CIF Track and Field State Meet Live: Saturday finals

CLOVIS, Calif. — Following an eventful Friday night of trials — see all the highlights here — the finals of the 102nd CIF State Track and Field Championships promises fireworks. And that's even before the pyrotechnics show the CIF puts on at Veteran's Memorial Stadium after the meet.

Among the storylines heading in:

* Can Serra (Gardena) junior Rodrick Pleasant bear the weight of being the overwhelming favorite to double in the 100 and 200 after doing the same — and setting a state record in the 100 at 10.14 seconds — at last week's Southern Section Masters Meet.

* Will freshman Sadie Engelhardt of Ventura continue her dominant ways in the 800 and 1600, the latter that features Mira Costa (Manhattan Beach) senior Dalia Frias, a Duke signee. and Alabama-bound Sam McDonnell of Newbury Park.

* Will junior Reign Redmond of Carson ride the momentum of her fabulous trials performance when she broke a 45-year-old Los Angeles City Section 100-meter record (10.45) and also qualified first in the 200 (23.86).

* Upland aims for a boys state title led by its hurdlers, which make up six combined lanes in the 110 highs and 300 intermediate finals. 

Saturday's finals begin at 4:30 p.m. with the field events and 6 p.m. begin the running races. Though the temperatures are comfortable, in the lows 80s and high 70s, the breezy conditions might hurt athletes and their chances for meet and state records. 

Our meet preview | Official meet program | Performance list/heats | Live trials/finals results

Stay tuned throughout the night for breaking results, interviews, video replays. See state placers (top six) at the bottom.

There are already five big wins for local schools in Clovis and Fresno. Central-Fresno's boys, the state leader all season in the 400 relay, rolled to a victory, winning in 41.36. Central held off Serra-Gardena (41.50), led by a strong anchor leg by Serra's Rodrick Pleasant and Oakland Section champion McClymonds (41.69).

Clovis junior Christopher Caudillo won an absolute bear of a 1600 race in 4:10.72, outlasting Scotts Valley senior Jeremy Kain (4:11.40) and Royal junior Jonah Bazerkanian (4:11.89).

In the first girls field event finished, Clovis' Sydnie Vanek also won for the home crowd with a big long jump of 20 feet, 8.12 inches. She was aided by a 3.1 meters-per-second and she edged King's Alyssa Hope (20-4, +3.0) and Upland's Caelyn Harris (19-9.50). Kylee Davis, of Golden Valley, came in as the state leader and finished fourth at 19-8.25.

Not much later, Clovis North senior Takiya Cenci breezed to win in the 400 at 53.72, well ahead of runner-up Aujane Luckey (55.09), of Long Beach Wilson. Yet another local, Central's Jeremiah Walker (47.49) held off West Ranch's Christopher Goode (47.51) to win the boys 400, setting off a wild celebration.

Walker set off an even bigger celebration at the end.

He ran an anchor 4x400 leg in the meet's final event that will be remembered in these parts for a very long time. Walker, in his eight event over two days, ran a 45.8 leg to pull the Grizzlies from what looked to be a sure-fire third place to second, and with it, clinched the team title, 41-40 over Upland.

Walker along with sophomore Walter Pierce and juniors Imari Conley and Terrell Johnson finished in 3:14.78, a team best by almost four seconds, to finish behind champion Cathedral-Los Angeles (3:13.87). But Walker somehow caught and passed Long Beach Wilson's anchor with 50 meters to go to send the home squad into a celebrating frenzy.

Walker told reporter Greg Camarillo afterward he injured his hamstring following a 4x100 leg and was limping around most of the day. He said prayers from his family worked. He'll be running for San Jose State in 2023. "When I got injuries I broke down in tears, thinking this would be my last run," Walker said. "But I knew it wasn't over. The season wasn't over. ... It hurt, but I had to put my team first. I love this guys to death."

Upland, led by 1-2 finishes in the 110 high hurdles by Kai Graves-Blanks and Davis Davis-Lyrice and the 300 hurdles by Delaney Crawford and Graves-Blanks, would have won the title if not Central's second-place finish in the final event. Serra, behind two wins from Pleasant, finished third (28), followed by Clovis (23) and Great Oak (22).

