Metro top qualifying marks for CIF track and field state championships
Five metro athletes are among the top qualifiers based on section championship events heading into this weekend's 105th CIF State Track and Field Championships at Buchanan High School in Clovis (Fresno County).
De La Salle-Concord junior Jaden Jefferson is the leader in the 100 meters after setting a North Coast Section record with a winning 10.30 seconds time on Saturday at Dublin High. He hopes to lead the Spartans to a first state title for the program and the team has extra incentive, competing for their late head coach John Harvey who died suddenly April 28 from a respiratory condition.
Other top qualifiers from the Metro region are Menlo School-Atherton senior Landon Pretre (in the boys 3200 (8:48.57), Pittsburg senior boys pole vaulter
Khaliq Muhammad (17-1), San Ramon Valley-Danville sophomore girls high jumper Riley McMullen (5-6) and St. Mary's-Berkeley girls triple jumper Kira Gant Hatcher (40-10.50), who also ranks second in the long jump (19-4.75).
State trials scheduled starts are 3 p.m. Friday with field events and running events beginning at 5 p.m. Saturday's finals are scheduled at 4:30 p.m. (field events) and running events (5:45 p.m.).
Note that meet directors previously have pushed back start times due to extremely warm weather and with temperature forecasts both days in the 100s, that is a distinct possibility again.
Below are all the top qualifiers in each event, along with all Metro athlete who qualified and qualifying teams.
BOYS
(Top qualifier, with local metro qualifying marks from section meets.)
100 meters: 1. Jaden Jefferson (De La Salle) 10.30
Other Metro qualifiers: Chad Works-Wright (El Cerrito) 10.43, Khairee Baker (American Canyon) 10.68, Prince Babalola Buchango (St. Ignatius) 10.78, Rahsjon Duncan (McClymonds) 10.79, O'Bryan Flanigan (Sacred Heart Cathedral) 10.95, Syd Villegas (Lincoln) 10.95
200 meters: 1. RJ Sermons (Rancho Cucamonga) 20.97
Metro qualifiers: Jefferson (De La Salle) 21.11, Works-Wright (El Cerrito) 21.28, Babalola Buchango (St. Ignatius) 21.43, Jaylyn Smallwood (El Cerrito) 21.69, Duncan (McClymonds) 22.31, Villegas (Lincoln) 22.40
400 meters: 1. Jaelen Hunter (Servite) 46.91
Metro qualifiers: Mattheo LaCasia (Woodside) 46.92, Tim Edwards (Pittsburg) 47.71, Sean Walsh (St. Francis) 47.94, Chase McMullen (San Ramon Valley) 48.90, Ian Sweeney (Bishop O'Dowd) 49.19, Phinehas Browne (Oakland Tech) 49.31, Ikembuchukwu Udeh (De La Salle) 49.88
800 meters: 1. Lucas Alberts (Jesuit) 1:51.27
Metro qualifiers: Caeden Gardner (Tamalpais) 1:54.62, Sebastien Swain (Piedmont) 1:54.67, Thomas Hekl (Amador Valley) 1:54.74, Shrey Chettiar (Bellarmine) 1:54.81, Tristan Kippes (Palo Alto) 1:55.95, Henry Witt (Lowell) 1:57.88
1,600 meters: 1. Conor Lott (Clovis North) 4:05.80
Metro qualifiers: Benjamin Bouie (Crystal Springs Uplands) 4:06.02, Aydon Stefanopoulos (Los Gatos) 4:08.80, Miles Cook (Sacred Heart Cathedral) 4:10.09, Arrin Sagiraju (Dougherty Valley) 4:10.46, Will Hauser (Menlo School) 4:10.37, Will Mulliken (Archie Williams) 4:12.20, Stephen Sziebert (Bellarmine) 4:12.65, Stefan Langridge (International) 4:13.44, Nicolas Rivas (Galileo) 4:22.88
3,200 meters: 1. Landon Pretre (Menlo School) 8:48.57
Other Metro qualifiers: Trey Caldwell (De La Salle) 9:08.91, Tadhg Murray (De La Salle) 9:09.75, Djali de Chalus (St. Mary's) 9:14.43, Gus Schafer (Oakland Tech) 9:46.28, Rivas (Galileo) 10:45.55
110 high hurdles: Jasir Fontenot (San Diego) 13.40
Metro qualifiers: Chase Young (De La Salle) 14.04, Babaloa Buchango (St. Ignatius) 14.32, Nathaniel Maddox (Dublin) 14.49, Aaron Adamos (Dublin) 14.50, Antonio Bayon (Redwood) 14.60, Joshua Haven (Bellarmine) 14.72, Ryan Gray (Oakland Tech) 15.33
300 hurdles: 1. Kingston Waring (Culver City) 36.91
Other Metro qualifiers: Haven (Bellarmine) 37.93, Luke Kazee (St. Ignatius) 38.79, Young (De La Salle) 39.20, Krish Sandhu (Moreau Catholic) 39.53, River Lockwood (Acalanes) 39.68
4x100 relay: 1. Servite 40.40
Metro qualifiers: El Cerrito 41.02, De La Salle 41.20, Serra 41.44, Hillsdale 41.81, Mountain View 42.18, American Canyon 42.38, Lincoln 43.79
4x400 relay: 1. Long Beach Poly 3:10.83
Metro qualifiers: Mountain View 3:18.68, St. Francis 3:19.68, De La Salle 3:29.78, Tamalpais 3:31.92, Acalanes 3:24.75
4x800 relay: 1. Mira Costa 7:37.84
Metro qualifiers: Crystal Springs Upland 7:51.87, Las Lomas 7:53.64, Bellarmine 7:54.48, Analy 7:57.04, Lowell 8:07.67
High Jump: 1T. Joshua Harel (Notre Dame-Sherman Oaks), Matthew Browner (Chaminade-West Hills), 6-10
Metro qualifiers: Grady Wachob (Benicia) 6-6, Ben Stout (Amador Valley) 6-6, Ryan Shen (Monta Vista) 6-6, Haven (Bellarmine) 6-6, Bayon (Redwood) 6-4
Pole Vault: 1. Khaliq Muhammad (Pittsburg) 17-1
Other Metro qualifiers: William Freas (Tamalpais) 15-6, Ethan Radford (Bellarmine) 14-8, Bayon (Redwood) 14-2
Long Jump: 1. Kayden Lewis-Burnley (Clovis) 24-8¾
Metro qualifiers: Shen (Monta Vista) 23-7¾, Ernest Okere (Clayton Valley) 23-4¾, Levi Harte (Encinal) 23-0¾, Oskar Herlitz (Sacred Heart Prep) 22-11¾, Noah Gonzalez (St. Ignatius) 22-7½, Kaleb Pleis (San Ramon Valley) 22-6, Kaleb Banh (Lincoln) 21-3½
Triple Jump: 1. Keith Cotlage (Cajon) 48-10
Metro qualifiers: Anthony Dean (De La Salle) 47-11, Cameron P. Jones (Bishop O'Dowd) 46-10½, Gonzalez (St. Ignatius) 46-7¾, Benicio Labuguen (Westmoor) 46-5, Jasaun Mabrey (Sacred Heart Cathedral) 46-1½, Maddox (Dublin) 45-11½, Alex Martin (Valley Christian) 45-11, Banh (Lincoln) 42-0¾
Shot Put: 1. McKay Madsen (Clovis North) 67-4½
Metro qualifiers: Joshua Taylor (King's Academy) 59-4, Evan Usher (Woodside) 57-9½, Case Jacobson (St. Francis) 57-5, Maxime Morelle (Sacred Heart Prep) 57-4½, Chibuike Ihe (Pittsburg) 55-10¼, Emmanuel Fitzgerald (San Mateo) 55-6, Alexander Gorobets (Washington-San Francisco) 45-4¼
Discus: Madsen (Clovis North) 204-9
Metro qualifiers: Isaac Duren (Mitty) 164-0, Usher (Woodside) 162-8, Fitzgerald (San Mateo) 162-4, Deonte Littlejohn (Acalanes) 156-3, Zach Bruce (California) 154-0, Bryant Angel (Mission) 139-11
GIRLS
100 meters: 1. Journey Cole (Redondo) 11.36
