By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

The 55th Arcadia Invitational is scheduled for Friday, April 7 and Saturday, April 8 at Arcadia High in California.

ARCADIA INVITATIONAL LIVE WEBCAST INFO

Here are 10 storylines involving male athletes to follow at one of the nation’s elite high school track and field competitions, which features athletes from 36 states and more than 600 schools:

The hardest act to follow

With Colin Sahlman and Lex Young, teammates at Newbury Park High in California, producing the two fastest times in meet history last year, leading a group of five of the top 18 all-time Arcadia competitors and contributing to 23 sub-9 performances, the field assembled Saturday for the invitational 3,200-meter race has some big shoes to fill.

But despite senior Brayden Seymour being the only member of Newbury Park, the reigning Nike Cross Nationals champions, represented in the 3,200 race, there are still plenty of elite athletes ready to shine under the spotlight at Arcadia High.

Daniel Simmons of American Fork High, the NXN runner-up as a junior, leads an exceptional collection of runners from Utah, including Mountain View teammates Parker Barnes and Liam Heninger, Tayson Echohawk from Orem, Noah Jenkins of Herriman, Jaron Hartshorn from Lone Peak and JoJo Jourdon of Olympus.

Rocky Hansen from Christ School in North Carolina, Connor Burns of Southern Boone County in Missouri, Simeon Birnbaum from Rapid City Stevens in South Dakota, Noah Breker of Robbinsdale Armstrong in Minnesota and Devan Kipyego from St. Raphael Academy in Rhode Island are among the All-Americans also expected to race.

Gus Clevenger and Jacob Nenow from Jesuit High in Oregon are also entered, along with Bishop Blanchet teammates Vince Recupero and Will Schneider, in addition to fellow Washington standouts Zack Munson of Sehome and Cruize Corvin of Lakes High, plus Patrick Koon from Leon High in Florida, Andrew Hauser of Rock Bridge in Missouri, Jacob Laney from Porter Ridge in North Carolina, Weston Brown of Bozeman High in Montana, Will Conway from Floyd Central in Indiana and Collin Boler of Delbarton in New Jersey.

Along with Seymour, the host state will be represented by Matthew Donis from Palmdale Highland, Carter Spradling from Clovis East, Grant Morgenfeld of Palo Alto, Emmanuel Perez from Cathedral, Bille Issa of West Ranch, Jonah Bazerkanian from Simi Valley Royal and Jason Parra of Long Beach Millikan.

Spradling boasts the top mark among all the entries this season at 8:51.62. Hansen won the Arcadia seeded section last year at 8:51.60.

Burns won the New Balance Nationals Indoor 2-mile title in 8:43.24, with a 3,200 split of 8:40.13. He is also the top returning athlete from the invitational section last year, placing 11th in 8:52.79.

Breker (8:53.47) and Laney (8:53.92) were ninth and 10th at New Balance Nationals Indoor, with 3,200 splits of 8:49.87 and 8:50.72, respectively.

Simmons triumphed Feb. 18 at the Simplot Games in Idaho in 8:53.80, and placed second in the 5,000 at New Balance Nationals Indoor in 13:59.96.

There were a total of 32 sub-9 achieved efforts last year, including nine from the seeded 3,200 race, the most in meet history.

The meet record for the invitational 3,200 race is 25 sub-9 performances from 2017.

See has a vision of ruling the ring

JSerra senior Brendon See is one of only two athletes in the country this season to produce a 60-foot shot put mark and a 190-foot performance in the discus throw, but the Oklahoma commit has bigger aspirations that include surpassing the 200-foot barrier again like he did at last year’s state meet.

See achieved a 190-6 (58.06m) effort in the discus March 11 at the Irvine ASICS Invitational and is looking to throw beyond 200 feet once more after his lifetime-best 203-10 (62.12m) mark in the state prelims last season, before finishing second in the championship round.

Corey Moore of Liberty High in Nevada was the last athlete to eclipse the 200-foot barrier at Arcadia in 2019.

Cade Moran of Murrieta Mesa High in California swept both the invitational discus and shot put competitions last year at Arcadia, including a 198-4 (60.45m) effort in the final round to hold off See at 197-11 (60.32m).

See also enters Saturday’s invitational shot put competition with the top mark this season at 61-11.75 (18.89m) following his lifetime-best effort in the sixth round April 1 at the Stanford Invitational.

Moran also won the shot put last year at 66-10 (20.37m), with See finishing ninth in the open shot put with a 51-foot (15.54m) effort.

