By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Here are 10 storylines involving high school athletes to follow at the 61st Mt. SAC Relays at El Camino College in Torrance, Calif.

Programming note: You can watch the live Webcast here of the meet Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The broadcast and on-demand videos will only be available for RunnerSpace +PLUS subscribers. Subscribe here.

Seeking a sweepstakes statement

Since grand sweepstakes winners were first crowned at the meet in 2002, Long Beach Poly CA has dominated the competition, capturing eight boys championships and 18 overall as a program.

But Great Oak CA has a chance to make history itself Friday and Saturday, seeking a sixth straight boys grand sweepstakes banner to tie with Long Beach Poly, which won six in a row from 2002-07.

Great Oak has also won six boys sweepstakes in the past seven years overall, with only Serra CA interrupting the impressive run by the Wolfpack by securing the 2013 title.

Great Oak is also pursuing a fourth girls sweepstakes championship in five years, with Las Vegas Centennial NV interrupting the Wolfpack streak with a title in 2017. Long Beach Poly still holds the girls record with 10 grand sweepstakes overall.

Great Oak will again rely heavily on its relays, with the boys expected to face a significant challenge in the distance medley relay from La Costa Canyon CA, which is scheduled to run Caleb Niednagel, Aidan Lippert, Jacob Stanford and Garrett Stanford.

The Wolfpack is favored in the boys 4x800 and 4x1,600 relays, and could challenge for the 1,600 sprint medley relay title as well. Chris Verdugo, Ryan Shields, Cole Sawires Yager and Tyler Tickner will be called upon on multiple occasions for Great Oak to accumulate valuable relay points.

Great Oak is also a leading contender in the girls 4x800, 4x1,600 and distance medley relays, with Fatima Cortes and Arianna Griffiths expected to compete in all three events.

Return to the ring

Fowler CA senior Jocelynn Budwig rose to the occasion April 6 to sweep the discus throw and shot put against formidable fields at the 52nd Arcadia Invitational.

The Auburn signee will attempt to answer the challenges again Saturday at El Camino College, looking to remain unbeaten this season in both events.

Budwig enters the competition as the top-ranked thrower nationally in the discus at 171-7 (52.29m) and ranks fifth in the shot put at 47-4.25 (14.43m), just behind West Ranch CA senior Natalie Ramirez at 47-5.25 (14.45m).

Bakersfield Liberty CA sophomore Faith Bender ranks No. 2 in the country in the discus at 164-2 (50.03m). She is also seventh in the shot put at 46-8 (14.22m).

Liberty NV senior Aaliyah Soa is third nationally in the discus at 164 feet (49.98m) and the UCLA-bound Ramirez ranks No. 4 at 163-2 (49.73m).

Budwig has won 22 consecutive shot put competitions, including 11 this season. She has prevailed in all 10 discus competitions this year and won 25 of 27 in the past two seasons.

Budwig won both events last year with marks of 45-5.25 (13.85m) in the shot put and 152-11 (46.60m) in the discus. She also won the discus in 2017 with a throw of 157-8 (48.07m).

Bakersfield Stockdale CA graduate Alex Collatz-Sellens is the last female athlete to win three years in a row in the discus from 2008-10.

Another memorable middle-distance matchup

Valencia CA senior Kai Wingo produced the most significant victory of his prep career April 6 at the 52nd Arcadia Invitational by winning the boys 800 meters in 1:52.45, which ranks No. 5 in the country this season.

Wingo will have an opportunity to add another thrilling triumph Saturday, scheduled to square off against Mitchell Burr of Thousand Oaks CA and Israel Echevarria of Corona CA, along with Arroyo CA senior Noah Hibbard.

Although Hibbard has a personal best of 1:55.89 in the 800, he ranks No. 2 in the country in the 1,600 and mile at 4:07.25 and 4:08.69, respectively.

Wingo is attempting to become the first male athlete since Isaac Trevino of Bakersfield Centennial CA in 2015 to win the 800 at both Arcadia and the Mt. SAC Relays in the same season.

