Rylee Bowen wins 2k Steeplechase at Texas Relays

Results:
http://live.milesplit.com/2016/03-30-TexasRelays/Web/Track.php?EN=36&RN=1&D=2

The time is a new Texas Relays record as well as fastest 2k Steeplechase for HSers so far this season.

San Lorenzo Valley Coaching Opening

San Lorenzo Valley High School: Is looking for an experienced Head Cross Country and Track & Field Coach, starting in the fall of 2016. We are seeking someone with a passion to learn and teach an already established successful program. This will be a paid position with a full stipend. Interested candidates should contact Athletic Director Mark Mercer (email) mmercer@slvusd.ord, Principle Karen Van Putten (email) Kvanputten@slvusd.org, Coach Rob Collins Robjcollins66@gmail.com.

Stanford Track and Field Invitational Preview

Later this week, I will post a preview of the high school events at the upcoming Stanford Invitational this weekend. For now, here is all the pertinent information.

Stanford Invitational Schedule
Stanford Invitational High School Accepted Entries
Stanford Invitational High School Information

One of my contentions with the Stanford Invitational is that the best competitors don't always end up in the same heats due to the entry times. I can only hope that that fastest runners will race each other but keep in mind that some of the faster times/performances may come out of the "slower" heats. For now, who are the favorites in the running events? What teams are going to win the relay races (400, 1600 and DMR)? What is going to be the most competitive event? 

Rylee Bowen's victory at APU Meet of Champions in Invitational Mile

Also boys mile won by Connor Dunne in 4:04.59

Northern California Weekend Track and Field results

Avis Kelley Live Results (at Gilroy HS)
Firebird Relays Live Results (at Fremont HS)
Bay Area Relays Live Results (At Foothill HS)
Oakland Relays Results (At Chabot College) NEW
APU Distance Meet of Champions Results (Azusa Pacific) NEW
Serra's Throwers Meet Results (At CSM) NEW

California Track and Field leaders

Below are the wind legal state meet leaders. There are some indoor marks that are superior to marks below but those will not count for outdoor rankings. NorCal leaders are noted in bold. UPDATED!

Boys
100 - Zach Shinnick Damien (SS) 10.53
200 - Michael Norman Vista Murrieta (SS) 20.41
400 - Christopher Wilcox Eleanor Roosevelt (SS) 47.97
800 - Austin Tamagno Brea Olinda (SS) 1:52.06
1600 - Connor Dunne San Clemente (SS) 4:10.72
3200 - Cooper Teare St. Joseph Notre Dame (NCS) 8:56.07
110m Hurdles - Koty Burton La Quinta (SS) 14.08
300m Hurdles - Jonathan Harvey De La Salle (NCS) 37.42
400m Relay - Notre Dame Sherman Oaks (SS) 41.58
1600m Relay - Notre Dame Sherman Oaks (SS) 3:17.57

Long Jump - Lawrence White Ridgeview (CS) 24'9.5"
Triple Jump - Dennis Hicks Liberty Bakersfield (CS) 49'3.25"
High Jump - Sean Lee Trabuco Hills (SS) 7'0.25"
Pole Vault - Jett Gordon Marina (SS) 16'9"
Shot Put - Bronson Osborn Esparanza (SS) 70'4.5"
Discus - Jacob Wilson Buchanan (CS) 194'1"

Girls
100 - Ariyonna Augustine Long Beach Poly (SS) 11.71
200 - Zaria Francis Rio Mesa (SS) 24.30
400 - Kaelin Roberts Carson (SS) 54.33
800 - Cassie Durgy Huntington Beach (SS) 2:12.12
1600 - Gillian Meeks Gunn (CCS) 4:55.29
3200 - Kristen Leung Lowell (SF) 10:33.71
110m Hurdles - Tara Davis Agoura (SS) 13.85
300m Hurdles - Jurnee Woodward Vacaville (SJS) 42.59
400m Relay - Long Beach Poly (SS) 47.40
1600m Relay - Buchanan (CS) 3:52.57

Long Jump - Rhesa Foster Clovis North (CS) 20'2.5"
Triple Jump - Ty Wallace Liberty (CS) 38'6"
High Jump - Hannah Hanson Academy for Academic (SS) 5'8"
Pole Vault - Rachel Baxter Canyon Anaheim (SS) 13'10"
Shot Put - Elana Bruckner Valley Christian SJ (CCS) 52'6"
Discus - Elana Bruckner Valley Christian SJ (CCS) 181'1"

NorCal Report: Week 4 Highlights, Looking Ahead to Week 5

http://ca.milesplit.com/articles/178421-norcal-report-week-4-highlights-looking-ahead-to-week-5

Check out highlights from last week that included 4 new national leaders. The meets coming up this weekend are also listed as we move one week closer to the THE meet in Northern California, the Stanford Invitational.