In a meeting of three of the top six girls in the nation, Ventura freshman Sadie Engelhardt didn't disappoint, winning in 4:36.67, over Duke-bound Frias (4:37.09) and Alabama-bound McDonnell (4:37.37). The trio ran bunched up for the entire four laps with Engelhardt making her move in the final 110 to pull away. Barely.

The close girls race was after only an upset in the 400 relay, where Serra-Gardena (46.08) edged big favorite Golden Valley (46.42), which has the state lead in 45.82.

After his sterling 400 relay leg led Serra to a second place finish, Pleasant breezed to titles in the 100 (10.30) and 200 (20.56), both aided by strong winds. Afterward, the state record-holder in the 100 he set last week in 10.14, was more than relieved. The burden of being overwhelming favorite was real, though Pleasant reminded himself that "track and sports is just supposed to be fun."

He reminded himself other things too. "At this point of the season, you just compete to win. You set the state record and now it's about upholding the standard. That was the biggest thing for me here. Executing and letting the chips fall where they may. ... I wish there was some better weather. But overall I felt good. I felt really good." He got a big charge of Serra's girls winning the team championship, especially Brazil Neal winning the 200 (23.68) just moments before his 200 win. Neal was edged in the 100 early by Carson's Reign Redmond 11.56 to 11.57, but in the end, the Cavaliers prevailed.

After the 200, Neal and Pleasant were all smiles, posing for pictures. Celebrating their titles.

"I love my teammates," he said. "We do everything together. They run with me, I run with them. We push each other. ... We uphold the Serra standard. We've had some greats come through the program. We try to live up to what they did before us."

2022 CIF State Medalists
Top six finishers
BOYS

Team scores — Central-Fresno 41, Upland 40, Serra 28, Clvis 23, Great Oak 22, Murrieta Mesa 18, Davis 16.33, Jordan 16, Long Beach Wilson 14, Newbury Park 13, Golden Valley 13.

100 (+2.5) — Rodrick Pleasant (Serra-Gardena) 10.30, Jordan Washington (Long Beach Jordan) 10.44, Max Thomas (Servite) 10.44, Evan Johnson (10.48), Cameron Tarver (Central) 10.55, Zach Card (Pittsburg) 10.60.

200 — Pleasant (Serra) 20.56, Nickolas Miller (Clovis North) 21.18, Tarver (Central) 21.28, Washington (Jordan) 21.38), Jaelen Knox (Long Beach Poly) 21.40, Jeremiah Walker (Central) 21.42.

400 — Jeremia Walker (Central) 47.49, Christopher Goode (West Ranch) 47.51, Dijon Stanley (Granada Hills) 47.51, Adren Parker (Helix) 47.68, Logan Davis (Marshall Fundamental) 48.09, Christopher Coats (Upland) 48.10.

800 — Ellis Delvecchio (Thatcher) 1:50.82, Jai Dawson (Dana Hills) 1:51.28, Jacob Snodgress (San Marcos) 1:51.32, Aaron Sahlman (Newbury Park) 1:51.42, Jacob Robison (Foothill-SS) 1:51.77, Marcel Francis-Mitchell (Long Beach Wilson) 1:53.69.

1600 — Christopher Caudillo (Clovis Centra) 4:10.72, Jeremy Kain (Scotts Valley) 4:11.40, Jonah Bazerkanian (Royal) 4:11.89, Levi Taylor (San Marcos) 4:12.32, Ethan Godsey (Agoura) 4:12.39, Brandon Moreno (Jesuit) 4:12.58.

100 (+3.3) — Reign Redmond (Carson) 11.56, Brazil Neal (Serra-Gardena) 11.57, Jordan Washington (Serra) 11.62, Eve Divinity (Redondo) 11.74, Aaliyah McCormick (Scripps Ranche) 11.80, Cameron Fields (St. Mary's-Stockton) 11.80.

200 (+4.6) — Neal (Serra) 23.68, Takiya Cenci (Clovis North) 23.78, Aujane Luckey (Long Beach Wilson) 23.97, Eve Divinity (Redondo) 24.03, Adonijah Currie (Golden Valley) 24.05, Washington (Serra) 24.12.

400 — Takiya Cenci (Clovis North) 54.01, Aujane Luckey (Long Beach Wilson) 54.90, Maya Shinnick (Glendora) 55.0, Caroline Hawkes (San Clemente) 55.47, Alyssa Bean (Poway) 55.64, Morgan Maddox (Culver City) 55.85.