Kai Deines of Redondo Union, a Penn commit, is one of only four competitors in the country this season – joining See, Roury McCloyen from St. Joseph High in Mississippi and Mitchell Blakeslee of Conroe The Woodlands High in Texas – to achieve a 60-foot shot put and 180-foot discus throw.

Deines has the top personal-best effort in the shot put with his 63-5.25 (19.34m) performance at last year’s Pasadena Games. He finished third in the invitational discus last year at Arcadia at 183-1 (55.80m) and fifth in the invitational shot put with a 59-4.50 (18.09m) mark.

Benjamin Shue from Bergen Catholic in New Jersey, Tyler Poole of Layton High in Utah, Owen Lee from Desert Vista High in Arizona, along with Clovis North’s McKay Madsen, Rancho Buena Vista’s Tyler Knowles and Westlake’s Adam Laycock from California all add significant depth to the discus field.

Javaris Ambrose from Thornton Township in Illinois, Preston Beery of Faith Lutheran High in Nevada and Shue, in addition to Jaylon Wells from Warren High, Garden Grove Pacifica’s Zach Lewis and Knowles are also strong contenders in the shot put.

A fabulous Friday main event

The Friday night schedule is highlighted by the boys invitational 4x1,600 relay and this year’s field could not only be the deepest in meet history, but has the potential to rival the strength of any national outdoor final in June.

American Fork High in Utah, which set the national prep outdoor record in the 4x1,600 relay at the meet in 2017 with its 16:41.30 performance, is fielding another impressive lineup featuring Nike Cross Nationals runner-up Daniel Simmons. The Cavemen triumphed again last year in 17:21.16, with Jesuit High from Oregon placing second in 17:26.31.

Great Oak High from California is the only other program to achieve a sub-17 outdoor performance, running 16:55.85 at Arcadia in 2016, before clocking 16:52.95 the following week at the Mt. SAC Relays that established a national prep record, which was broken by American Fork. The Wolfpack are also scheduled to be part of the invitational field.

Bishop Blanchet High of Washington, Christian Brothers from New Jersey, Mountain View from Utah and New Trier of Illinois are scheduled to join American Fork and Jesuit, along with California lineups from San Clemente, Dana Hills, Granada and Crescenta Valley.

Christian Brothers placed second last year behind fellow New Jersey program Union Catholic in the 4xMile relay at New Balance Nationals Outdoor at Franklin Field in Pennsylvania.

The record for most sub-17:30 performances in meet history is six in 2012, a total that will likely be challenged Friday.

Newbury Park High from California achieved the absolute prep record with its 16:29.31 performance in the 4xMile relay last year at New Balance Nationals Indoor in New York.

McHenry looks to match Morrison’s double

It has been 20 years since a male athlete achieved the impressive double of winning the high jump and long jump at the meet, but Brennen McHenry of Brophy Prep in Arizona has the potential to win both invitational competitions Saturday, just like Mike Morrison of Willingboro High in New Jersey did in 2003.

Morrison produced the meet record of 7-3 (2.20m) in the high jump and achieved a leap of 24-3.50 (7.40m) to triumph in the long jump.

Morrison remains the only competitor in meet history to surpass 7 feet in the high jump and 24 feet in the long jump. He is one of 13 male athletes at Arcadia to achieve a 7-foot clearance in the high jump and among 22 long jumpers to soar beyond 24 feet under all conditions at the event.

McHenry enters the meet with personal-best efforts of 7 feet (2.14m) in the high jump and 24-4.50 (7.43m) in the long jump, making him the only prep athlete in Arizona history to reach both levels.

McHenry is also the first male high school competitor in the country since Jakobe Ford of Shadle Park High in Washington in 2017 to achieve a 7-foot clearance in the high jump and produce a 24-foot long jump in the same year.

The Texas commit has yet to surpass 24 feet and clear 7 feet in the same meet this season, but McHenry remains unbeaten in both events, including a sweep of both titles to earn male field event athlete of the meet March 25 at the Chandler Rotary Invitational.

McHenry finished fourth in the invitational high jump last year at Arcadia with a 6-7 (2.01m) clearance.

Brandon Gorski, a sophomore at Mater Dei High in California who took fifth last year at Arcadia by clearing 6-5 (1.96m), is the only other athlete in addition to McHenry who is scheduled to compete in both events.

The group of long jump challengers for McHenry is largely based from California – led by Lodi’s Maceo McDowell, Mission Bay’s Brandon Cheeks II, JSerra’s Josh Jornadal and Burbank Burroughs’ Dilan Webster – along with DeVonte Taylor of Episcopal High in Texas and Will Fredrick from Marietta High in Georgia.

Luc Baker from Pinnacle High in Arizona, in addition to Fort Collins High of Colorado teammates Joe Cottingham and Finn Conway Reiser are entered in the high jump, with Concord De La Salle’s Chukwunonso Udeh and Santa Rosa Montgomery’s Nathan Fifer emerging as top California contenders after their victories April 1 at the West Coast Relays and Stanford Invitational, respectively.

One lap is significant stage for several standouts

With four of the top six returning athletes from last year’s invitational 400-meter race expected to compete again Saturday, plus the addition of five impressive new challengers, the outstanding depth could lead to three sub-47 performances for the first time in meet history.

California senior standouts Dijon Stanley from Granada Hills High and Adren Parker of Helix High are the top returning competitors after finishing second and third last season.

But neither athlete might be considered the favorite, with Jayden Davis of Mountain Pointe High in Arizona and fellow seniors Devin Clark of Marietta High in Georgia and Will Floyd of Seattle Prep High also expected to compete.

And that doesn’t even factor Long Beach Poly junior Xai Ricks into the equation, especially with his exceptional range that includes a national-leading 1:49.19 effort in the 800 meters.

Stanley has run a personal-best 46.40 this season and Parker has clocked 47.03, just off his lifetime-best 46.82.

Clark boasts a personal-best 46.79, Davis – last year’s fifth-place finisher at Arcadia – ran 46.61 on April 1 and Floyd, representing Canada, clocked 46.01 in August to earn fourth at the World U20 Championships in Colombia.

Ricks has run 47.74 twice this season, Roan Martinez of Desert Vista High in Arizona produced a 47.50 effort March 25, Jacob Andrews of Sehome High in Washington clocked 47.37 last year and Tavon Underwood of Mead High in Colorado opened his season March 24 with a 47.17 performance.

There is strong potential for the first sub-46 race at Arcadia since 2016, when Michael Norman of Vista Murrieta High in California held off Josephus Lyles of T.C. Williams High in Virginia by a 45.51 to 45.94 margin.

Depth on display in 4x800 showdown

Twice in meet history – first in 2012 and again in 2017 – have five teams run sub-7:50 in the invitational 4x800 relay.

With several elite California programs and strong lineups traveling from Arizona, Colorado, Florida and New Jersey, there could be a similar collection of spectacular performances Friday after only Bellarmine Prep of San Jose and Long Beach Wilson produced sub-7:50 efforts last season.

Martin Luther King is the fastest California program entered with a 7:53.99 performance March 18 on the same track at the Arcadia Distance Challenge.

Long Beach boasts a dangerous lineup, with the potential of Xai Ricks, Lamarr Kirk Jr. and Cameron Rhone all competing. Great Oak could showcase siblings Mark Cortes, Ramses Cortes, Gabriel Rodriguez and Michael Rodriguez.

Central Coast Section programs Crystal Springs Uplands and Menlo School are also California teams capable of challenging for the title, as well as Tri-Rivers Athletic Conference rivals Buchanan and Clovis. 

Arizona is well represented with sub-7:57 lineups from Liberty, Red Mountain and Salpointe Catholic in a field that also includes Cherokee Trail from Colorado, G. Holmes Braddock of Florida and Chatham from New Jersey.

The last time a team from outside California prevailed in the invitational 4x800 was 2014, with Rocky Mountain High from Idaho clocking 7:44.92.

Las Vegas Centennial boasts the fastest performance by a program from outside California in meet history, running 7:44.0 in 2012 for the No. 3 all-time mark at Arcadia.

Bingham seeks big mark in Arcadia debut

The boys invitational pole vault showdown Saturday involving Zach Bingham of Highland High in Arizona and Hilton Green from Buchanan High in California is a showcase of two of the top six prep competitors in the country this season, with the quest for a 17-foot clearance the primary motivation for the senior standouts.

There have been only nine male athletes in meet history to clear 17 feet, the last occurrence in 2018.

Bingham, a Brigham Young commit, is looking to join former Tolleson High star Nick Hysong as just the second vaulter in Arizona prep history to produce a 17-foot clearance indoors and outdoors.

Bingham won the Great Southwest Indoor Classic with a 17-1.25 (5.21m) performance Feb. 11 in New Mexico. He has cleared 16-10 (5.13m) during the outdoor season, looking to reach new heights in his Arcadia debut.

Green, an Oklahoma signee, produced a lifetime-best 16-6 (5.03m) clearance April 1 to win the West Coast Relays at his home venue of Veterans Memorial Stadium in Clovis. Green had cleared 16-5 (5.00m) twice last season, including to place second at the state final, and finished tied for ninth in the invitational pole vault last year at Arcadia with a 14-9 (4.49m) effort.

Dylan Curtis of Redondo Union in California has also surpassed 16 feet this season, including a personal-best 16-1 (4.90m) performance April 1 at the Trabuco Hills Invitational.

Seth Nelson, another 16-foot athlete from Boise Senior High in Idaho, is also expected to compete.

Arizona athletes aspire to big relay finale

The only time in the past 25 years that a team outside California won the invitational boys 4x400-meter relay at Arcadia was in 2017 when Las Vegas Centennial prevailed in 3:17.54.

There have been plenty of impressive lineups from Arizona competing in the invitational 4x400 during the past three decades at Arcadia, but this might finally be the year that the state closes out the two-day meet with a victory.

Desert Vista, led by Roan Martinez, ran 3:16.01 in the March 31 prelims at the 95th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays, with Gilbert (3:20.96) and Mountain Pointe (3:20.99) also entered.

Desert Vista boasts the fastest 4x400 performance by an Arizona lineup in meet history, clocking 3:16.04 to finish fourth in 2008, the same year Compton Dominguez High of California won in 3:12.13. No team has run faster since.

Long Beach Poly, winner of multiple invitational 4x400 titles in Arcadia history, might pose the biggest threat to the Arizona trio with its 3:20.02 effort from March 4 at the Griffin Relays.

Los Gatos, winner of the 4x400 at the Stanford Invitational the past two years, is entered, as well as fellow California programs Canyon Country Canyon, Helix and Trabuco Hills, in addition to Cherokee Trail High of Colorado.

Another magical middle-distance matchup set to materialize

The only time in meet history that a trio of athletes ran sub-1:50 in the same 800-meter race remains 1995, when national record holder Michael Granville of Bell Gardens High clocked 1:47.96 to serve as the catalyst for the best three performances in meet history, including fellow California competitors Aaron Richberg of James Logan placing second in 1:49.12 and Obea Moore of Pasadena Muir taking third in 1:49.16.

Although Granville’s meet record might be out of reach Saturday, the depth present in the invitational 800 indicates that several athletes could eclipse the 1:50 barrier.

Aaron Sahlman of Newbury Park High in ran 1:48.91 last season and he will be challenged by fellow California athletes Ambodai Ligons of Cathedral High and Lamarr Kirk Jr. of Long Beach Poly, Andrew Regnier of Waunakee High in Wisconsin, Tyler Mathews of Red Mountain High in Arizona, Carter Cutting from Wilsonville High in Oregon, Drew Costelow of Valor Christian High in Colorado and Aaron Crittenden from Killeen Ellison High in Texas.

Regnier ran 1:49.69 to finish fourth March 12 in the New Balance Nationals Indoor final in Boston and is the only other athlete in the field with a sub-1:50 performance. Cutting, who won the invitational 800 last year competing for Corner Canyon High in Utah, clocked a personal-best 1:50.24 last season.

Stars set to collide in sprint medley relays

Before many of the top athletes attending Arcadia get an opportunity to compete in their individual events Saturday, the invitational 800-meter sprint medley relay and 1,600 SMR will showcase several elite standouts running legs for their respective programs.

The 800 SMR features six California lineups – Long Beach Poly, Pittsburg, Trabuco Hills, Long Beach Jordan, Oaks Christian and Merrill West – ranked among the top 12 programs nationally this season.

And that group doesn’t include Serra, which is expected to highlight Rodrick Pleasant on the 200-meter leg.

Pleasant is also scheduled to race Saturday in the invitational 100 and 200, looking to duplicate the sprint double achieved last year by Max Thomas of Servite.

Long Beach Poly ran 1:32.91 on March 4 at the Griffin Relays and should be anchored Friday by Noah Smith.

Keynan Higgins is scheduled to run for Pittsburg, Jordan Washington is expected to be part of the Long Beach Jordan lineup, Chase Farrell is among Oaks Christian’s quartet and Cameron Williams is a member of the Merrill West relay.

Los Gatos and Thousand Oaks complete the field, all looking to achieve the first sub-1:30 performance at the meet since Harvard-Westlake ran 1:29.82 in 2019.

Long Beach Poly, Harvard-Westlake, Downey and Ventura are among the top teams scheduled to race in the invitational 1,600 SMR, with the Jackrabbits – who have the fastest entry time at 3:30.71 – potentially bolstering the back half of their lineup with Xai Ricks and Lamarr Kirk Jr.