Barnett continues impressive streak of performances in 3,200 triumph, Chavez enjoys big breakthroughs in 800 and mile with pair of wins; JSerra follows strong 4x800 effort with national leader in DMR, as Gordon and Rigby both throw top marks in state, with Atkinson doubling up and Wright and Suarez also prevailing

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor/Photos by Chuck Utash

ARCADIA — The 53rd Arcadia Invitational wasn’t about just celebrating the distance dominance of one athlete named Mia.

It was also about appreciating the potential of another athlete with the same first name following two of the biggest performances of her prep career.

Mia Barnett, a senior at Crescenta Valley High and Virginia signee, was one of the most notable competitors Saturday night at Arcadia High, but she also found herself sharing the spotlight with rising junior talent Mia Chavez at Chino High.

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Barnett had aspirations of challenging the meet and California high school records in the girls invitational 3,200 meters and set an aggressive pace from the start by establishing as much as a 40-meter lead on the field, before producing the fifth-fastest time at the event, clocking 10 minutes, 1.18 seconds.

Barnett, who had already run 9:52.23 on April 17 at the Laguna Beach Distance Carnival, led 19 competitors under the 11-minute mark, including significant improvements from junior Sophia Nordenholz of Albany (10:05.91), Dalia Frias of Mira Costa (10:15.61), Hannah Fredericks of Saugus (10:21.54) and Sydney Sundgren of Buchanan (10:25.25).

Chavez enjoyed a unique day by securing victories in both the open and invitational sections, producing strong improvements in both races.

She lowered her mile time by more than 13 seconds to triumph in her open section in 4:55.72, a time that would have placed second in the invitational race at night.

But Chavez took full advantage of her opportunity in the invitational 800, relying on another strong finish over the final 200 meters to achieve a five-second drop and run 2:10.61 to hold off La Canada senior Ellaney Matarese (2:11.65) and JW North senior Makayla Browne (2:11.96).

Exactly 15 months earlier on the same Arcadia track, Chavez had placed second in the 1,500 and third in the 600 at the California Winter Outdoor Championships, but showcased entirely different levels of strength and speed Saturday.

The same could be said for the JSerra lineup of Anastasia Snodgrass, Hanna Barmettler, Ashlee Gallegos and Georgia Jeanneret in the invitational distance medley relay, as the Lions ran a nation-leading 11:54.43 to become the first girls program since Great Oak in 2016 to sweep the 4x800 and DMR in the same year at Arcadia.

Gallegos, Jeanneret and Snodgrass joined Brooke O’Brien in prevailing Friday in the 4x800 in 9:15.12 for the No. 3 performance in the country this season.

Despite competing in the open section, McClatchy of Sacramento ran 12:05.79, with sophomores Anna McNatt, