Who are the athletes to watch at this weekend's CIF State Track & Field Championships?
The 105th CIF State Track & Field Championships will take place Friday and Saturday at Buchanan High in Clovis and though the thermometer is expected to rise above 100 degrees both days, many Southland sprinters also will bring the heat.
The absence of last spring's 100 and 200-meter dash winner Brandon Arrington, whose leg injury in a league meet May 9 forced him to miss the San Diego Section finals and denies him an opportunity to defend his state titles, opens lanes for the fastest athletes in the City and Southern Sections to take advantage. A junior from Mt. Miguel, Arrington broke the San Diego County record (20.35) in the 200 at Arcadia in April and one week later set a new section record (10.21) in the 100 at Mt. SAC.
The favorite in the 100 is Concord De La Salle junior Jaden Jefferson, who enters with the best qualifying time (10.30, three hundredths of a second better than Arrington's winning time last year), but challenging him will be Antrell Harris of Birmingham (who clocked 10.92 to win the City title May 22), back-to-back Masters Meet winner Demare Dezeurn of Bishop Alemany (10.35), RJ Sermons of Rancho Cucamonga (10.47) and Servite's trio of Benjamin Harris (10.44), Robert Gardner (10.59) and Jorden Wells (10.63).
In the 200, Masters champion Sermons (20.97) will be in the first heat along with Temecula Valley's Jack Stadlman (21.24), Dezeurn (21.04) has the fastest qualifying time in the second heat, Servite's Jace Wells (21.05) and Newbury Park's Jaden Griffin (21.36) are in the third heat and joining Jefferson (21.11) in the last heat are Santa Margarita's Leo Francis (21.14) and Harris (21.66).
Sermons, who announced the day before the Masters Meet that he will skip his senior year of high school to play football at USC, clocked a career-best 20.88 at the Baseline League finals and will try to beat Arrington's winning time of 20.55 last year.
Servite freshman Jaelen Hunter (46.91) heads a talented group in the 400, which includes Stadlman (47.91), City champion Justin Hart from Granada Hills (47.45) and City runner-up Nathan Santacruz of Venice (47.48). Servite's 4x100 relay was first at the Masters in 40.40 followed by Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (40.77), which will be in the same heat Friday as JSerra (41.44) and City champion Granada Hills (41.78), and Murrieta Valley (41.55) will be in heat four with Birmingham (41.80).
Servite also has one of the faster foursomes in the 4x400 as the Friars figure to challenge for the team title, won last year by Long Beach Poly, which won the Masters race Saturday in 3:10.83. The loaded field also features Cathedral (3:12.20), Mira Costa (3:18.73), Long Beach Wilson (3:14.93), Culver City (3:14.80) and Granada Hills (3:24.15).
For the girls, Redondo Union's Journey Cole and Chaparral's Keelan Wright are in separate heats but should they advance they would go head-to-head in the finals in a rematch of last week's epic 100 meter showdown (Cole prevailed by five hundredths of a second in 11.36), however not to be underestimated are Malia Rainey (11.57) and Marley Scoggins (11.60) from Calabasas (11.57) and Carson's Christina Gray, who ran 12.05 to win the City title.
Wright (23.21) is the leading qualifier in the 200. Other contenders are Rosary's Justine Wilson (23.38), Scoggins (23.59) and Gray (24.62).
Long Beach Poly carried the baton around the oval in 45.94 at Masters to avenge its loss to Oaks Christian at last year's state 4x100 final and the two schools could match up again Saturday alongside City winner Carson (46.84), which was third in Clovis last year. Long Beach Wilson, the state team champion in 2024, has the top qualifying time (3:43.71) in the 4x400 relay.
In the distance events, Corona Santiago boasts two title contenders — Braelyn Combe in the 1600 and Rylee Blade in the 3200. Combe was second to Ventura's Sadie Englehardt last year and won the Masters four-lapper last week in 4:44.36 (more than two and a half seconds better than her winning time at the Southern Section Division 1 finals), second-best among all qualifiers behind Chiara Dailey (4:43.57) of La Jolla in San Diego.
Blade ran 9:58.46 two weeks ago to break a Southern Section record that had stood since 1996 and cruised to the Masters win in 10:11.38. The Florida State-bound senior was third at state last year in 10:06.26 and she set a new meet standard of 15:20.3 at the Woodbridge Cross Country Classic in September.
Stanford signee Evan Noonan of Dana Hills, winner of the Southern Section and Masters races the past two weeks, will try to defend his 3200 state title (he won in 8:43.12 as a junior).
Aliso Niguel's Jaslene Massey and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame's Aja Johnson have the first and second best throws in both shot put and discus. Massey swept the events at Masters (49-7.50 shot put; 165-06 discus). Johnson is the defending state discus champion and won the state shot put title in 2023.
In the boys high jump, Mission League rivals Matthew Browner from Chaminade and JJ Harel of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame both achieved 6-10 to finish first and second at Masters. Harel cleared that same height to take second at the state finals last year behind Birmingham's Deshawn Banks.
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Small markets, big payouts: inside the 2025 NBA finals
This week on Yahoo Finance Sports Report, host Joe Pompliano takes a look at some of this week's biggest headlines in the sports business world that you and your portfolio need to know. From the MLB's latest investment in Athletes Unlimited Softball League, to the Masters lottery ticket price increase, to Olympic athlete Sha'Carri Richardson's newest athletic adventure, there are a lot of key money moves shaping the industry. Plus, Yahoo Sports contributing writer Tom Haberstroh drops by the show to discuss the 2025 NBA finals where the Oklahoma City Thunder will face off against the Indiana Pacers. Yahoo Finance Sports Report with Joe Pompliano, a vodcast brought to you by Yahoo Finance and Yahoo Sports, looks beyond the latest sports business headlines, analyzes all the need-to-know news - the teams, trades, and billion-dollar deals - so you and your portfolio will win BIG. Yahoo Finance Sports Report is developed and produced by Lauren Pokedoff. Welcome to Yahoo Finance Sports Report, a unique look at the business of sports brought to you by Yahoo Finance and Yahoo Sports. I'm your host, Joe Pompeiano, and I'm here to coach you through the financial game. We've got Yahoo Sports contributing writer Tom Haberstro joining us today to talk all things NBA Finals and so much more. Let's huddle up and get right into are kicking off this week with POM's Playbo. Why I take a look at some of the biggest headlines in sports that you and your portfolio need to know. First up, Major League Baseball announced last week that it will make a significant investment in the new Athletes Unlimited softball League, or AUSL for short. Financial terms of the deal were not reported that MLB will be investing at least $10 million in AUSL, and as part of the deal, MLB will work with AUSL on joint sales and marketing efforts, promote the league on MLB broadcasts and social media platforms, and select AUSL Games will air on MLB Network and MLB this is Major League Baseball's first major partnership with the women's sports league. The AUSL, which is part of the Athletes Unlimited brand founded by John Patrakoff and Jonathan Soros in 2020, will launch its inaugural season this Saturday. AUSL will feature four teams, a 24 game schedule and an All-Star Cup. AUSL teams will also play games in 12 cities across the US before switching to a city-based team schedule in 2026, and games will air on ESPN Networks for its debut up, sports stocks finally rebounded for their first positive month since January, according to a new report from Sporttico. In May, Sporttico's sports stock index posted a 7% gain to finish the month at 1380. Sporttico credited the index's rebound to ease fears on President Trump's tariff announcements, which was also seen on a broader level across the entire stock market. Now Sporttico's sportstock index is a group of 40 stocks that leverage sports as a major driver for future business growth, including companies one, Sphere Entertainment, and Nike. And to be part of the index, the company's stock has to be traded in the US, offer sufficient daily trade volume, and have a market cap that is over $50 million. All told, 28 of the companies in the index were up in the month of May, with 13 rising over 10% each during that period. And many companies impacted by potential tariffs saw massive gains in May, including on holdings at 24%, Amark at 22%, Under Armour at 17%, and 7%. Last up, lottery ticket prices for the Masters tournament have increased for next year's tournament in 2026. Now, Augusta National Golf Club offers a lottery that gives fans a chance to buy tickets at discounted rates. Anyone can enter the lottery for free through the Masters website from now until June 20, and winners will be notified in July to buy the cheaper tickets. However, you need a lot of luck, as lottery entrants only have a 0.55% chance of winning. And if you are lucky win tickets for the 2026 Masters, you'll be paying a higher price than this year's tournament. Lottery tickets for practice rounds are up 25% to $125 each. Prices for the par 3 contests are up 50% to $150 each, and daily passes for each of the four tournament rounds are up 14% to $160 each. But even with these price increases, lottery tickets for the Masters are still a bargain, as daily passes on the secondary market can cost $15 to 20 times more than face week for the deeper dive, where I give you a play by play analysis of news in the sports world and its significance to your bottom line, we're talking about the enhanced games. One of the most fascinating and controversial developments in sports right now is the enhanced games. Imagine the Olympics, but instead of performance enhancing drugs being banned, they're actually encouraged. And if you break a world record, you win a million dollars. Founded by Australian entrepreneur Aaron De Souza, the Enhanced Games is a privately funded competition that has raised millions from including Peter Thiel, and by being privately funded, the event is free from government or Olympic Committee control. Now the International Olympic Committee and the World Anti-Doping Agency have condemned the concept, calling it dangerous and irresponsible. But De Souza argues the opposite, claiming that current sports rules place artificial limits on human potential and that researching enhanced performance could lead to medical breakthroughs. Here's how the enhanced games will work athletes can choose to compete with or without they opt to use PEDs, these athletes must pass rigorous medical screening, and only drugs that are legally available in the US via prescription are allowed. Athletes can then choose to manage their own PED regimen or join the enhanced games official clinical trial with a full medical staff. All athletes were monitored by doctors and scientists throughout training and competition. Now, the first official competition is set for Memorial Day weekend 2026 in Las Vegas and will feature swimming, track and field, events. However, the enhanced games are already making some noise. Greek swimmer Christian Goluev broke the 50 m freestyle water record during a closed trial event in April and collected the first million dollars prize from the enhanced games. And former Olympic swimmer James Magnusson looks nearly unrecognizable after just a few weeks of training on PEDs. But the true X factor here is that the enhanced games compensation model is drastically different than the Olympics. Unlike the Olympics, where medals come with little to no enhanced games event will have a $500,000 prize pool with at least $250,000 given to the winner, and some athletes will even get appearance fees just for showing up. Now, competing in the enhanced games could result in a lifetime ban from international events, which is why many of the athletes are expected to be toward the end of their careers or recently retired. But the enhanced games are so controversial because they go against everything we've been taught about the use of PEDs in professional sports. Critics will say that PEDs undermine fair put athletes' health at risk. While supporters will argue that it's better to regulate PEDs openly and that have athletes experiment with drugs on their own. Now I'm not here to tell you which side of the argument you should be on, but I would argue that this situation was self-inflicted, similar to how Liv Goff was able to steal some of the PGA Tour's most popular players with a reduced schedule and guaranteed money. The Olympics' inability to provide proper governance and financial stability for their athletes is why the enhanced games ever came to life in the first made it to the one on one, a conversation where I get to break down news and sports with the key player in the industry. With the NBA Finals coming up this week, I thought there'd be no better person to join the show than Yahoo Sports contributing writer Tom Habershal. Tom, thank you so much for joining the show. There are a lot of different ways we can take but I want to just start with the two teams and more specifically how these two teams got there, right? We have the Thunder and the Pacers, and we've lived in this era for a while now where it feels like super teams have sort of dominated in big markets as a result with teams in California, Boston, Miami, whatever it is over the last decade or now we have the Thunder and the Pacers. You had an interesting tweet earlier this week talking about how this is the first time since since I think 2007, where neither team in the finals played on Christmas Day. Talk to me just a little bit about how we got here with two small market teams in the NBA finals. Well, the game is so much faster now, Joe. When you talk about the pace of the league, it makes it really difficult to build with older veterans. You know, we think about the Miami Heat in 2011, you think about Kevin Durant, James Harden, and, and Kyrie Irving, these kind of super teams with older veterans. Well, the game is about 10 possessions faster, uh, more, 10 more possessions per game than we did in like the late 90s and early 2000s, and soWhat you're seeing is younger teams. This is going to be potentially the youngest NBA champion in the Oklahoma City Thunder that we've seen since 1977. And the Indiana Pacers like to play fast and up tempo led by a young star in Tyrese Halliburton. So the way that the league is trending now, the game is faster. I talked to Steve Kerr about this, who, of course, played with the Chicago Bulls with Michael Jordan and coached, uh, not just the Golden State Warriors, but alsoTeam USA and he thinks that this pace and space era with 5 shooters on the floor, uh, for each team and playing at a high pace, it lends itself to younger teams. And of course, Stephen Curry getting injured in this postseason, Damian Lillard tearing his Achilles as well as Jason Tatum. We're just seeing the game really translate much better for younger teams that can run up and down the floor, and a lot of that is building through the trading rather than adding in free agency. So teams like OKC and Indiana, small market teams are taking advantage of this pace in space era by building through the draft and building on young teams. There is no player on this Oklahoma City Thunder team that is 31 years or older, and that is just something that is such an outlier of outliers in the NBA, you know, title contention that we've seen over the last two decades. Yeah, and I'm curious if you think other teams or contenders will be built the way the Thunder and Pacers are, right? Because the way I think about it is like there's so many injuries nowadays, and I think part of it is to your point, which is the game is so much faster, there's more possessions, there's obviously a ton of games throughout the year. There's a lot of wear and tear on the bodies. An older player might be able to handle that for half the season or 3 quarters of the season, or maybe even the full season, but their down when it comes to the playoffs and younger players seem to have a better time with that. Now, we've gone through this era of super teams where people were adding superstar players in free agency and even via trade, but now to your point, we've gone to Thunder and Pacers. Is this something that you feel like the rest of the league has caught on to and they're fully bought in on? Or do you think that there's still some kind of divide within the front offices of how these teams should be built? Yeah, there's always gonna be ebbs and flows, but I think going forward, the idea of paying so much money to add to your team, whether it's, you know, the Phoenix Suns, right? They get Kevin Durant, they get Devin Booker, and then they add Bradley Beal, who has a no trade clause and over $50 million of salary going to him for the next couple of years. They didn't even make the playoffs. And one of the big reasons why is cause the way the news bargaining agreement works in today's environment is that it's not just restrictive in terms of luxury tax payments, Joe, it's restrictive in terms of team building. Like you can't add uh to your roster with all the tools if you are that deep into the tax. You, you have your future first round picks frozen, you're not able to add with uh salary exceptions like other teams are. So I thinkYou're gonna see a lot of teams go away from the Phoenix Suns model, what Matt Isa had tried to do with Kevin Durant and going more in the OKC model is building through the draft, and they have such a young infusion of talent, really good on defense. And I think you're gonna see a lot of teams try to copy this, but Sam Presty, the president of basketball operations for OKC is well ahead of the game. They have more forfirst round picks available to them going forward in the next 7 years than any other NBA team. And so even if you try to copy the Oklahoma City Thunder, they are just way, they're lapping the competition in terms of how to build with youth and draft picks, and they're doing this with a 68 win team, and they might run away with this NBA championship with the most draft, um, uh, uh, artillery in their cupboard. Yeah, I saw a, a funny joke. Presley has done such a good job. Someone was saying that if you really wanted parity, you would just make him switch teams every few years because he has really outmaneuvered everyone over the last number of years. But it brings up an interesting point, right? I'm glad you talked about the collective Barney agreement and the salary cap and some of the penalties that are imposed there, because this is something that has changed over the last number of years. And when leagues do things like this, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn' in the NBA's case, it really has created parity. It doesn't always feel like that, but we've had a new NBA champion every year over the last, I think, 7 years. So my question to you is, parity is obviously here, right? Like, I don't think there's any argument against that anymore. But do you think that this is good for the NBA? Or do you think that it was better off from a ratings and interest perspective when there were these super teams that were going to championships 23 years in a row? Yeah, I think there's a real negative externality at play here that I think will backfire, uh, potentially with this Oklahoma City Thunder team specifically because if you want to have these teams really be in front of the national audience and you come to love these players on these teams, well, the way that the collective bargaining agreement is set up is they're trying to break up super teams, but also, it doesn't matter if you're acquired via free agency. Jalen Williams, the all-star for the for the Oklahoma and Chet Holm are do extensions, Max extensions potentially in the next couple years. And for a small market team like Oklahoma City, you might see a really great uh potential dynasty be broken up unless OKC wants to pay deep into the tax. And I really think the new collective bargaining agreement really aird by not having some incentive for teams to retain or exceptions for teams to retain players that they drafted. Homegrown talent. This isof what we want to see the Golden State Warriors is a great example of homegrown Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and, and Stephen Curry built through the draft. Well, in this new CBA it's gonna be really cost prohibitive for the Oklahoma City Thunder to keep this team together. It doesn't mean they will break up Jaylen Williams and Chet Holgren and Shay Gilrius Alexander. It just means that this new collective bargaining agreement is gonna make it really difficult for teams, no matter where they, whether they build through the free agency or in trades, or whetherbuild it through the draft, it's gonna be really hard for them to retain elite talent. And so, for me, I would I would want to see, Joe, if teams draft well and develop their talent, I want to see them be able to retain those players. And unfortunately, if we do see Oklahoma City win the next couple championships and go for a three-peat, it might be that they have to break up this team in ways that the Golden State Warriors didn't, were not forced to years ago when they had their dynasty. Yeah, it's a very good point because it feels like the rule was established to stop some of those big market, you know, high spending teams from being able to go out and just buy people in free agency. And an effect of that rule, a negative effect is now that some of the smaller market teams who did it the right way through drafting and trades and things like that are going to be penalized. But I think most people would probably agree with you on that. All right, we've got to take a quick break, but we'll be back with more of my conversation with Tom right after back to Yahoo Finance Sports Report. I'm your host, Joe Pomliano. I'm here with Yahoo Sports contributing writer Tom Haberstro. I'd love to get your opinion on just where the Paul Paul George trade stands sort of in NBA history at this point, right? I think most people realize that this was a, uh, extremely lopsided trade, especially with where the Oklahoma City Thunder are now and where Paul George is too, but like where does this trade rank for you in, uh, in the NBA when it comes to the historical or historically bad trades? Yeah, it's up there. I mean, remember Kawhi Leonard wasn't gonna come to the Clippers in 2019 unless he got Paul George. And so, yes, Sam Presty had the Clippers over a barrel, knowing that in order for the Clippers to get Kawhi and Paul George in a package deal, they had to give up everything uh in the cupboard. And so Shay Gildris Alexander, 21 years old, coming over in the trade, 5 1st round picks. One of them turns into Jaylen Williams, who is an all NBA player for the Thunder this year. It is, it is up there with one of the most lopsided trades of all time. I will also point out that the Indiana Pacers benefited also by trading away Paul George. They got Damontas Sabonis and, uh, and Victor Olatipo from the Oklahoma City Thunder, um, also flipping Damonus Sabonis to get their star player Tyrese Halliburton from the Sacramento Kings. So Paul George, he's not gonna get a championship ring out of he might as well because he is in that butterfly effect, that that's 5 degrees of Kevin Bacon. He has, in effect, uh, you know, basically funneled the championship level talent on both sides of this trade. And I will point out also, Sam Presty, this dates back all the way to 2007 when he was with the Sonics. He absorbed, uh, uh, Kurt Thomas's contract in from the Phoenix Suns, and they gave him two first round picks to do that a GM had ever done it, a 30 year old GM in Sam Presty when he was with the Sonics, and that trade actually gave them Serge Ibaka, and Serge Ibaka gave them Demonus Sabonis. Demas Sabonis gave them Paul George. Paul George gave them Shay Gildrius Alexander. So 2007, a trade between the Sonics and the Phoenix Suns. Steve Kerr got on the phone with Sam Presty, and that trade, 18 years later, is now creating this NBA finals between the Thunder and the Pacers. Everyone watching will now know why I like talking to you so much, because you're like an encyclopedia. I don't think anyone else would have ever thought about that connection from the Sonics to today, but I love it. Tom, are there any other storylines that you're watching in this year's NBA finals that we should be on the lookout for? Yeah, I think really, I think the American audience really needs to understand that this Oklahoma City team is all-time great, and yes, they could lose this series upcoming, but this is the largest point differential between two finals teams, uh, since 1971. Like the, the Thunder were all time good in the regular season. They didn't have their starting center for season, Chet Honger missing half the season, Isaiah Harenstein missing half the season, and still they won 68 games. So this team is gonna be great this year and also for the next potentially decade. And so the NBA made a little bit of a mistake by not putting the Oklahoma City Thunder or the Indiana Pacers on Christmas Day this year. None of the 10 teams that were selected were Indiana, and I do think they'll make up for that next year. These two teams are going to be good for a long time. The youngest NBA finals that we have seen in decades, and I do think that you're going to see a lot more Oklahoma City Thunder going forward because they're stocked in the draft intel and also when it comes to their encore, this is gonna be a team we're going to be watching for a very long time potentially every year in the NBA finals. Yeah, and they're a fun team to watch. And even though the Pacers may not have been one of the likeliest candidates to get here, Indiana is obviously a big basketball area, so I, I think that was probably a mistake too, and my guess is, to your point, we'll see them again next year. But Tom, lastly, I want to get your thoughts on Michael Jordan joining as a special contributor for NBC's NBA broadcast next year. I love it. We need more Michael Jordan on our on our in front of the American audience, like when you're talking about people that will watch an NBA 2025, a lot of them might not tune in because of Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers, but they might tune in if they know that they can see Michael Jordan. I mean, me growing up watching the 90s Bulls and a lot of America associates the Bulls with the peak of the NBA and I think it'll be great for the uh for the NBA product, as long as he is, I think, era. I think it'll be very interesting to see if Michael Jordan will be speaking highly of today's players, LeBron James, Steph Curry, Shay Gildris Alexander, or whether he will try to boost up the 90s bowls and his era. But that's, you know, what we'll all be tuning in to see is what kind of commentator he will be bringing, but at the very least, I think more eyeballs on an amazing NBA product will be a good thing for the NBA. If Michael Jordan starts creating some of these players harshly, it's going to be must-see TV. So, uh, I think NBC is quietly hoping that that's what he does. But Tom, thank you so much for joining the show got it, clock is winding down here, but we have just enough time for some final buzz. So let's talk about Shakari Richardson's next athletic venture. Last week, Alos, the all-female track competition founded by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, announced that it will be adding a new team-based league in 2026. The announcement also said that Olympic gold medalists and Team USA superstar Shakari Richardson will be joining the AFLs League along with fellow USA teammates Gabby Thomas and Tara Davis Woodhull. And in addition to participating in the new Alos League, Richardson, Thomas and Davis be adviser owners and receive an ownership stake in the league's business. Now, Alexis Ohanian first launched Athos as a standalone women's track event in 2024. Athos had its first competition at Icon Stadium in New York City with six sprint races, as well as a $60,000 prize and a Tiffany crown for the first place winners. However, unlike traditional track events, Athos features a DJ playing walkout songs for competitors and music in between races to up the entertainment value. Last year's inaugural race also included the concert from Megan the Stallion to cap off the said that the first event generated around 3 million viewers, and the organization hold its second stand-alone race in October back at Icon Stadium. Now Ohanian believes Alos can turn women's track into a mainstream sports product with a season-long schedule featuring individual prize money for each event and a shared team prize for the end of year championship. But the equity component for founding athletes could pay massive athletes when the organization kicked off its new league in 2026, Athos joins a growing trend among sports organizations to gain total buy-in from participating athletes by giving them a financial incentive to promote their league and grow its business. Unrivaled, the new 33 basketball League gave equity in the league to its founding players and generated over $27 million in revenue in its successful debut season. Now Athos is hoping it can jumpstart its own league through a shared athlete ownership model, and locking in a superstar like Shakari Richardson is a great all out of time, so it's officially game over for this week. Thank you so much to Tom and for all of you for joining us. Please make sure to scan the QR code below to follow Yahoo Finance podcast for more videos and expert insights and catch us every Thursday wherever you get your podcast. I'm your host, Joe Pomliano. See you next time. This content was not intended to be financial advice and should not be used as a substitute for professional financial services. Sign in to access your portfolio
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2 hours ago
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High school sprinter stripped of state title after celebration is deemed unsportsmanlike
North Salinas sophomore Clara Adams, center, wins a preliminary heat in the girls' 400 meters Friday at the CIF State Track & Field Championships in Clovis. She finished first in the finals the next day but was stripped of the title because of a celebration that was deemed by meet officials to be unsportsmanlike. (Steve Galluzzo / For The Times) North Salinas High sophomore Clara Adams ran the fastest time in the girls' 400-meter finals at the CIF State Track & Field Finals last weekend. She crossed the finish line .28 seconds ahead of her closest competitor. Advertisement But Adams is not the state champion. She was stripped of that title after she used a fire extinguisher to spray her cleats while on the field inside the track moments after the race. "I was robbed," Adams, 16, told The Times shortly after being disqualified from that event as well the 200 finals, which took place later in the meet. Adams said CIF officials told her that she was being disqualified because she had been "unsportsmanlike," but that's not how she saw it at all. "I was having fun," Adams said, noting her win in the 400 marked her first state title. "I'd never won something like that before, and they took it away from me. I didn't do anything wrong." Advertisement She added: "I worked really hard for it and they took it from me, and I don't know what to do." Days later, David Adams, who said he is the sprint coach at North Salinas, told The Times his daughter was "doing better" but still trying to cope with everything that unfolded Saturday afternoon at Buchanan High in Clovis. Read more: Transgender track athlete wins gold in California state championships despite Trump threat 'Clara's hurt. She's hurt right now," David Adams said Wednesday. "She's better today than Saturday. Saturday was fresh. It just happened. It was a shock. She felt numb. They made her sit there and watch while they put those other girls on the podium, knowing Clara's the fastest 400-meter runner in the state of California.' Advertisement Clara Adams has been running competitively since age 6, her father said. She finished fourth in the 400 at last year's state meet and won the event with a state-best time of 53.23 at the Central Coast Section championships last month. After posting the top qualifying time in Friday's preliminaries, Adams surged ahead of Madison Mosby of St. Mary's Academy in Inglewood to win the race with a time of 53.24. Immediately afterward, Adams walked over to the wall in front of the stands and found her father, who reached down and handed her what he described as a "small" fire extinguisher. She then walked back across the track into the grass, where she sprayed her cleats as if she was putting out a fire — a move her father said was a tribute to former U.S. sprinter Maurice Greene, who similarly celebrated his win in the 100 at the 2004 Home Depot Invitational in Carson. CIF officials apparently were not amused and disqualified Adams on the spot, awarding first place to Mosby. According to rules established by the National Federation of State High School Assns., "unsporting conduct" is defined as behavior that includes but is not limited to 'disrespectfully addressing an official, any flagrant behavior, intentional contact, taunting, criticizing or using profanity directed toward someone.' The penalty is disqualification from the event in which the behavior took place and further competition in the meet. The CIF did not respond to a request for comment from The Times. Advertisement According to David Adams, the officials 'were really nasty" toward his daughter. They "tugged on her arm," he said, "they were screaming in her face. I could hear it from where I was at. I could see it — I couldn't hear exactly what they were saying, but they were just really nasty." Read more: Long Beach Poly boys' 4x400 relay team shines at state track and field championships Clara Adams said she specifically asked the officials to speak with her father about the disqualification, but they refused. "They kept telling me, 'It's OK,' and I was telling them, 'It's not OK,' and they didn't care," she said. "They were trying to smile in my face, like them telling me 'no' amused them or something." Advertisement David Adams said the officials would only speak to North Salinas head coach Alan Green, who declined to speak to The Times for this story. 'They told him that it was unsportsmanlike conduct," David Adams said of the officials' discussion with Green. "We were asking for the rule, the specific rule of what she did, and they didn't really give anything. It was more of a gray area that gives them discretion to pick and choose what they feel is unsportsmanlike conduct." Read more: Prep talk: Birmingham's Antrell Harris reaches peak form with 10.24 in 100 meters Adams disputes that his daughter behaved in a manner that could be considered unsportsmanlike. Advertisement "Looking at the film, Clara is nowhere near any opponent," he said. "She's off the track, on the grass. Her opponents are long gone off the track already, so she wasn't in their face. It was a father-daughter moment. ... She did it off the track because she didn't want to seem disrespectful toward nobody. And they still found a reason to take her title away. They didn't give her a warning or anything.' He added that his daughter is a "very humble, really sweet kid." "I take responsibility for the situation. I'm taking full responsibility," he said. "Clara has run several championship races and won and walked off the track. It's just weird that she celebrates one time and now people, these strangers, these middle-aged people want to chase after her character?" Greene, the four-time Olympic medalist who inspired Clara's celebration, told KSBW-TV in Salinas that the CIF should reconsider its decision. Advertisement Read more: Greene, Jones Run Like Wind at Carson "If [the celebration] was away from everyone and not interfering with anyone, I would say reinstate her," Greene said. David Adams said he is trying to make that happen but so far the CIF won't return his calls . 'We have an attorney on standby right now," he said. "I don't want to take it there, but I will fight this all the way. As long as I'm breathing I'm gonna fight it. But we're trying to go through proper channels to give the CIF an opportunity to do the right thing. Having an attorney involved is our last resort, that means we tried everything.' Advertisement Sign up for the L.A. Times SoCal high school sports newsletter to get scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Newsweek
3 hours ago
- Newsweek
Phil Mickelson Drops a Bomb on US Open at Oakmont Being His Last
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. For years, Phil Mickelson has chased the one major that would complete his Grand Slam. An exclusive circle that includes Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Gary Player, Ben Hogan, and Gene Sarazen. But after six runner-up finishes and decades of near misses, it looks like Lefty has convinced himself to let go. Mickelson had a disappointing show at the Masters, where he missed the cut, and another early exit at the PGA Championship. Now, with his U.S. Open exemption set to expire, the 54-year-old dropped a bombshell at LIV Golf Virginia. BROOKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS - JUNE 17: Phil Mickelson of the United States acknowledges the crowd from the ninth green during the second round of the 122nd U.S. Open Championship at The Country Club on June 17,... BROOKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS - JUNE 17: Phil Mickelson of the United States acknowledges the crowd from the ninth green during the second round of the 122nd U.S. Open Championship at The Country Club on June 17, 2022 in Brookline, Massachusetts. (Photo by) More Getty Images "I haven't thought about it too much," Mickelson said when asked if he thought Oakmont might be his last U.S. Open. "There's a high likelihood that it will be, but I haven't really thought about it too much," he admitted, leaving room for speculation. This will be Lefty's 34th U.S. Open appearance— credit to his 5-year exemption earned from the 2021 PGA Championship win, where he became the oldest major champion at 50. But beyond 2025, his road back looks uncertain. LIV Golf offers only two qualification spots for the 2026 U.S. Open—one for topping the 2025 season standings and another for sitting in the top three by May 2026. If Mickelson wants another shot, he'd need a dominant LIV season, which, based on his recent performances, and his age, feels highly unlikely. Before his supposedly final show at the US Open, the 6-time major winner will be swinging clubs at LIV Golf Virginia, which mirrors Oakmont's conditions. And Phil wants to focus on that, treating it as an unofficial warm-up. "What I have thought about is how similar this week's course is set up to what we'll see next week," Mickelson explained. Phil Mickelson says there's a "high likelihood" that next week is his final U.S. Open. 👀 The U.S. Open is the last leg missing for him to complete the career grand slam. — Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) June 4, 2025 "We have greens that are rolling 14 to 15 on the Stimpmeter, just like we will next week. We have contours, undulations—just like we will next week. I think it's a great way to prepare for next week." He continued, "Short game, touch, chipping around the greens, rough, speed, lag drills, and touch on the greens—all that's critical here. Same thing as next week. It couldn't be a better spot to get ready." A look at Phil Mickelson's US Open heartbreaks The outspoken LIV Golfer's U.S. Open record is brutal. He's finished runner-up six times—including heartbreaks in 1999, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2009, and 2013, but never hoisted the trophy. His first heartbreak came in 1999 at Pinehurst, where he lost to Payne Stewart by a single stroke. The moment became even more emotional when Stewart (Phil's ex-caddie) famously told him: "Good luck with the baby. There's nothing like being a father!" This came just before Stewart's tragic passing months later. Then came 2002 at Bethpage Black, where Mickelson finished three shots behind Tiger Woods, unable to close the gap on Sunday. FARMINGDALE, NY - JUNE 16: Phil Mickelson walks with his caddie during the final round of the 102nd US Open on the Black Course at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, New York on June 16,... FARMINGDALE, NY - JUNE 16: Phil Mickelson walks with his caddie during the final round of the 102nd US Open on the Black Course at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, New York on June 16, 2002. (Photo By) More Getty Images Perhaps the most painful of all was 2006 at Winged Foot, where Mickelson needed a par on the final hole to win. Instead, he hit a driver off the tee, found the trees, and made a disastrous double-bogey, handing the victory to Geoff Ogilvy. Reflecting on the challenge years ago, Mickelson admitted just how much winning the U.S. Open meant to him: "I think that if I'm able to win the U.S. Open and complete the career Grand Slam, I think that's the sign of a complete, great player. I'm a leg away. And it's been a tough leg for me." Now, at 54, the coffee lover faces the reality that his U.S. Open exemption is expiring, and his chances in front of the World No. 1, who is currently fully charged, are slim. But if history has proven anything, it's that Lefty has never been one to back down from a fight. More Golf: Bryson DeChambeau Seen Playing Golf at 'TPC White House'