Metro qualifiers: Ellie McCuskey-Hay (St. Ignatius) 11.78; Amirat Temi Aganju (Pittsburg) 11.78; London Shedd (Liberty) 11.90, Julia Bayon (Redwood) 11.98, Avery Hui-Bytof (St. Ignatius) 12.36, Alicia Choy (Lowell) 12.56
200 meters: 1. Keelan Wright (Chaparral) 23.21
Metro qualifiers: McCuskey-Hay (St. Ignatius) 24.06, Bayon (Redwood) 24.63, Hannah Rutherford (Mountain View) 24.72, Shedd (Liberty) 24.78, Isabella Moriyama (Monte Vista) 24.90
400 meters: 1. Clara Adams (North Salinas) 53.23
Metro qualifiers: Rutherford (Mountain View) 53.99, Madison Kohli (Los Gatos) 55.35, Eden Enoru (Heritage) 57.19, Moriyama (Monte Vista) 57.54
800 meters: 1. Makenna Herbst (Carlsbad) 2:03.30
Metro qualifiers: Sabrina Zanetto (St. Francis) 2:09.79, Josie Hill (Technology) 2:10.16, Lily Symon (Los Altos) 2:10.29, Hailey Sellers (Branson) 2:12.25, Ava Padilla (Monte Vista) 2:12.80, Chloe Leduc (Oakland Tech) 2:20.14
1,600 meters: 1. Chiara Dailey (La Jolla) 4:43.57
Metro qualifiers: Hanne Thomsen (Montgomery) 4:47.26, Kinga Czajkowska (Palo Alto) 4:47.75, Amaya Bharadwaj (Palo Alto) 4:49.63, Farah Allen (Branson) 4:50.49, Ani Stieg (Archie Williams) 4:51.12, Anna Salter (Crystal Springs Uplands) 4:56.63, Leduc (Oakland Tech) 5:13.63
3,200 meters: 1. Rylee Blade (Santiago) 10:11.38
Metro qualifiers: Thomsen (Montgomery) 10:19.56, Amrie Lacefield (Montgomery) 10:25.52, Lily Montilla (Las Lomas) 10:29.01, Veronica Taira (Menlo School) 10:48.53, Brooke Oliveira (Castilleja) 10:48.96, Maya Eisenberg (Mountain View) 10:52.01, Leduc (Oakland Tech) 11:59.55.
110 high hurdles: 1. Anisa Bowen-Fontenot (San Diego) 13.38
Metro qualifiers: Emma San (Dublin) 14.59, Hughes (Los Altos) 14.64, Tatum Trucks (Carondelet) 14.73, Hope Diekmann (San Ramon Valley) 14.76, Shiloh Haliburton-Rudy (Mitty) 15.04, Sara Nordlund (Menlo-Atherton) 15.19
300 hurdles: 1. Morgan Herbst (Carlsbad) 39.95
Metro qualifiers: Janelle Wanliss (Santa Rosa) 43.74, Haliburton-Rudy (Mitty) 44.23, Nordlund (Menlo-Atherton) 44.57, Soleil Warner (Bay School) 45.11, Kiana Chen (Carlmont) 45.17, Savannah Sawyer (Ygnacio Valley) 45.36
4x100 relay: 1. Long Beach Poly 45.94
Metro qualifiers: Pittsburg 46.98, Mitty 47.51, Valley Christian 47.56, St. Mary's 47.62, Los Gatos 47.81, Redwood 48.50, Lowell 50.45
4x400 relay: Long Beach Wilson 3:43.71
Metro qualifiers: Los Gatos 3:51.74, Pittsburg 3:53.33, St. Francis 3:53.80, Dublin 3:55.54, Sacred Heart Cathedral 3:56.12, Clayton Valley 3:57.59
4x800 relay: 1. Claremont 8:59.39
Metro qualifiers: Palo Alto 9:11.71, Monte Vista 9:13.96, Branson 9:14.07, St. Francis 9:16.64
High Jump: 1T. Riley McMullen (San Ramon Valley), Jasleen Gandhoke (St. Francis-Sacramento), all 5-6
Other metro qualifiers: Rachael Osicka (California) 5-5, Kaitlyn Schuh (San Mateo) 5-4, Lelani Laruelle (Monta Vista) 5-4
Pole Vault: 1. Paige Echsner (Del Norte-San Diego) 13-5
Metro qualifiers: Olivia Miles (University) 12-0, Avery Boyse (Burlingame) 11-9, Katherine Cueva (Menlo-Atherton) 11-3, Kaitlyn Hancock (Washington-Fremont) 10-11, Miranda Howeth (Dublin) 10-11, Alexa Bernard (Lowell) 10-0
Long Jump: 1. Amaya Estes (Canyon Crest Academy) 19-6.
Metro qualifiers: Kira Gant Hatcher (St. Mary's) 19-4¾, Annalise Horn (Redwood) 19-0, McCuskey-Hay (St. Ignatius) 18-6, Clara Fan (Monta Vista) 18-5½, Idara Essien (Castro Valley) 18-2, Jolee Chan (Lincoln) 16-7¼
Other metro qualifiers: Santia Ali (Clayton Valley) 39-11, Corinne Jones (St. Mary's) 39-5½, Hughes (Los Altos) 39-0, Amaya DeFlorimonte (Bishop O'Dowd) 38-7, Sophie Schwarz (Westmont) 38-1½, Fan (Monta Vista) 38-1½, Daia Sanders (Bishop O'Dowd) 37-11, Horn (Redwood) 37-9¾, Lanai Mitchell (Bishop O'Dowd) 37-7½, Brooklyn Pitigoi-Aron (Valley Christian) 37-6¾
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- Chicago Tribune
Northern Kentucky-bound Devlin Biggs makes huge plays as Marist rolls past Mount Carmel. ‘Variety and versatility.'
Not only can Devlin Biggs be a menace to opponents, he can be pretty troublesome for his Marist teammates, too. The senior outside hitter takes practices as seriously as he does matches. He doesn't ease up on anyone, according to teammate Nathen Toth. 'He's a very physical player,' Toth said of Biggs. 'It's great to have him on our side. 'If you go up against him in practice, he'll make your forearms hurt a little bit.' Biggs, Toth and the rest of the defending state champion RedHawks have been putting a big hurt on all of their opponents during the postseason. That includes Tuesday's 25-9, 25-13 win over Mount Carmel in the De La Salle Sectional final in Chicago. It's the seventh sectional title for Marist, which is seeking its fifth state championship. The MIT-bound Toth tallied 10 kills, three aces and five dig for Marist (36-2). Biggs added seven kills, while Griffin McElroy chipped in with five kills and two blocks. Rorey Donnelly made eight digs and Jacob Finley totaled 15 assists against the Caravan (17-11). Biggs, for one, has been a bright spot all season long for the RedHawks. 'He was really excited to step into a bigger role this year,' Marist coach Jordan Vidovic said. 'All things considered, he's just another perfect example of the senior class, how they go about it every day during the season and how they try to get better even when things are going well. 'And he's added a lot. He has more than just a power game. He's added variety and versatility, and that's big for us.' Marist takes on Lake Park (28-11) at 1 p.m. Friday in the state quarterfinals at Hoffman Estates. The Lancers beat Hersey 23-25, 25-17, 25-13 to win the Schaumburg Sectional. Biggs, a Northern Kentucky recruit, never imagined he would be a 6-foot-3 force for Marist, ranked second in the nation by the USA Today/American Volleyball Coaches Association. He was a 5-3 libero in seventh grade and wasn't really living up to his last name. But by the time he was a freshman, he grew to 6-1 and added two more inches after that. The progress is all recorded in pencil on a kitchen wall at his house. 'I had a massive growth spurt and after that, I started taking volleyball seriously,' Biggs said. 'I put in hours and hours of practice. I knew I was going to grow, but I didn't think I would be this tall.' While Biggs was getting some playing time here and there the last two seasons, he's really making his mark this spring as a senior. 'This is his first taste of being a high-impact option,' Vidovic said. 'He's really excited about the game aspect.' Biggs will have an interesting challenge ahead in college. Northern Kentucky will play its first season in 2026 under coach Jim Palilonis, who played on Marist's first team in 1992 and coached at St. Rita. Palilonis took an interest in Biggs early on. 'I've known him since seventh or eighth grade,' Briggs said of Palilonis. 'He coached at Purdue Fort Wayne and he recruited me for there. 'Then he ended up switching to Northern Kentucky and he recruited me there. It's brand-new team and he's bringing in five guys from Illinois.' That list includes Lincoln-Way West's Drew Kregul. No matter what happens this weekend, however, Briggs' high school career will be coming to an end. He said he will miss his teammates. 'The 10 seniors are 10 of my best friends,' Biggs said. 'Outside of volleyball, we're hanging out all of the time. They make practices so fun. 'This season is so sick. Playing with this team is so much fun, and we've been able to have fun and still be serious.'