Stanford Invitational Accepted Entries

http://www.rtspt.com/events/stanford/invite2016/accepted_hs.htm

2015 Stanford Invitational Results LINK

What will be the most competitive event at this year's Stanford Track and Field Invitational?

BCL West #2 Results at City College San Francisco (3/22/16)

http://www.rtspt.com/events/cif/2016Meets/bcl2/compiled.htm

Track and Field newspaper coverage

Track star Cooper Teare notches top national time
Armijo’s Grijalva sets new city 3,200 record (also includes Lance Invitational coverage at Cordova HS)

More Dublin Distance Fiesta Videos (Thanks to Jesuit Track)

Forward focus for Santa Rosa High School runner Aimee Holland

This past Saturday at the Dublin Distance Fiesta, Santa Rosa HS senior, Aimee Holland, won the fastest section of the girls' 800m. going wire to wire. A video of the race can be viewed below.

The article link below was originally posted on January 23rd in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat detailing Aimee's road that she has taken to get to this point. You should definitely take the time to read this today.

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/sports/5074179-181/benefield-forward-focus-for-santa?artslide=0

Mt. Pleasant track coach charged with 10 felonies in sex with students case

SAN JOSE -- Prosecutors have charged a recent Mt. Pleasant High School assistant track coach on allegations he had sex with two students who attend his alma mater, marking a school district's second such case in as many months.

Enoch Erbert Garcia, 21, of San Jose, was arraigned Friday in a San Jose courtroom where he answered to 10 felony counts covering sex acts with minors involving two students who are now 17 and 14.

You can read the rest of this article at this LINK.

Catching up with Dublin Distance Fiesta 3200m winner, Cooper Teare

1) What was your plan going into the race? Did you have a time in mind or were you just focusing on a certain place?
Going into the race, I was really just running for place, but I definitely had 9 minutes in the back head, knowing that Michael Vernau was going to be there.

2) Where you surprised how the race went out during the first lap?
I talked to Michael before the race and he said that he didn’t want to take it from the gun so I wasn’t too surprised that we went out a little bit slow. I knew we could make it up later in the race.

3) Michael Vernau took over pacing duties during the 2nd lap and three runners broke away from the main pack. Did you know who was behind you at that point?
When he took the lead, my goal was just to go with him and I wasn’t too concerned with who was behind me but I did hear that Luis (Grijalva) was right there.

4) As the race progressed, did you think about taking over at any point or did you want to wait until the last lap?
The only time I thought about leading was 200m into the race but after Michael took over, I just sat on him and let him do most of the hard work until the bell lap.

5) Heading into the last lap, you and Vernau were shoulder to shoulder. Did you glance at the clock to see what it would take for a sub 9 final time or were you focused on the victory?
Definitely, I saw we were around 7:55 and that was exactly where I was hoping to be. I looked over and my coach told me to hammer the last 400 and I was very confident sub 9 was within reach.

6) When did you make your move to the lead and at one point did you realize the race was yours?
I took the lead right around 400 meters to go and started to really push it and on the back stretch. I fell off the pace a little bit at that point and Michael caught up so that was when I really started to kick. I glanced back with about 50 meters to go and saw that I had it locked up.

7) Going back to your CA state XC victory over Jack Van Scoter, do you feel a race like that gives you more confidence at the end of races now?
That race definitely boosted my confident, but after what happened at Footlocker West I realized that I couldn’t just rely on my kick.

8) What have been some of the workouts that you have done leading to this race?
I haven’t really gotten into hard of workouts yet. I mostly have been doing longer workouts at slower paces such as 7x1000, rather than a lot of speed work.

9) What is the next big race in the calendar?
My next big race will be the 2 mile at Arcadia.

Thank you very much Cooper! AJC

Northern California Track and Field Invitational results

Dublin Distance Fiesta Results (NEW)
I will be at the meet and will post updates on my twitter account @CCExpress. I will also post as many videos as I can on Instagram which you can find @albertjcaruana. I will use #dublindistancefiesta for both.

San Leandro Invitational Results (Unofficial)

De Anza/Cupertino Invitational Live Results LINK

Soquel Invite Results (NEW)

North Salinas Frosh Focus Results (NEW)

Sheldon Husky Invitational Live Results LINK

Other meet results will be posted as soon as I receive them. Any results or result links can be sent to albertjcaruana@gmail.com.

During the week
BCL West #1 Results at Kezar Stadium

Dublin Distance Fiesta sombrero heat photos thanks to Thomas Benjamin

Dublin Distance Fiesta Sombrero 3200 for boys (New national leader for Cooper Teare)

Catching up with San Luis Obispo junior, Callum Bolger

Last Saturday, SLO's junior, Callum Bolger, ran the fastest 3200m in the nation recording a time of 8:57.88 at the Atascadero Invitational. That time may be within reach this weekend at the Dublin Distance Fiesta with many of the top 3200m. runners in Northern California racing each other for the opportunity to compete at the Arcadia Invitational.

