Clara Adams breaks records at busy Southern

Clara Adams anticipated to win the 400-meter sprint Saturday in the Southern Section Masters Meet at Moorpark High. The Long Beach Wilson junior not only gained, she broke the part file, circling the monitor in 51.98 seconds.

“To be honest, I did not expect a 51 today … that was my end goal and I got it before state,” said Adams, who topped the earlier mark [set by Norco’s Shae Anderson in 2017] by one hundredth of a second. “It says a lot about my training and teammates who push me in practice every day. I’m ecstatic.”

Even better than breaking a part file is breaking a state file and Adams was smiling wider a number of hours later after she and teammates Brooke Blue, Brooklyn Fowler and Saniah Varnado did just that by clocking 3:33.83 in the 4×400 relay to obliterate the time of 3:35.49 set by Moore League rival Long Beach Poly in 2004. Rosary Academy was a distant second in 3:41.33.

“The 400 was our first race of the day, all of us ran it and we all qualified for state and that carries over to the rest of the day,” said Adams, who ran the third leg and widened the Bruins’ lead before handing the baton to Varnado for the anchor leg. “The state record is a bonus. We handled our business and now we have a week to prepare to go for the national record.”

Florida Montverde Academy owns the national file of 3:31.68, achieved at the 2024 New Balance Nationals Outdoor in Philadelphia, but Wilson’s foursome was content with the state file, at least for now.

“We already had a good lead when I got it but everyone was getting loud and I was pushing,” Varnado said. “I was thinking we could run in the high 3:30s. I’m proud of how well we did and hopefully we can do even bigger things at state.”

The CIF state monitor and subject championships are next weekend (prelims Friday and finals Saturday) at Buchanan High in Clovis and as common the Southern Section will likely be well-represented as quite a few athletes met the qualifying requirements.

After three-peating in the 1,600 and 800 one week before at the Southern Section finals, Corona Santiago senior Braelyn Combe gained both occasions again Saturday, successful the 1,600 in 4:43.03, effectively off her 4:41.36 effort at the part finals but still more than two seconds sooner than runner-up Reese Holley of JSerra. She gained the 800 Saturday by about the same margin in 2:06.04.

Calabasas dominated at the part finals with 4 runners breaking the Division 3 file in the 100. They have been back at it Saturday as last week’s champion Malia Rainey ran 11.33 to win the first heat. Devyn Sproles equaled Rainey’s 11.41 one week before to win the second heat and take second general. Marley Scoggins (11.46) was third and Coyotes teammate Olivia Kirk (11.62) was fifth.

Rosary’s 4×100 relay established itself as the favourite at state finals with a 44.79, more than a second sooner than runner-up Canyon Country Canyon. The Royals’ foursome of Tra’via Flournoy, Justine Wilson, Pfeiffer Lee and Maliyah Collins is hoping to top the state-record (44.23) it set at Arcadia in April when it heads north for the state meet.

“It wasn’t a [personal record] but it was faster than last week,” said sophomore Collins, who ran the anchor leg. “This was a tuneup. Our handoffs were clean and we got the baton around the track. That was our main focus.”

West Ranch junior Tamea Crear (23.50), Kirk (23.54) and Rosary’s Wilson (23.61) and Collins (23.69) took the top 4 spots in the 200 meters.

San Jacinto Valley Academy sophomore Kaaliyah Lacy clocked 13.44 to win the 100 hurdles, one hundredth off her state-leading time that earned her the Division 4 part title one week in the past. Varnado gained the 300 hurdles in 41.53.

Irvine senior and Duke commit Summer Wilson, a three-time Southern Section champion in the three,200, ran a new-season best (10:14.45) and shaved almost 10 seconds off her time in the Division 2 sectional race.

Irvine’s Summer Wilson wins the 3200 meters in 10:14.45 at the Masters Meet after inserting third last yr.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

After sweeping the all three jumps occasions at the Division 3 part finals, Jurupa Valley senior AB Hernandez did the same Saturday, successful the long soar in 20 ft, 0.75 inches, the triple soar in 40-7 and the high soar in 5-8.

Los Alamitos senior Cassidy Nguyen cleared 13-2 to win the pole vault while Aliso Niguel was first in the discus (165-10) and shot put (49-0) after successful the Division I part crown in both last week.

Woodbridge junior Aidan Antonio gained the three,200 boys race in 8:55.30 while Sterling White of Oaks Christian turned the first freshman in state historical past to break 9 minutes, ending seventh in 8:59.26 to break the ninth-grade file of 9:01.1 set by Eric Hulst of Laguna Beach in 1973.

Riverside King’s Maximo Zavaleta (4:06.30) and Antonio (4:06.54) battled all the best way to the end line to declare the top two spots in the 1,600.

Having gained the Division 3 boys title in 38.39 one week earlier, Servite’s 4×100 relay gained Saturday’s race in 40.17, adopted by Moorpark (40.60) and Loyola (40.83).

“I like the first leg and coming out of the blocks because I get to see my teammates win,” said Jace Wells, whose exchange to Jorden Wells was easy. Kamil Pelovello and Benjamin Harris ran the last two legs. The foursome set the state file (39.70) at Arcadia.

Harris gained the 100 in a wind-aided 10.17 (one hundredth sooner than his time in the Division 3 part finals last week), then gained the 200 in 20.80 (31 hundredths slower than his successful time a week in the past).

“It’s what I expected — I’m proud of it,” Harris said of his 100 time. “I just wanted to execute, win my race and move on. There’s more work to be done.”

Loyola’s Ejam Yohannes beats Servite’s Jaelen Hunter by 11 hundredths of a second in the 400-meter sprint.

(Steve Galluzzo / For the Times)

In the most thrilling end of the day, Loyola senior Ejam Yohannes edged Servite sophomore Jaelen Hunter by 11 hundredths of a second in 46.40 in the 400 meters, one week after Hunter ran 46.36 to set a part Division 3 file. Johannes cut three tenths off his Division I successful time last week.

Upland (3:18.54) gained the boys 4×400 and Gardena Serra (3:18.88) was second. Crean Lutheran’s Noah Richardson cleared 15-6 to win the pole vault while Redondo Union’s Bo Ausmus gained the discus with a throw of 185-7 and the shot put with a mark of 61-9.

Having gained the Southern Section Division 3 high soar crown in a lifetime best and state-leading 7-01 seven days earlier, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame senior JJ Harel still had the best top Saturday at 6-10, tied with Nathaniel Baca but successful on fewer misses. Harel goals to repeat as state champion.

Moorpark’s Davis Benson was first in the long soar Saturday at 22-11.75 (he gained the Division 3 part crown with a leap of 23-5 last week), adopted by Dane Malloy (22-10.5) and Harel (22-9.25). Paloma Valley senior Arthur Stringer gained the triple soar in 47-4.5.

Long Beach Poly’s Lynnox Newton gained the 110 high hurdles in 13.69, Etiwanda’s Brandon Andrade (13.85) was second and Benson (13.94) third. Andrade (37.01) was second behind Palm Desert’s Kingston Penny (36.86) in the 300 hurdles.