By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

The 62nd Mt. SAC Relays Presented by Nike are scheduled for Wednesday, April 13 through Saturday, April 16 at Hilmer Lodge Stadium in Walnut, Calif.

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Here are 10 storylines involving high school athletes to follow at one of the nation’s most prestigious track and field competitions, which returns to the Mt. SAC campus for the first time since 2015:

Newbury Park seeks another national record, perhaps two all-time marks

Following an impressive 4xMile relay performance of 16 minutes, 29.31 seconds March 12 at New Balance Nationals Indoor at The Armory in New York and before they are scheduled to race in an Olympic Development 4xMile competition April 29 at the Penn Relays, Newbury Park is looking to take aim at another national record Friday in the invitational 4x800-meter relay at Hilmer Lodge Stadium.

Colin Sahlman, Aaron Sahlman, Lex Young and Leo Young are pursuing the 2011 all-time mark of 7:28.75 achieved by Long Beach Poly’s Christopher Hall, Aaron Harris, Christian Penn and Myles Andrews at New Balance Nationals Outdoor in Greensboro, N.C.

Colin Sahlman and Aaron Sahlman have both run sub-1:49 this season March 26 at the Meet of Champions Distance Classic at Azusa Pacific.

Neither Lex Young or Leo Young have posted a significant high school 800 performance, but Leo has run 4:00.77 for the full mile and Lex has clocked 4:04.68.

Andrews was the only member of Long Beach Poly’s quartet to run sub-1:50, anchoring with a remarkable 1:47.70 split.

Great Oak achieved the meet record of 7:37.61 in 2016. Long Beach Poly, Great Oak and Don Lugo are the only three programs in California history to run sub-7:40.

Newbury Park will also attempt to snap a streak of five consecutive Great Oak victories from 2015-19 in the girls invitational 4x1,600-meter relay and also take aim at an all-time national mark.

Ailish Hawkins, Tiffany Sax, Morgan Nygren and Samantha McDonnell have strong potential to eclipse the 20-minute barrier and challenge the meet record of 19:52.88 achieved in 2016 by Great Oak, which is also the fastest performance ever in a girls high school 4x1,600 race.

Flower Mound High from Texas had Nicole Humphries, Alexandra Fox, Samantha Humphries and Natalie Cook run 19:37.78 in a 4xMile Relay to win New Balance Nationals Indoor on March 12 at The Armory, achieving a new all-time high school best performance.

McDonnell split 4:38.91 for 1,600 meters on her way to running 4:40.63 for the full mile April 9 at the Arcadia Invitational.

Hawkins ran 4:53.66 for 1,600 en route to a 4:55.42 full mile March 26 at the Meet of Champions Distance Classic at APU, with Sax clocking 4:53.83 on her way to a 4:55.58 mile performance and Nygren achieving a 4:56.27 split in the 1,600 as part of a 4:58.12 mile at the same meet.

Another shot at shuttle hurdles supremacy

The pursuit of national prep records aren’t just reserved for Friday night’s distance relays, as Upland has another opportunity at the 4x110-meter shuttle hurdles relay in the invitational race Saturday.

Davis Davis-Lyric, Kai Graves-Blanks, DeQuan January and Delaney Crawford lowered their California state record to 57.10 on April 8 at the Arcadia Invitational, but are still pursuing the 2004 all-time mark of 56.32 established by Westside High from Anderson, S.C.

Upland ascended to the No. 7 all-time school nationally, producing the eighth-fastest prep performance, and are looking to not only win the program’s first shuttle hurdles title at the Mt. SAC Relays since 1998, but achieve the feat in memorable fashion.

Only three programs – East Orange and Union Catholic from New Jersey and Western Branch High of Virginia – have produced sub-57 efforts since Westside set the national record.

The meet record of 58.6 established by Hawthorne has stood since 1984.

Las Vegas Centennial is looking to become the first girls team in meet history to win four straight titles Saturday in the invitational 4x100 shuttle hurdles.

The Bulldogs prevailed April 8 to win their first title at the Arcadia Invitational in 1:04.17 with a lineup that included Zoey Bonds, Saniyah Miles, Itziar Guillen and Triniti Guillory.

Centennial won three in a row from 2017-19 at El Camino College and returns to the meet this season, looking to surpass San Pasqual (1989-91) and Long Beach Poly (2012-14) for most consecutive victories.

East-West sprint showdown

The arrival of Archbishop Carroll High from Washington D.C. at the Mt. SAC Relays brings one of the top sprinting and football prospects in the country in junior Nyckoles Harbor II to square off in the 100-meter dash against Servite senior and USC commit Max Thomas.

Harbor II achieved a wind-legal 10.29 seconds April 2 in the 100 at the Beach Run Invitational, along with a wind-aided 20.76 in the 200.

Thomas swept both the invitational 100 and 200 titles April 9 at the Arcadia Invitational in wind-legal marks of 10.40 and 20.97. He ran a wind-aided 10.37 on March 12 at the Redondo Nike Track Festival.

The 100 meet record of 10.27 was set in 2016 by former Vista Murrieta and USC standout Michael Norman.

Thomas is scheduled to also run the 200, with the meet record of 20.90 set in 2019 by Kenan Christon of San Diego Madison, a former USC running back who has recently entered the transfer portal.

Harbor II is also expected to compete on the 4x200 lineup for Archbishop Carroll, along with Jalen Williams, David Warmington and Marcus Brown.

Archbishop Carroll will have the opportunity to match up against California programs Cathedral, Serra and Long Beach Jordan, all pursuing the meet record of 1:24.35 held by Long Beach Poly since 1999.

The mark had remained the California state record, until St. John Bosco ran 1:24.15 on April 8 at the Arcadia Invitational.

Must-see middle-distance matchup

The girls invitational 800 meters Saturday features one of the deepest fields in meet history, all looking to challenge the 1990 meet record of 2:08.05 achieved by Irma Betancourt from Mexico.

Allie Schadler of Rio Rico High in Arizona boasts the fastest performance in meet history by an American-born prep competitor, clocking 2:08.56 in 2017.

Cate Peters of Monte Vista leads an outstanding group that also features Tessa Buswell of Poway, Jacey Farmer of Rancho Bernardo, Mia Chavez of Chino, Tatum Zinkin of Clovis North, Kaho Cichon of Fountain Valley, Daniela Quintero of Harvard-Westlake, along with Anaheim Canyon teammates Emma Hadley and Isabella Frisone, in addition to the La Canada tandem of Arielle McKenzie and Katelyn Matarese.

Buswell ran 2:09.54 on April 9 at the Arcadia Invitational, with McKenzie clocking 2:08.89 on March 12 at the Redondo Nike Track Festival.

Although Peters has only run 2:11.45 on March 19 at the Dublin Distance Fiesta, she also produced a sub-2:10 split on Monte Vista’s 1,600 sprint medley relay at the Arcadia Invitational, in addition to having run 54.74 in the 400 on April 2 at the Stanford Invitational.

Chavez opened her outdoor season with a 2:10.50 performance at Arcadia, with Farmer doubling by running 2:11.94 in the 800 and 4:56.53 in the mile. Hadley has clocked 2:11.45 and Zinkin has run 2:11.72 this season.

Moran continues march toward 200 feet

Following an impressive sweep of both invitational discus and shot put titles April 9 at the Arcadia Invitational, Michigan-bound senior Cade Moran of Murrieta Mesa is not only looking to double up again Saturday, but also surpass 200 feet in the discus for the first time in his career.

Moran is the national prep leader in the shot put at 66-10 (20.37m) and ranks No. 3 in the country in the discus at 199-8 (60.85m).

There hasn’t been a 200-foot discus throw at the Mt. SAC Relays since Bronson Osborn of Esperanza in 2016, which is also the only performance to surpass the barrier since Kamy Keshmiri of Reno High achieved the meet record of 224-1 (68.30m) in 1987.

Jeremiah Nubbe of Rainier High in Washington is the national prep leader at 205-2 (62.53m).

Moran will face strong competition again from Brendon See of JSerra, who he edged by a 198-4 (60.45m) to 197-11 (60.32m) margin in the final round to prevail at Arcadia.

Amar Elmore of Chandler High in Arizona is also entered with a personal-best 188-9 (57.53m) from March 18 at the Brophy AMDG Invitational, along with Nik Iwankiw of South Pasadena, who has produced a 189-2 (57.65m) effort March 19 at the ASICS Laguna Beach Trophy Invitational.

Osborn is also the last thrower to sweep both invitational discus and shot put in the same year in 2016, which Moran attempts to duplicate, also looking to knock off a field of 60-foot competitors including Aiden Pastorian of Great Oak, Nick Godbehere of Shafter, Kai Deines of Redondo Union and Iwankiw.

Thrilling relay conclusion produces rematch

Although the exciting finish of the girls invitational 4x400-meter relay at the Arcadia Invitational involving Long Beach Wilson and Clovis North was largely overshadowed by the post-race incident after the boys 4x400 relay involving athletes from Wilson and Fresno Central, the female leaders in California don’t have to wait long for a rematch Saturday.

Wilson edged Clovis North by a 3:48.34 to 3:48.49 margin on April 9 at Arcadia, relying on a 54.2-second anchor-leg split from Samarra Monroy to rally for the victory.

Clovis North’s Takiya Cenci, Tatum Zinkin, Emerson Parks and Maya Cordoba will look to learn from the experience at Arcadia in preparation for another potential showdown with Aujane Luckey, Kaylin Edwards and Monroy, with Sadia Green possibly replacing Loren Webster in the Wilson lineup.

Cenci, the invitational 400 champion at Arcadia, is only scheduled to compete in the invitational 200 and 4x100 at Mt. SAC.

Golden Valley and Poway will also be competitive in the 4x400, with Wilson also looking to secure several medals with their performances in the 4x100, 4x200, 4x400, 4x800 and 1,600 sprint medley relays.

Ruler of the runway

Following his exceptional sixth-round efforts to win both the invitational boys long jump and triple jump April 9 at the Arcadia Invitational, senior JC Stevenson of Great Oak will face significant tests again Saturday, not only from his California peers, but also senior Sir-Jonathan Sims of Chandler High in Arizona.

Sims, a transfer from John Randolph Tucker High in Virginia, won both long jump and triple jump titles March 26 at the Nike Chandler Rotary Invitational and will square off against Stevenson in a battle of two of the most complete horizontal jumpers in the country.

There hasn’t been a 50-foot triple jump at Mt. SAC Relays since Hammed Suliman of Deer Valley in 2009, with only two prep athletes in the country surpassing the mark this year.

Stevenson has a career-best 48-10.50 (14.89m) from last year and Sims produced a mark of 48-5 (14.75m) at Chandler.

Drew Dillard of Archbishop Carroll in Washington D.C., along with California competitors Elijah Yoshinaga of Elsinore, Jonathan Yu of Fountain Valley and Camryn O’Bannon of St. John Bosco have all surpassed 47 feet this season.

Stevenson produced a lifetime-best 24-9.50 (7.55m) to win the long jump at Arcadia, with Elijha Ellis of Golden Valley the only other competitor in the field with a 24-foot performance this season.

CJ Stevenson, JC’s older brother, swept both titles in 2017 and also prevailed for Great Oak in the long jump in 2018.

Miss Rogers neighborhood

One of the most underrated performances April 9 at the Arcadia Invitational was Poway senior Mackenzie Rogers clocking a personal-best 10:17.91 in the invitational 3,200 meters to place 10th, including fifth among her California peers.

Rogers has an opportunity Friday to have the spotlight to herself in the invitational 3,200, looking to become the first athlete from the San Diego Section to win the event since it was added to the Mt. SAC Relays schedule in 2007.

Kira Jorgensen of Rancho Buena Vista is the only San Diego Section female athlete in meet history to triumph in the 3,000 meters in 1987-88.

Mia Torrecillas of Bakersfield Highland ran 10:39.92 on March 15, and is the only other athlete in the field to have produced a sub-10:40 performance this season.

Agoura’s Georgia McCorkle and Peninsula’s Aishling Callanan have both run under 10:50 this season.

The meet record of 10:08.01 was achieved in 2018 by Maddy Denner of Oak Ridge High.

Rogers is also scheduled to run Saturday on a strong Poway distance medley relay lineup that is also expected to include Tessa Buswell.

Vazquez looks to clear another big hurdle: state record

Yan Vazquez of Red Mountain High dominated the invitational 300-meter hurdles April 9 at the Arcadia Invitational by running 36.40 seconds, moving into a tie for third in Arizona prep history.

Vazquez is not only looking to eclipse the state record of 36.24 set in 2014 by Brophy Prep’s Bobby Grant, but also potentially challenge the 2007 meet all-time performance of 36.03 produced by Jeshua Anderson of Taft High.

Grant is the last Arizona competitor to win at Mt. SAC Relays, clocking 37.06 in 2014, with Vazquez scheduled to face Jadyn Marshall of Stockton St. Mary’s in a rematch of their showdown at Arcadia.

Delaney Crawford of Upland, who ran 36.64 last year, is entered in the invitational field, along with Isaac Lewis of Long Beach Wilson, Daryll Stevens of Long Beach Jordan and Roman Mendoza of Santa Margarita.

Marshall and Vazquez are also expected to square off in the invitational 110 hurdles Saturday, in addition to David Warmington of Archbishop Carroll in Washington D.C., as well as Seth Johnson of Cajon, Dario Rock of La Canada St. Francis and Upland teammates Kai Graves-Blanks and Davis Davis-Lyric.

Marshall suffered a rare setback in the 110 hurdles April 9 at Arcadia, with Andre Korbmacher of Squalicum High in Washington edging the UCLA commit by a 13.84 to 13.87 margin.

Harris has high hopes in long jump battle

Caelyn Harris of Upland High placed second in the invitational long jump in her Mt. SAC Relays debut in 2019 with a leap of 19-8.50 (6.00m) at El Camino College, and likely believed she would have three more opportunities to capture a title in her career.

With the event being canceled the past two years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Harris enters Saturday’s competition with more motivation than ever, especially after enduring a setback to Golden Valley senior Kylee Davis by a 19-10 (6.04m) to 19-9 (6.01m) margin April 9 at the Arcadia Invitational.

Neither Golden Valley or Upland has ever won the girls invitational long jump title at Mt. SAC Relays, with Davis and Harris both looking to join Coronado’s Alysah Hickey, Harvard-Westlake’s Courtney Corrin and Diamond Ranch’s Karyn Dunn, as well as Canadian competitors Christabel Nettey and Sabrina Nettey, as Mt. SAC Relays champions to produce 20-foot performances.

Eve Divinity of Redondo Union and Lauren Reed of Long Beach Poly, who both achieved 19-foot marks at Arcadia, are also entered in Saturday’s competition, as well as Martin Luther King’s Alyssa Hope, who prevailed in the invitational triple jump at Arcadia with a 40-3.25 (12.27m) effort.

Hope is attempting to become the first female jumper from Martin Luther King to triumph in the invitational section at Mt. SAC Relays.