You can check out my interview with Bolger at this LINK.

As a reminder, here is the preview of the Dublin Distance Fiesta thanks to Dublin distance coach, Patrick Kleinow:
http://ca.milesplit.com/articles/177927-dublin-distance-fiesta-meet-preview

XC job opening at St. Francis, Mt. View

St. Francis High School is looking for an assistant girls Cross Country coach for the Fall of 2016. The ability to run with the athletes is a necessity. There are teaching positions possible at this time. There is also a stipend for the coaching position. If you are interested, please contact A. D. Michael Pilawski at michaelpilawski@sfhs.com or 650-968-1213 ext 245.

Dublin Distance Fiesta Meet Preview

http://ca.milesplit.com/articles/177927-dublin-distance-fiesta-meet-preview

Former University HS runner Bridget Blum leads Division 3 in 5k

Bridget Blum (Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Collegiate) PR'ed by 21 seconds to record a personal best 16:53.75 at the Occidental Distance Carnival. That time currently leads all Division 3 athletes in the 5k. Blum was a 2012 University HS (SF) graduate.

Dublin Distance Fiesta

2016 Time Schedule
Heat Sheets (NEW)

A record 86 schools and 1990 athletes will compete at this year's version which both shatter previous bests. 

A preview of the meet will be posted later. For now, let's get the conversation started. What will be the most competitive event? Which of the following meet records will go down?

Girls 1600-Cassie Land Sonora 5:06.01
Boys 1600-Erik Olson Novato 4:17.28
Girls 800-Kendall Derry Bella Vista 2:12.84
Boys 800-Sebastian Sam Oak Grove 1:54.21
Girls 3200-Brighie Leach Campolindo 10:41.59
Boys 3200-Steven Sum Saratoga 9:08.56
Girls Distance Medley-Bella Vista 12:14.03
Boys Distance Medley-Bellarmine 10:29.89

Northern California Track and Field Invitational Results

High School
San Rafael Twilight Relays Overall Results (NEW)
Randy Sturgeon Invitational Results (NEW)
Welton "Moe" Moore Relays Results (NEW)
Mark Macres Invitational Results (NEW)
Merced County Track & Field Championship Results (NEW)
Marsh Creek Invitational Results (NEW)
Windsor Relays Results (NEW)
Wildcat Relays Results (NEW)
K-Bell Invitational Live Results (finish of boys varsity 1600m. below)

TKA Distance Carnival Live Results
San Rafael Twilight Relays Heat Sheets Time Schedule (NEW) results posted Sunday

New Balance Nationals Indoors
50'8" for Elena Bruckner of Valley Christian SJ (2nd from left)

Darius Carbin Mt. Pleasant 7'1.75" for the win

College
Aggie Open

Darius Carbin after winning high jump | New Balance Nationals Indoor

Darius Carbin after winning high jump | New Balance Nationals Indoor: 7'1.75" for the Mt. Pleasant HS (CCS) senior.

New Balance Nationals Live Online

http://live.nbnationals.com.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/live.html (Currently live through Sunday)

NorCal competitors include Elena Bruckner, Darius Carbin and Rylee Bowen. If you know of other NorCal athletes competing at this meet, please add their name in the comment section below.

The 2-day Redondo Invitational is taking place this weekend with many top marks already posted last night including a state leading 9:09.75 by Flintridge Prep senior, Jack Van Scoter. The Woodward sisters (Jurnee and Jaxin) from Vacaville HS will compete today with Jurnee doing both hurdles and Jaxin in both 1600 and 3200. Elk Grove HS (SJS) is also scheduled to compete.

NorCal Report: Week 2 Highlights, Looking Ahead to Week 3

NorCal Report: Week 2 Highlights, Looking Ahead to Week 3

Del Oro senior pole vaulter Jacob Bowler clears 16'8" on Wednesday

Big time vault for one of the top vaulters in the state of California. The photo to the right is courtesy of Mary Ann Magnant of ca.milesplit.com from '15 Arcadia Invite. Bowler now has the 7th best mark in SJS history and will be one of the favorites to win the pole vault at the California State Meet this year. We are only in week 2 and have had some awesome performances already including Mr. Bowler's pole vault effort which is not only the #1 mark in CA but the entire nation. Video below is courtesy of his dad.

Here are the top marks in the SJS section thanks to the Bella Vista Track and Field website.

