Mission Viejo CA adds to national leaders with boys 1,600-meter sprint medley relay victory, Bullis MD comes up big in meet debut

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

From a sprint finish in the boys 4x1,600-meter relay to a runaway victory in the girls 4x100 shuttle hurdles relay, with an impressive Arcadia Invitational debut in the girls 4x200 relay from Bullis MD added in for good measure, the opening night of the meet’s 51st edition didn’t produce any all-time records, but plenty of highlights Friday at Arcadia High.

Dublin CA secured one of the biggest victories in program history in the boys 4x1,600, with senior Adrian Schroeder faced with the task of holding off Nike Cross Nationals winner Aidan Troutner on the anchor leg for Timpview UT, as well as Alex Scales closing strong for Bellarmine Prep CA.

Despite an exceptional final 200 meters from Scales, Schroeder prevailed for Dublin, relying on the advantage created by teammates Gaurav Phanse, Chris Middleton-Pearson and Loic Scomparin to edge Bellarmine by a 17:29.92 to 17:30.20 margin. Timpview took third in 17:37.53 in a race that produced the top four times in the country.

After taking second to St. Francis Mountain View CA at the Division 2 state cross country final in November and being edged March 31 by Great Oak CA by less than a second in the distance medley relay at the Stanford Invitational, Dublin was finally able to get over the hump and celebrate a signature win in an elite distance race.

Not only did Upland CA prevail against second-place Ridgewood NJ by more than six seconds in the girls 4x100 shuttle hurdles relay, but Jada Hicks, Chelsea Daye, Kennedy Smith and Jordyn Grady clocked 58.50 to take over the national lead, and elevate to the No. 4 program in state history and ninth all-time in the country.

Although Bullis didn’t challenge meet or national records in the girls 4x200 in its outdoor opener after running the fastest indoor time in history March 11 at New Balance Nationals in New York, Leah Phillips, Ashley Seymour, Lauryn Harris and Masai Russell clocked 1:36.18 to prevail over Rancho NV (1:37.21) in the first leg of the Bulldogs’ triple crown pursuit to sweep the 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400.

Mission Viejo CA ran the top time in the country in the boys 1,600 sprint medley relay, relying on a 1:52 anchor split on the 800 leg from Brett Hickman to clock 3:27.64. Mavin Aurelio-Anderson, Chase Berryman and Josh Hill also contributed to the Diablos’ victory.

Los Alamitos CA won its second girls 1,600 sprint medley relay title in four years, clocking 4:02.36. Delaney Sanacore clocked 2:13 on the anchor for the Griffins, following legs by Danielle Limp, Sydney Kolster and Alyssa Blockburger.

Bishop O’Dowd followed its 800 sprint medley relay win March 24 at the NIKE Chandler Rotary Invitational with another gold medal in 1:44.33. Jordan Jones, Jazlynn Gibbs, Kandace Blackshire and Tierra Robinson-Jones prevailed for the Dragons, who were just off their 1:44.19 effort in Arizona, which remains the second-fastest time in the country this season.

Clovis North CA won the boys 4x200 relay, with Kurtis Kobzeff, Naythn Scruggs, Caleb Foster and Christian Wood lowering their state-leading time to 1:26.09.

Harvard-Westlake CA captured the boys 800 sprint medley relay victory, with Matthew Wang, Josh Johnson, Brayden Borquez and Mason Rodriguez teaming up to clock 1:32.75.

In a battle of Arizona powers, Red Mountain held off defending-champion Desert Vista 1:00.68 to 1:00.80 in the boys 4x110 shuttle hurdles relay. Abe Tonioli, Brandon Santos, Cole Jaquette and Johnie Talamantes secured the win for Red Mountain.

The only individual track events Friday were rated and seeded heats of the boys and girls 3,200.

Oak Ridge CA senior twins Maddy Denner and Elena Denner took the top two spots in the girls seeded 3,200, clocking 10:28.32 and 10:34.56. La Jolla Country Day CA senior Lexi Watkins won her rated section in 10:45.08 and Battle Mountain CO sophomore Grace Johnson prevailed in her rated section in 10:49.42.

Brophy Prep AZ senior Drew Burns won the boys 3,200 rated race in 9:11.97.