Meet Review 

by Steve Fagundes

with photos courtesy of Don Gosney and Greag Ashman

On Saturday, June 7^th the addidas Golden West Track and Field Invitational (GWI) welcomed high school athletes from 31 states and Canada to Folsom, CA for its annual celebration of “prep” track. The 49^th rendition of this prestigious meet (the longest running post season high school competition in the nation) continued to add new chapters to its long and storied history of national records and superlative individual performances from future track and field Olympians. With temperatures in the 80’s and gusting winds at 5 to 15 miles per hour (2.23 meters per second [mps] to 6.70 mps) down the home straight in the early portions of the meet, it was obvious that the sprinters and horizontal jumpers were in heaven and the pole vaulters and distance runners would be challenged.

Girl’s Track Events

100m: Running with a stiff 2.9 mps wind to their back, the 100 Meters (M) matched Indiana’s best Candyce McGrone (Warren Central; Indianapolis, IN), a recent Florida State signee, against California sophomore Jessica Davis (Highland; Palmdale, CA). Both athletes were out of the blocks well with McGrone leading at 40 meters and pulling away to a convincing 11.37w victory. Davis was second in the race at 11.58w with Jacinda Evans (Southern; Durham, NC) third in 11.73w. McGrone’s winning time matched her seasonal best which was also considered wind-aided due to the lack of a wind gauge at that competition.

200m: With the wind having “died” down to an aiding 1.1 mps for the 200 M, McGrone dominated the field once again clocking a 23.47 to rank No. 3 in the nation with the 6^th best performance in GWI history. Davis, the national leader with a 23.45 best, finished second in 23.86 and Roneca Nash (E. St. Louis; Alorton, IL) taking third in 24.04.

400m:The 400 M matched up two of the nation’s best and familiar foes Ebony Eutsey (Southridge; Miami, FL) and junior Lanie Whittaker (B.T. Washington; Miami, FL). Both compete in the same conference in Miami, FL with Eutsey garnering the Florida State 4A championship and Whitaker the Florida State 3A Championship. In the race proper Whitaker was out fast and had the lead in the first 200 M. Eutsey came off the turn at about 300M and pulled away to a convincing victory in 53.23 (GWI #8) with Whitaker trailing at 53.43 (GWI #10) for the No. 1 and 3 times in the nation this year. Sophomore Kellie Schueler (Summit; Bend, OR) finished third in 55.43.

800m: Junior Jordan Hasay (Mission College Prep; San Luis Obispo, CA), the national leader at 1,500 M, 3,000 M, and 3,200 M, dropped down in distance to the 800 M for “a little speed work” in preparation for her post season exploits in the 1,500 M. As is her style, she took control of the race by 300 meters cruising through 200 meter splits of 30.0, 62.6 (32.6), and 1:35.7 (33.1) through 600 M mark. Junior Justine Fredronic (Carlmont; Belmont, Ca.) made a spirited move with about 120 meters to go, but Hasay responded to the challenge and pulled away to run a personal best of 2:09.92. Fredronic was second in a seasonal best of 2:11.19 and another junior Katie Hoaldridge (Burleson, TX.) was third at 2:13.93. In post race interviews, Hasay indicated that it was her intent at compete at the U.S. Olympic Trials (June 27-July 6 in Eugene, OR) in the 1,500M and the GWI 800 M was part of her preparations for that challenge. “It’s a big honor to run at the Olympic Trials” Hasay said ”So I wanted to get in as much work as I can to have a good showing.” 

Girls Mile: Blustering winds hindered the Girl’s Mile Run with pre-meet favorite sophomore Cory McGee (Pass Christian, MS) charging to a 50 meter lead in the first 880 yards with 440 yard  splits of 65.3 and 2:20.4 (75.1). On the third lap (3:39.1 [78.7] for McGee), the field began to close the gap with junior Sarah Penney (Xavier Prep.; Paradise Valley, AZ) leading the chase group approximately 20 meters behind. McGee continued to struggle on the last lap (76.6), but managed to hold off the closing sprint of Penney with a final clocking of 4:55.52 to 4:55.64. Sophomore Chloe Curtis (Redondo Union; Redondo Beach, CA) finished third with a seasonal best of 5:00.26.