Pursuing a mile masterpiece

Chino Hills CA sophomore Jacqueline Duarte is the top returnee from last year’s 1,600-meter state final, placing third in 4:44.87.

But in order to win the invitational girls mile Friday, Duarte will need another profound performance, especially with primary challengers Meagen Lowe of Buchanan CA, Mikaela Ramirez of Ayala CA and Sofia Abrego of Granada Hills CA.

Lowe placed second in the mile in 4:51.01 and Abrego finished third in 4:53.55 on March 23 at the Arroyo High/Meet of Champions Distance Classic at Azusa Pacific University.

Ramirez placed third in the mile in 4:50.0 at last year’s Mt. SAC Relays, with Duarte clocking 4:55.19 in her first mile of the season April 6 at the Arcadia Invitational.

La Costa Canyon CA senior Jessica Riedman is also entered with a personal-best 4:56.0 in the mile from last year’s Arcadia Invitational.

Adding more depth to the field are Sadie Sigfstead of Strathcona High in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, who ran 4:56.57 at last year’s Portland Track Festival. Cody WY sophomore Riley Smith is also scheduled to compete.

Moore back for more in discus

Liberty NV senior Corey Moore Jr. became the fourth male athlete in the country this season to surpass 200 feet in the discus throw with his April 6 effort of 200-11 (61.23m) at the Arcadia Invitational.

Moore is looking for a similar performance Saturday at El Camino College, in addition to defending his title from last year’s meet, when he produced a throw of 187-11 (57.27m).

Moore is also attempting to become the first back-to-back discus champion since Reno’s Kamy Keshmeri in 1986-87, but he’ll face an impressive group of challengers, including Newport Harbor CA junior Aidan Elbettar, Bakersfield Liberty CA senior Daniel Viveros, Newbury Park CA senior Gino Cruz, Buchanan CA senior Christian Johnson and Esperanza CA junior Jeff Duensing.

Moore is also entered in the invitational shot put, but the spotlight will be on the Ole Miss-bound Viveros, the national leader at 68-11 (21.00m).

Esperanza graduate Bronson Osborn is the only athlete in meet history to surpass 69 feet in the shot put with his record effort of 71-7.25 (21.82m) in 2016. Osborn is also the last individual to sweep the discus and shot put in the same meet, throwing the discus 204-4 (62.28m) three years ago.

An interesting rematch involving San Juan Hills CA senior Sean Rhyan and Duensing will also take place in the shot put. Rhyan prevailed April 13 with a mark of 63-3.50 (19.29m) at the Orange County Championships, although Duensing boasts a better season best at 65-7.50 (20.00m).

Vanriele, Foster try to reel in records

The invitational 800 meters has annually attracted not only several girls standouts from California, but also from other states and countries, and this year is no different.

But there will be two separate record pursuits by prep athletes, one in the high school invitational race and another in the women’s elite section.

Governor Livingston NJ junior Victoria Vanriele is the leading contender in the girls competition, looking to challenge the 1990 meet record of 2:08.05 held by Irma Betancourt of Mexico.

Vanriele boasts a personal-best 2:05.99 from last year’s third-place finish at New Balance Nationals Outdoor in North Carolina.

Vanriele will be challenged by defending champion Mikaela Ramirez of Ayala CA, along with Samantha Schadler of Rio Rico AZ, Jessica Riedman of La Costa Canyon CA and Julia Morales of Scripps Ranch CA.

Chandler High senior Morgan Foster, a Stanford signee, is the lone prep athlete competing Saturday in the women’s invitational 800, looking to regain the Arizona state record after North Canyon junior Dominique Mustin clocked 2:06.01 on April 6 to prevail at the 52nd Arcadia Invitational.

Foster ran 2:06.13 on March 7, but hasn’t competed in the 800 since. Mustin and Foster are the only two prep athletes in the country to run under 2:07 so far this outdoor season.

