23-04-2025
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
Top Bay Area track and field athletes expected to contend at the CIF State meet
The CIF State Track and Field Championships are just more than a month away — May 30-31 at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Clovis.
Here are 10 Bay Area athletes to keep close tabs on as they move through league and section qualifying meets (all marks and rankings are according to
Kira Gant Hatcher (St. Mary's-Berkeley): The junior jumper should be a contender in both the long jump (19-5½) and the triple jump (39-6 ¾). She currently ranks fifth in the state in both events. As a sophomore she finished 10th at the state meet in the long jump (18-1).
Jaden Jefferson (De La Salle-Concord): The junior sprinter placed fourth last season at state in the 100 and this season has the sixth fastest (all conditions) mark (10.41 seconds). Jefferson, a running back and cornerback, has already committed to North Carolina to play football.
Cameron P. Jones (Bishop O'Dowd-Oakland) and Anthony Dean (De La Salle): Both have legitimate shots at winning the triple jump, a highly technical event that often goes to slight underdogs. Jones has the state's fifth-best mark (48-7) and Dean is just behind him (48-3½). The state leader is Camren Smith (49-11¼) of Quartz Hill (Los Angeles County).
Ellie McCuskey-Hay (St. Ignatius): The junior sprinter and jumper was the state-runnerup in the 100 as a freshman and has a legitimate shot to bring home three state medals. She has the fifth-best 100 mark (11.54), No. 7 in the 200 (23.90) and fourth-best long jump (19-7). It's a demanding triple, but McDuskey-Hay did just that at Saturday's Central Coast Section Top 8 Meet, winning the 100 (11.55), 200 (23.96) and long jump (18-9½), before pulling the Wildcats from well behind to place second in the 4x100 relay to Los Gatos. Both teams finished in 48.39.
Khaliq Muhammad (Pittsburg): The senior pole vaulter is tied for the top mark in California this season at 17-1. He finished second last season at 16-4 after recording a then-best of 16-9 at the 2024 Sacramento Meet of Champions.
Chronicle baseball, softball rankings
BASEBALL
Rk.
School
W-L
Pre.
1.
Granada
15-3
2
2.
De La Salle
12-3
3
3.
Serra
17-4
1
4.
Valley Christian
15-4-1
4
5.
St. Francis
15-4
5
6.
Casa Grande
15-3
8
7.
Petaluma
14-2
12
8.
Clayton Valley
14-3
9
9.
Pittsburg
15-2
10
10.
Foothill
14-4
11
11.
St. Ignatius
10-7-2
6
12.
Los Gatos
13-3
13
13.
Dublin
16-3
NR
14.
Heritage
13-4
14
15.
Cardinal Newman
9-8
7
SOFTBALL
Rk.
School
W-L
Pre.
1.
St. Francis
18-2
1
2.
Mitty
10-5-1
2
3.
Casa Grande
13-5-1
6
4.
Petaluma
12-5
5
5.
Valley Christian
15-4
4
6.
Livermore
12-6
3
7.
Notre Dame-Belmont
13-3-1
7
8.
Capuchino
10-4
NR
9.
Liberty
10-4
9
10.
Mills
12-3-1
NR
11.
California
11-5
10
12.
Castro Valley
12-3
11
13.
Logan
12-2-1
13
14.
Bishop O'Dowd
14-5
14
15.
San Marin
12-5
NR
Landon Pretre (Menlo School-Atherton): The senior was part of a record-breaking 3,000 at the Arcadia Invitational, finishing 12th in 8:18.52. Converted to a 3,200 that would have been 8:49.30, the top mark in the state this season. He was seventh last year at state in the 3,200.
Hannah Rutherford (Mountain View): The versatile senior speedstar has the state's No. 9 200 time (24.00) and seventh-best 400 (54.34). Last season, the Stanford commit was second at state in the 400 (53.70) and seventh in the 200 (24.06).
Aydon Stefanopoulos (Los Gatos): The senior has the state's No. 3 1,600 mark (4:06.62) and No. 6 3,200 (8:57.33).
Hanne Thomsen (Montgomery-Santa Rosa): Another Stanford commit, Thomsen is one of the state's most versatile and accomplished runners, with the state's No. 2 time this season in the 3,200 (9:58.17) — just behind La Jolla junior Chiara Dailey (9:58.02) — and No. 6 in the 800 (2:09.04). She won the state's eight-lap event as a freshman and was the state runner-up last year in 9:59.81, after finishing fourth at state in the 1,600 as a sophomore (4:43.63).
Chad Works-Wright (El Cerrito): Only a sophomore, the sprinter has run 10.44 in the 100 and 21.34 in the 200. He also ran the second leg of the Gauchos' fourth-ranked 4x100 relay team that has gone a smoldering 40.87. Works-Wright, Michael Boyer, Jayln Smallwood and Gavin Thompson also have the state's No. 3 4x200 relay (1:24.88).
Others to watch: Dougherty Valley senior Arrin Sagiraju has the state's seventh-best 1,600 mark (4:08.70). … Fremont-Sunnyvalle senior Juan Gonzalez was also part of that crazy fast 3,000 at Arcadia, which converted to a 8:51.83 3,200, the second fastest in the state. … St. Ignatius senior hurdler Prince Babalola Buchango won the Stanford Invitational 110 hurdles in 14.10 and showed exceptional speed with bests of 10.70 and 21.37 in the sprints. … Serra senior Luke Lewis, a two-time CCS champion and Stanford commit, has the state's No. 2 shot put (60-9). … Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa sophomore Ashlin Mallon is the latest long-distance phenom from the Redwood Empire. She has the state's No. 5 1,500 (4:34.70) and the seventh-best mile (4:53.83). ... Soleil Warner, of tiny Bay School, has the state's No. 7 girls 300 hurdles time (42.29). … Mitty senior discus thrower Maya Ifo Desai is No. 4 at 154-4. … All-Metro girls basketball standout Dulcinea Vail, of Acalanes-Lafayette, could win the always wide-open high jump title. She currently has the state's seventh-best mark of 5-7¼.