3200m: Under calmer and cooler evening conditions, senior Anastasia Bishton (Mountain Ridge; Glendale, AZ) lead the 3,200M from start to finish with a personal best 10:28.32. The Arizona State bound senior powered through solo laps of 74.3, 2:31.1 (76.8), 3:49.2 (78.1), 5:08.4 (79.2), 6:28.8 (80.4), 7:50.5 (81.7), 9:11.4 (80.9), and 77.0 with senior Lindsay Anderson (Leeds, ND) at 10:35.27 and junior Christine Bergman (Valley Christian; San Jose, CA) at 10:59.19 setting personal bests in finishing second and third.

100m & 300m Hurdles: The Girls 100 M hurdles saw two of the pre-meet favorites and San Francisco Bay area athletes fail to finish the race. Eighth grader Trinity Wilson representing the East Oakland Youth Development Center (Oakland, CA), who had run 14.21, appeared to have gotten left in the blocks and senior Briana Stewart of James Logan (Union City, Ca.) suffered a mid-race spill. Senior and Cal-Poly San Luis Obispo bound Tenise Brewer of Florin (Sacramento, Ca.) went on to win in 14.25w (2.2 mps) with Victoria Johnson of James Logan (Union City, Ca.) second at 14.33w and Olivia Amy of Horn (Mesquite, Tx.) third in 14.64w. In the 300M Low Hurdles junior Erika Nowell (Perris, CA) captured first with a 42.10 (GWI #9) leading an all-California group to the podium. Seniors Joi Glass (Skyline; Oakland, CA) and Chelsea Taylor (Mission Viejo, CA) followed in second and third with 43.57 and 44.22 clockings, respectively.

 Girl’s Field Events

Jumps: Junior Alitta Boyd (Moreau; Hayward, CA) “breezed” to victories in both horizontal jumps. In the long jump, Boyd won an extremely close competition with senior Jacinda Evans (Durham, NC) currently ranked #5 nationally with a seasonal best of 20’ 03.5”. Boyd leaped 19’06.25”w (2.9 mps) to best Evans second place mark of 19’06.00”w (3.3 mps) by 0.25”. Freshman Abrianna Torres (San Luis Obispo, CA) captured third place with a best of 18’06.50”w (2.5 mps). In the triple jump Boyd made sure the competition was not so close winning the event by almost two feet with a best of 42’0.00”w (3.6 mps). Freshman Ciarra Brewer (Logan; Union City) was second at 40’0.75”w (4.0 mps) and junior Samantha Nielson (Capital; Boise, ID) third at 38’04.75”w (4.0 mps). Junior J’Lyn Ledesma (Wellington, KS) was able to overcome the gusty wind conditions and capture the high jump with a 5’6.00” performance. Senior Brynn Carbo (St. Thomas Moore; Lafayette, LA) finished second at 5’02.25” with fellow seniors Amanda Stevens (Jim Elliott Christian; Vacaville, CA) and Karen Han (Arcadia, CA) tying for third at 5’0.25”.

Pole Vault: As in the high jump, a stiff cross wind affected the pole vault competition, with senior Elizabeth Stover (Longmont, CO) winning the event with a best of 12’0.00”, 16” below her seasonal best. Freshman Katherine Zingheim (Granite Bay, CA) and junior Logan Miller (Bishop Manogue; Reno, NV) vaulted 11’06.25” for second and third place, respectively, based on fewer misses.

Throws: With nationally ranked and pre-meet favorite Anastasia Jelmini (Shafter, CA) scratching, the shot put and discus events turned into some extremely close competitions. Junior Katie Evans (Putnam County; Powersville, MO) captured the shot put with a throw of 43’10.75” followed closely by senior Sarah Bella (West Morris; Wendham, NJ) at 43’05.75” and junior Brooke Gritters (Pella, IA) in third at 42’09.50”. In the discus, sophomore Jessica Sharbono (West; Billings, MT) scored an upset when she improved her personal best by over 15 feet with a winning throw of 157’05” to move into No. 11 on the yearly national list. Super-freshman Alex Collatz (Stockdale; Bakersfield, CA) was just off here personal best of 159’04” with her second place throw of 156’07”with junior Kayla Korvar (Burroughs; Ridgecrest, CA.), who has thrown 157’08” finishing third at 150’05”. In the hammer junior Maddy Midles (Camas; WA) captured the event at 141’0” with senior Robin Callan (Monroe-Woodbury; Monroe, NY) finishing second with a best of 136’05”. Pacific Northwest rivals and juniors Andrea Hopkins (Lakeridge; Lake Oswego, OR) and Kenna Ross (Walla Walla, WA) finished one–two in the javelin with bests of 136’0” and 123’03”, respectively.                  

Boy’s Track Events

100m: Senior D'Angelo Cherry (Mt. Zion; Jonesboro, GA.) accelerated out of the blocks smoothly and looked to be on his way to a comfortable win until senior T.J. Graham (Wakefield; Raleigh, N.C.) showed a burst of speed in the final 30 meters to make it a very close race. Aided by a 2.6 mps wind Cherry’s winning time of 10.16w ranks equal to No. 10 on the all-time list for all-conditions. Graham followed in 10.21w with senior Diante Mayers (Hug; Reno, Nv.) surprising in third at 10.33w. In post race interviews Cherry indicated that he was pleased with his performance as he had been hampered by slight groin injury. “It feels good to win here” said Cherry who will be competing for Mississippi State next year, “I only practiced for a couple of days because of the injury. So it was nice to test myself against a competitive field.”

200m: Less than two hours later with Cherry choosing to skip the 200 M, TJ Graham took full advantage of the ideal conditions running a strong final straight and going on to win in a wind-legal 21.04. Mayers was second again at 21.18 and junior Tavaris Tate (Starkville, MS), who had previously won the 400M, third at 21.17.

400m: Junior Tavaris Tate easily handled a stellar field winning in a relaxed 46.45, just off his personal best of 46.41 that ranks him second in the nation. Versatile senior Christian Taylor (Sandy Creek; Tyrone, GA) (who ranks #3 in the nation at 400M at 46.60, is the national leader in the triple jump, and captured both the long and triple jumps at this competition) was second in 47.94 with senior Amaechi Morton (Riverwood; Atlanta, Ga.) third at 48.18 (currently ranked #6 nationally at 46.75)

800m: Senior Charles White of Cherry Creek (Co.) took the early lead in the 800M at 27.7 (200 meters) and promptly let the pace slow drastically (along with the rest of the field) passing 400M in 58.3 (30.6) and 600M at 1:28.6 (30.3). With a large group still in contact with 200 meters to go, senior Jon Shawel (Troy; Fullerton) finished strongest over the last 50 meters capturing the race in 1:56.05. White held on for second at 1:56.40 with senior Brad Surh (Carlmont; Belmont, CA) finishing third in 1:56.93.

Boy's Mile: Senior Dylan Ferris (East Forsyth; Kernersville, N.C.) took the lead after the first lap passed in 63.8 and then opened up a 20 meter lead with a 60.7 next lap (880 yards in 2:04.5). On the third lap the trio of defending champion and senior Miles Unterreiner (Gig Harbor, WA), senior Matt Duffey (St. Mary’s; Berkeley, CA.) and Stephen Clark (Skyline; Salt Lake City, UT) closed in on Ferris and made it a foursome at 1,320 yards in 3:10.8 (66.3 for Ferris). Duffey was soon dropped and coming off the final turn it was a three person race with defending champion Unterreiner and Ferris leaning at the tape with Forsyth a narrower winner in 4:13.38 to 4:13.41. Clark finished a close third in 4:13.87 a five second improvement over his seasonal best.

3200m: Senior Muhamed Abdalla (Willow Glen; San Jose, CA) lead the early laps of the 3,200M opening as much as a 25 meter lead in the first 1,200 meters with splits of 65.1, 2:12.6 (67.5); 3:20.0 (67.4), and 4:28.1 (68.1).  By the end of 2,200M junior Trevor Dunbar (Kodiak, AK) took the lead and began to pull away from the field passing 2,400 M in 6:53.2. With 300 meters to go senior Rory Tunningley (Lockhart, TX) took the lead to win in a personal best of 9:05.10 (61.6 for the last 400 meters). Dunbar held on for second with a personal best of 9:06.41 and Dominick Robinson (Campbell County; Gillette, WY) finished third in 9:07.29 with a huge improvement on his personal best by almost 22 seconds.

110m & 300m Hurdles: The national leader with a seasonal best of 13.51, senior Spencer Adams of (Butler; Charlotte, N.C.) was an easy winner in the 110 M High Hurdles with a windy 13.66 (4.2 mps). Local athletes and seniors Aaron Burney (Granite Bay, CA) and Kyle Spence (Granada; Livermore, CA) surprised in second and third with personal bests of 13.95w and 14.04w, respectively. Adams returned later in the evening to win the 300 M Intermediate Hurdles, but this race was not quite as effortless as his previous win. On his way to what appeared to be a convincing victory, Spence stuttered over the seventh hurdle and lost his momentum. Sensing Adams’ hesitation,   senior Amaechi Morton closed well and with a clean clearance on the eighth hurdle almost caught the rebounding Adams. Adams and Morton finished in 37.11 and 37.23 with senior Eric Surprenant (Lynbrook; San Jose, CA) third in 38.13 

Boy’s Field Events

Jumps: As in the girl’s horizontal jumps, senior Christian Taylor (Sandy Creek; Tyrone, GA) captured both events. Taylor won the long jump by over a foot with a winning leap of 25’01.25”w (4.1 mps). Junior Phillip Burks (Royal; Simi Valley, CA) was a surprise second with a barely “illegal” 23’10.00”w (2.7 mps) followed by junior D.J. Wright (Sheldon; Eugene, OR) in third at 23’08.25”w (4.9 mps). Taylor dominated the triple jump with only one of his six jumps being exceeded by the second and third place finishers. His winning and wind-legal leap of 50’11.50” came on his last attempt after competing in both the long jump and 400M. Juniors Kasen Covington (Capital; Boise, ID) and Josh Butler (Damonte Ranch; Reno, NV) finished second and third with bests of 48’04.75” (NWI) and 47’09.00” (0.6 mps), respectively. In the high jump, junior Nick Ross (Vista Murrieta; Muirrieta, CA) finished first with a 6’09.00” clearance. Josh Butler improved on his third place in the triple jump, finishing second here with a best of 6’08.00” followed by senior Spencer Patterson (Tigard, OR) at 6’06.00”. 

Pole Vault: National leader and two-time CA State Champion (by way of Germany) Nico Weiler (Los Gatos, CA) captured the pole vault with a leap of 16’08.75”. He then asked for the bar to be raised to a personal best of 17’08.25”, but missed on all three attempts. Riley Egan (St. Thomas Aquinas; Ft. Lauderdale, FL) was second at 16’02.75” and local product Blair Wallingford (Roseville, CA.) was third at 15’09.00”. As in the girl’s pole vault, the boys had to contend with difficult crosswinds throughout the competition.

Throws: Senior and Arizona State bound Jordan Clarke (Bartlett; Anchorage, AK) won his specialties the shot put and discus with an excellent double. The national leader in the shot put with a seasonal best of 71’03.00”, he won here with a best throw of 64’10.50”. Los Gatos senior Colin Quirke finished second at 62’02.25” with senior Michael Cardinal (Blackfoot, ID) third at 56’02.50”. In the discus, Clarke improved his personal best by almost 10 feet winning with a mark of 204’0” (GWI #12) to move to a tie for 5^th on this year’s national list. Quirke once again garnered the silver medal throwing a personal best of 183’01”. Sophomore Matt Darr (Frontier; Bakersfield, CA) finished third with an excellent throw of 180’0”. Senior Vincent Torrisi (Monroe-Woodbury; Monroe, NY) won the hammer on his last throw with a 177’05” toss to beat Cole Gibson (Camas, WA) who finished second at 170’03”. In the javelin M. Dylan Burnett-Lewis (Bothell; Lynwood, WA) finished first at 175’02” with senior Jason Flanagan (Father Judge; Philadelphia, PA) in second at 168’05”.