Boys Pole Vault
Rank	Name	School	Height	Year	(Best NFHS Mark)
1.	Scott Roth	Granite Bay	17-05.00	2006	(17-04.00)
2.	Ryan Shuler	Granite Bay	17-04.00	2006
3.	Blair Wallingford	Roseville	17-01.00	2008	(16-07.00)
3.	Tye Harvey	Sonora	17-01.00	1993
5.	Erik Rasmussen	Johansen	17-00.00	1997
5.	Mike Landers	Golden Valley	17-00.00	2002

Coming up...

A report highlighting from this past weekend's top performances. If you have performances that should be included in the report, feel free to add them to the comment section below. I will also preview some of the meets coming up this weekend.

I am also working on a couple of interviews. As always, if you have any athletes or coaches or other people that you would like to see interviewed, add their names in the comment section below.

Nathan Esparza's NCS record shot put attempt

https://www.instagram.com/p/BCl8gXIt5MA/ (video of his record setting throw on instagram)

Now that the former shot put record of Santa Rosa's Dennis DeSoto (63'10.5") has been surpassed, you may be wondering what is the oldest NCS record still standing. For the boys, the oldest records date back to 1974 when Richard Kimball (not the fugitive) of De La Salle HS ran 4:01.0 and 8:43.5 for 1600 and 3200 respectively (both teams converted from mile and 2 mile). In 1974, Darrell Elder of Redwood set the NCS mark in the discus at 194'2" which still stands. 

On the girls side, the oldest record dates back to 1978 and it belongs to Cheri Williams of Livermore HS. She ran the 2 mile back then but her time converts to 10:06.3 in the 3200. 

It will be interesting to see if any other NCS records will be set this year aside from Nathan surpassing his current mark throughout the season.

Dublin Distance Fiesta T-Shirts (you pick the color)

What color t-shirt would you like to win at the 2016 Dublin Distance Fiesta? Go to that link and click the link at the top which will take you to a google doc where you can pick the color for this year's shirts.

Northern California weekend results

I will post the results as soon as I get them. If you have any photos or video from today's meet, send them or the links to albertjcaruana@gmail.com.

High School
Mt. Pleasant Relays results
Watsonville Winter Time Trial Results
Dan Gabor Invitational Results
Sunset Invitational Results
Pitman Distance Wars Results
Sacramento State Classic Results
Willow Glen Invitational Results (NEW)
Big Cat Invitational Results (NEW)

College
Cal Opener Results

Big Cat Article in Press Democrat (very refreshing for a local paper that covers Track and Field)

Feel free to share any highlights from other meets today in the comment section below.

Michael Vernau's 9:11.36 for 3200m

Some scenes from yesterday's Dan Gabor Invitational

New NCS record in boys shot put

Nathan Esparza of Amador Valley at 65'3.5" at the Dan Gabor Invitational yesterday. Photo to the left is from a winter event thanks to Amador Valley HS. 

Here is more information in regards to Dennis DeSoto thanks to Jim Crowhurst at this LINK.

What other NCS records are on the line this current season?

NorCal Report: Week 1 Highlights, Looking Ahead to Week 2

You can check that report as well as the upcoming meets this weekend at this LINK. The report includes the heat sheets for the Mt. Pleasant Relays, Willow Glen Invitational and Dan Gabor Invitational. Photo above is Vacaville junior hurdler Jurnee Woodward by Kirby Lee from last year's CA state Track and Field meet. Woodward was a double winner at the Skyline Invitational this past Saturday.

This will be a weekly post that will highlight all the weekend performances as well as the top dual meet moments during the week. If you have any performances and/or athletes that you think deserve to be mentioned, please send their marks to me at albertjcaruana@gmail.com. Same goes for photos and videos. The goal here is to highlight athletes in Northern California so any help I can get from all of you out there is greatly appreciated. 

Reminder also to all meet directors and/or coaches/parents to send results or results links to albertjcaruana@gmail.com.

San Lorenzo Valley HS runner saves woman from drowning at Davenport Landing

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/article/20160302/NEWS/160309920 (Meck is also an outstanding runners with PRs of 2:20.10, 5:01.47 and 11:17.10. She also made the all-NorCal honorable mention team in Cross Country)

Trabuco Hills sophomore Sean Lee jumped 7'0.25" in dual meet yesterday

This is going to be an amazing year for the high jump in California with two NorCal high jumpers-Darius Carbin Mt. Pleasant (CCS) and Isaiah Holmes Oakmont (SJS)-in the mix for the state title. They have both cleared 7 feet and now will have company in the exclusive 7 foot club with sophomore Sean Lee of Trabuco Hills. The state record is also held by a former NorCal athlete, Maurice Crumby of Balboa HS who jumped 7'4.5" in 1983.

Skyline Invitational Videos

Boys 800 Fast Heat

Girls 800 Fast Heat

Boys 1600 Fast Heat

Girls 1600 Fast Heat

Steve Prefontaine recruitment letter from Oregon coach Bill Bowerman