Lions improve to No. 3 nationally this year, with a lineup not consisting of any seniors, along with Harvard-Westlake earning third all-time victory at Arcadia in 1,600 sprint medley relay; Long Beach Wilson runs No. 2 effort in country in 800 sprint medley, with Bellarmine Prep boys taking over top spot in 4x1,600 

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor/Photos by Chuck Utash

ARCADIA — For all the great showcases of senior strength that contributed to national-leading relay marks Friday at the 53rd Arcadia Invitational, there was also a significant youth movement at Arcadia High that demonstrated the potential for certain schools to dominate particular events for many years to come.

JSerra relied on freshmen Georgia Jeanneret and Brooke O’Brien, sophomore Anastasia Snodgrass and junior Ashlee Gallegos to win the girls invitational 4x800-meter relay in impressive fashion, lowering their own state-leading mark and elevating to No. 3 in the country this year by clocking 9 minutes, 15.12 seconds.

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The Lions also ascended to the No. 2 program in Orange County history, trailing only the marks of 9:10.0 and 9:11.31 achieved in 2017 and 2019 by Mission Viejo, lineups also mentored by Chase Frazier, now the coach at JSerra.

Anaheim Canyon’s quartet of juniors Isabella Frisone and Emma Hadley, along with freshmen Heather Greenbaum and Makena Oliva, was second in 9:21.28. The Comanches rank No. 13 in the country this season and improved to the No. 5 all-time program in Orange County, trailing Mission Viejo, JSerra, Dana Hills and Los Alamitos, all of which have run under 9:20.0.

Harvard-Westlake, already with two of the five fastest performances in the girls invitational 1,600-meter sprint medley relay in meet history, highlighted by the record 3:56.34 in 2012, added another victory to its impressive Arcadia resume, with freshman Gisele Thompson, sophomore Alyssa Thompson and juniors Adrienne Usher and Daniela Quintero running 4:04.29 to pull away from Palos Verdes.

The Wolverines were nearly even with Palos Verdes when Alyssa Thompson gave the baton to Quintero and Anna Terrell passed to Claire Hardesty for the anchor leg. But Quintero produced a 2:15 split over the final 800 to secure a commanding victory over the Sea Kings (4:15.41) and propel Harvard-Westlake to No. 3 in the country this year.

Long Beach Wilson continued its impressive tradition in the girls invitational 800 sprint medley relay, with freshman Tarynn Maroney, along with sophomores Sadia Green and Aujane Luckey teaming up with senior Tyler Nettles to produce the No. 2 mark nationally this season by clocking 1:44.35.

It was the fastest time by any Wilson lineup since 2003 and gave the Bruins five performances in the top 20 in state history, more than any other program in the 800 sprint medley relay.

Long Beach Wilson captured another relay title Friday in the invitational boys 1,600 sprint medley, with sophomores Johnell Gray and Marcell Mitchell-Francis joining forces with juniors Leroy Crook and Saadite Green to run 3:33.77 for the No. 7 mark in the country this season.

Torrey Pines not only became the first San Diego Section program to prevail in the girls invitational 4x1,600 relay since La Costa Canyon in 2012, the Falcons did so with freshman Scarlett Taylor, sophomore Marissa Gaut and juniors Kiana Bourgeois and Annika Salz running 20:58.47.

St. Francis Sacramento edged Great Oak for second by a 21:08.08 to 21:08.71 margin. 

Bellarmine Prep, featuring a lineup of all seniors Daniel Vaca, Nolan Topper, Galen Topper and Colin Peattie, won the boys 4x1,600-meter relay in convincing fashion by running 17:28.37, the fastest time by any prep lineup this season.

Royal was second in 17:47.17, with Bellarmine Prep demonstrating its depth, as the school’s ‘B’ lineup finished fifth in 17:57.21.

Although the Upland boys set all-time marks for the meet and state in the 4x110-meter shuttle hurdle relay with a 57.75 effort, the Highlanders also enjoyed their own history in the girls 4x100 shuttle hurdle relay.

Upland’s Jordyn Grady, London Davis, Ajah Anderson and Cieanna Norman-Thomas clocked 1:00.24, becoming the first program in meet history to run under 1:00.50 three times. The Highlanders and Long Beach Poly are the only two schools to showcase that consistency all-time in California.

Although both Upland lineups were running only against the clock, the anchor leg of the boys invitational 4x800 provided one of the most thrilling head-to-head showdowns, with Buchanan’s Brenton Maddox holding off Great Oak’s Mateo Joseph by a 7:52.75 to 7:53.09 margin.

Buchanan, which lowered its program record by more than 10 seconds from its 2013, also had Bo Olsen, Austin Gillen and Sebastian McGehee-Adams on the lineup to elevate to No. 10 in the country this year. Great Oak, with Kyle Reden, Mason White and Austin Montez joining fellow senior Joseph, ascended to No. 11 nationally this season.

Arcadia authored its own fantastic finish in the boys invitational 800 sprint medley relay, with a senior-heavy lineup including Alan Zhao, William Chen, Gregory Taylor and Quinn Hettich rallying on the 400-meter leg to triumph in 1:34.33, edging El Toro (1:34.49) and Cathedral (1:34.64), which led entering the final lap.

Carson clocked 1:39.80 in the girls invitational 4x200 relay, with sophomores Reign Redmond and Samira Stevenson teaming up with seniors Kyla Blockett and Jailah Collins to prevail against JW North (1:40.01).

Cathedral had juniors Matthias Allison, Ekene Onwaeze and William Mullins join senior Steven Marks to emerge victorious in the boys invitational 4x200 relay in 1:27.92, the fastest time for any Phantoms’ quartet since 2016.

Los Alamitos swept both seeded 4x200 relays, with the girls running 1:44.96 for the No. 3 performance in program history and the boys clocking 1:30.78 for the fourth-fastest effort all-time for the Griffins.

In the girls seeded 3,200, Colony senior Amber Rios (10:50.73) surged ahead of Buchanan senior Morgan Hutchison (10:51.99) in the final 150 meters, as both athletes ran under the 11-minute mark for the first time, leading six athletes to achieve the feat.

Mateo Bianchi of Laguna Beach triumphed in the boys seeded 3,200 in 9:11.49, with Fabian del Villar of Fillmore improving by more than 13 seconds to take runner-up in 9:12.10.