Looking to extend mile legacy

The winners of the past five boys invitational mile races at the Mt. SAC Relays are some of the most accomplished prep runners of the past decade, including St. Joseph Notre Dame CA graduate Cooper Teare running 4:00.16 in 2017 before taking his talents to Oregon.

All mile winners since 2013 have run under 4:10, a challenge facing several leading contenders Friday.

JSerra CA senior Peter Herold enters the meet with plenty of momentum after winning the 1,600 meters April 13 at the Orange County Championships in 4:11.50, with junior teammate Anthony Grover clocking 4:13.27.

West Ranch CA senior teammates Evan Bates and Isaiah Seidman, La Costa Canyon CA junior Caleb Niednagel, Mission Hills CA senior Jonathan Velasco, Rubidoux CA senior Kevin Ramos, Claremont CA senior Jacob Moran and Canyon CA senior Ethan Danforth are also scheduled to compete.

Grover ran 4:15.97 for the mile at the Arcadia Invitational and Moran clocked 4:16.42. Seidman produced a 4:16.51 mile effort March 23 at the 79th NIKE Chandler Rotary Invitational in Arizona, a race where Valor Christian CO junior Cole Sprout ran a nation-leading 4:08.61.

Ready for a rematch

The girls 400 meters April 13 at the Inland Empire County Championships didn’t disappoint, with Murrieta Mesa CA senior Chioma Okonkwo edging Corona CA junior Egbe Ndipagbor by a 55.201 to 55.207 margin, followed by Roosevelt CA freshman Naomi Johnson in 55.78.

All three athletes are scheduled to renew acquaintances Saturday in the invitational 400, with another standout traveling across the country who is also expected to compete.

Junior Ziyah Holman of Georgetown Day School in Washington D.C., who ranks No. 4 in the country this season at 53.84 seconds, is entered in both the invitational 200 and 400.

Only one female athlete in meet history has run under 53 seconds, when Norco CA graduate Shae Anderson – redshirting this season at UCLA – produced a meet-record 51.99 in 2017.

Holman is scheduled to square off in the 200 against Serra CA senior Jazmyne Frost, a USC signee, along with Ndipagbor and Okonkwo.

Ruling another runway

Upland CA junior Namir Hemphill is unbeaten this season in the triple jump, looking to add another impressive result Saturday by following his victory April 6 at the 52nd Arcadia Invitational with the program’s first title in any horizontal jumping event in meet history.

Hemphill ranks No. 12 in the country this year at 48-6.25 (14.78m), with Point Loma CA senior Altan Mitchell right behind at 48-6 (14.78m). Mitchell is looking to rebound after only jumping 43-5 (13.23m) at Arcadia.

Also scheduled to compete are South Pasadena CA junior Tianhao Wei and Heritage CA senior Deondre Ruth, who have both soared past 47 feet this season.

Great Oak CA graduate CJ Stevenson, a freshman at Texas A&M, was the last male athlete to sweep triple jump titles in the same year at the Arcadia Invitational and Mt. SAC Relays in 2017.

Chino Hills aims for historic repeat

Not since the first two years the girls sprint medley relay was added to the meet schedule has a team captured back-to-back championships, a feat Chino Hills CA will be chasing Saturday.

Pomona CA won consecutive titles in the event in 1976-77 when it was still the 800-yard sprint medley relay. Since then, six other schools have won multiple championships in the event, but none have repeated. The race was adjusted to the 1,600-meter sprint medley relay in 2002.

Toni Ayala, Brooke Savage and Jacqueline Duarte return from Chino Hills’ lineup last season that ran 4:04.48. Hailey Danskin joins the group to replace the graduated Zani Meaders for the Huskies, looking to prevail against a strong field that includes Great Oak CA, Murrieta Mesa CA and Scripps Ranch CA.

The last team to run under 4 minutes at the meet was Piedmont Hills CA, which clocked 3:59.65 in 2014.

Scripps Ranch, anchored by Julia Morales, boasts the top time in the state and No. 2 nationally this season with its 4:00.40 on March 29 at the 92nd Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays.