. He placed seventh at last year’s state meet.
Riverside Poly’s Beckett Sullivan ranks fifth in the state in the 800 meters (1:51.37).
Etiwanda’s Brandon Andrade and Orange Vista’s Terrence Whaley are contenders in the 300 hurdles. Andrade ran the state’s fastest time (36.79) at the Mt. SAC Relays last month. Whaley has come on strong at the end of the season and ranks fourth in the state (37.03).
Murrieta Valley will be looking to improve on last year’s seventh-place finish in the 4 x 100 relay. The quartet of Darius Johnson, Camden Palos-Connor, Sedwrick Dunklin and Brandon Ortega have a top time of 41.34 this season.
The Inland area has a handful of title contenders in field events, as well.
Elsinore’s Nicolas Alexis placed seventh at state last season in the long jump. He won Division 1 and Masters Meet championships in that event and is ranked fourth in the state (24 feet, 3 1/2 inches). Alexis also will compete in the triple jump and is ranked third in the state (49-2 3/4). Another athlete to watch in the triple jump in Keith Cotlage. He is the Division 1 and Masters Meet championship and has the state’s best jump this season (50-7).
Yucaipa’s Benjamin Lingenfelter swept the Division 1 and Masters Meet throwing titles this season. Lingenfelter placed seventh in the shot put at the state finals last year. He is ranked second in the state in the discus (200-10) and fifth in the shot put (61-2). Clovis North’s McKay Madsen is the defending champion in both events.
GIRLS EVENTS
Chaparral’s Keelan Wright placed sixth in the 200 meters and eighth in the 100 meters at last year’s state finals. She swept the Division 1 sprints and also won the Masters Meet title in the 200. Wright has the state’s best time in the 200 (23.21) and also is ranked second in the 100 (11.41).
Summit’s Amira Whitehead is ranked third in the state in the 400 meters (53.77) and checks in at No. 6 in the 200 (23.80).
Santiago’s Braelyn Combe placed second in the 1600 meters at last year’s state finals and also claimed Division 1 and Masters Meet titles this season. Combe ranks fourth in the state with a time of 4:44.36. Murrieta Valley’s Jordin Lieberman holds the state’s No. 3 time this season (4:43.08).
Santiago’s Rylee Blade won the state title in the 3200 meters in 2023 and placed third last season. Blade recently won her third straight Masters Meet title in that event. Blade enters the meet with the state’s third-fastest time (9:58.46). Temescal Canyon’s Megan Crum placed sixth at state last season in the 1600 meters. She will compete in the 3200 this season and ranks 10th in the state (10.21.00).
Masters Meet champion Claremont and Santiago will be among the top contenders in the 4 x 800 relay. Santiago placed second at state last season, while Claremont was fourth.
Jurupa Valley junior AB Hernandez, a transgender athlete whose participation has sparked national debate, is among the favorites in the horizontal jumps. Hernandez swept the titles at the Division 3 finals and Masters Meet. Hernandez placed third at state last season in the triple jump and has the state’s best mark this season in that event (41-4). Hernandez ranks second in the state in the long jump (20-1 1/2) and also qualified in the high jump.
Norco’s Kaylee Best placed seventh at state in the long jump last season. She claimed the Division 2 title in that event this year and finished second to Hernandez in both horizontal jumps at the Masters Meet. Best ranks sixth in the state in the long jump (19-8 1/2) and eighth in the triple jump (39-6).