800 — Mackenzie Browne (North) 2:08.66, Sadie Engelhardt (Ventura) 2:09.64, Mia Chavez (Chino) 2:11.04, Ashlynn Viramontes (Katella) 2:12.58, Tatum Zinkin (Clovis North) 2:13.19, Tessa Buswell (Poway) 2:13.75.

1600 — Engelhardt (Ventura) 4:36.67, Dalia Frias (Mira Costa) 4:37.09, Sam McConnel (Newbury Park) 4:37.37, Mia Chavez (Chino) 4:41.71, Hannah Riggins (Del Norte) 4:46.97, Grace Hutchison (Buchanan) 4:47.04.

3200 — Hanne Thomsen (Montgomery) 10:06.89, Sophia Nordenholz (Albany) 10:10.49, Sam McDonnell (Newbury Park) 10:12.76, Lauren Soobrian (Los Altos) 10:24.25, Payton Godsey (Oaks Christian) 10:25.31, Gioana Lopizzo (La Costa Canyon) 10:30.93.

100 H — Charlize James (San Diego) 13.95, Yvette Harris (Lincoln-Stockton) 14.12, Kapiolani Coleman (Cathedral Catholic) 14.14, Giselle Kirchner (Rocklin) 14.15, Daniela Ruelas (Arroyo Grande) 14.33.

300 H — Kapiolani Coleman (Cathedral Catholic) 42.23, Daniela Ruelas (Arroyo Grande) 42.37, Karina Janik (Torrey Pines) 42.67, Kaylin Edwards (Long Beach Wilson) 43.16, Yvette Harris (Lincoln-Stockton) 43.19, Keilee Hall (Christian Brothers) 43.57.

400 relay — Serra (Gardena) 46.08, Golden Valley 46.42, St. Mary's-Stockton 46.78, Carson 46.93, Long Beach Poly 47.32, Culver City 47.38.

1600 relay — Clovis North 3:45.38, Long Beach Wilson 3:47.92, Culver City 3:48.68, Calabasas 3:49.85, Long Beach Poly 3:53.51, Poway 3:55.37.

HJ — Hannah Slover (Los Gatos) 5-6, Meagan Humphries (Golden Valley) 5-6, Mara Lampsas (California) 5-6, Amia Witt (Calabasas) 5-4, Lizzie Tarcy (Scripps Ranch) 5-4, Elizabeth Churchill (Aptos) 5-4, Melanie Castelli (Notre Dame-Belmont) 5-4.

PV — Jathiyah Muhammad (Dublin) 13-9, Lexi Evans (Scripps Ranch) 13-9, Alison Sahaida (Oak Ridge) 13-5, Allison Leigh (Del Norte) 13-5, Evangeline Thomson (Poway) 12-9, Madisyn Negro (Murrieta Valley) 12-5, Jordan Leveque (Buchanan) 12-5.

LJ — Sydnie Vanek (Clovis) 20-8.50 (+3.1), Alyssa Hope (King) 20-4 (+3.0), Caelyn Harris (Upland) 19-9.50, Kyle Davis (Golden Valley) 19-8.25, Alyssa Alumbres (Vista Murrieta) 19-5.50 (+2.4), Eve Divinity (Redondo) 19-3.

TJ — Alyssa Hope (King) 40-2.75 (+2.8), Cameron Fields (St. Mary's-Stockton) 38-9.75 (+5.3), Madeleine Passmore (Buchanan) 38-9.75 (+3.4), Mackenzie Kirk (Los Alamitos) 38-8.50 (+2.6), Alyssa Alumbres (Vista Murrieta) 38-2.25.

SP — Feyi Olukanni (Clovis East) 44-0, Aja Johnson (Notre Dame-Sherman Oaks) 42-5.50, April Fontenette (Notre Dame) 41-5.25, Nyla Baker (Del Campo) 41-4.50, Kennedy Clarke (Cathedral Catholic) 41-2.50, Galadriel Mellion (Weston Ranch) 41-0.50.

DT — Nailea Fields (Caruthers) 157-1, April Fontenette (Notre Dame-Sherman Oaks) 155-8, Feyi Alukanni (Clovis East) 154-2, Sariyah Home (El Camino) 152-0, Karyssa Owens (Rosevelt) 146-3, Julia Pisenti (Bear River) 143-11.