FRIDAY PREVIEW
Girls 3200m. (Meet record: Claudia Lane, Malibu (SS), 10:24.72 '18)
The first high school event will be the girls' 3200m. The first year that the Stanford Invitational switched from 3000m to 3200m was 2018 and that was the year that Claudia Lane established the still standing meet record. That record will be put to the test this year as a trio of runners will set a quick pace to potentially dip under 10:20. Freshman Hanne Thomsen (above photo by Dan Tyree) won the 3200 at the Dublin Distance Fiesta while Del Oro senior Riley Chamberlain claimed gold...err sombrero in the 1600. Acalanes sophomore Olivia Williams has also run 10:24.85 this season and should be included among the favorites.Boys 3200m. (Meet record: Liam Anderson, Redwood (NC), 8:59.77 '19)
The favorite in this event will be St. Mary's Stockton senior, Daniel Winter. He charged late at the Dublin Distance Fiesta and it took an epic last lap by Jesuit's Braden King to catch him at the line. His closest pursuers should be NorCal XC runner of the year, Zachery Ayers of Davis, and Chico senior Mario Giannini.Girls 400m. Hurdles (Meet Record Angela Harris, Skyline (OK), 60.53 '94)
The 400m. hurdles is one of the few remaining unique events at the Stanford Invitational and this is truly a tough event. That extra 100m makes it super tough for the many hurdlers who are used to the 300m distance. At this point, it appears there are three girls in contention for the coveted win here. Riley Costales of Central has the fastest time this season in the 300m hurdles at 44.98. She will be challenged by Isabel Perez-Zoghbi of Merced as well as Alison Tjoe of Lynbrook who is currently undefeated in the longer hurdle race.Boys 400m. Hurdles (Meet Record: David Klech, California (NC), 50.35 '06)
The meet record here was set in 2006 by California HS uber-athlete, David Klech. The time of 50.35 would have qualified him for the open 400 and currently stands as the 21st fastest time in this event in US history. There is one clear favorite in this event and the only question will be how fast he runs in this event. St. Mary's Stockton senior Jadyn Marshall is one of the top hurdlers in the nation and will be in full display here. At the Texas Relays, Marshall continued his undefeated string in the 110 hurdles with a PR of 13.35 and came back to record a lifetime best time of 36.73 to finish 4th in the 300m hurdles.
Distance Medley Relays-Girls (Meet Record: Oak Ridge (SJ), 11:51.00 '07)
The girls' DMR race should pit two cross county powers from the fall as well as the winning team from the Dublin Distance Fiesta. JSerra will be traveling up north and may be the slight favorites based from their state cross country championship in Division IV. The Oak Ridge girls finished in 3rd place in Division I behind national powerhouse teams Buchanan and Newbury Park. The third contender here should be the Monte Vista girls who will have an even better lineup if super junior Cate Peters joins the fray.Distance Medley Relays-Boys (Meet Record: Bellarmine (CC), 10:03.67 '17)
With the unfortunate elimination of the 4 x 800m. relay a few years ago, the DMR is the last standing distance relay at the Stanford Invite and certain teams certainly take great pride in doing well in this event. One of the favorites in this event will be the Bellarmine Bells who currently hold the meet record set in 2017. They won the Dublin Distance Fiesta DMR and this time won't have their runners doubling back from a previous race here. The Menlo boys should put up quite a fight in this event as they will be led by the Pretre brothers (junior Justin and freshman Landon). They were both super impressive at the Azusa Meet of Champions and will be looking to lead their team to victory here.Long Jump (Boys and Girls)
Boys (Meet Record: Malcolm Clemons, St. Mary's (NC), 24-5.5 '18)
Girls (Meet Record: Brittany Daniels Merrill West (SJ), 20-0.25 '05)
The long jump is always a tough event to predict because any of the top jumpers could pop a big mark and surpass the rest of the field. The best mark this season belongs to Lodi's Maceo McDowell who has a best of 22-8. Harker junior Andrew Fu won the Central Coast Section final last season with a season-best mark of 22-8.5. The winner in the girls' long jump should come from the following three jumpers. Foothill's Torre Anderson has a season-best of 18-6.5 which is just ahead of the 18-4 that was recorded by Cocome McKarney of Santa Rosa. Alhambra's Desie Armstrong has a best of 18-2 and will be in contention as well.
Pole Vault (Boys)
(Meet Record: (tie) Mike Kibort, Saratoga (CC) '83; Casey Roche, St. Francis (CC) '07; Nico Weiler, Los Gatos (CC) '08; Dylan Duvio, John Curtis, Louisiana '13, all 16-6)
The clear favorite in this event is St. Ignatius senior Logan Lehnert. He had a best of 15-0 last season which he achieved at the CCS final as he finished in 2nd place. He also has the vault so far this season with a 14-6 mark which he has achieved in two separate meets.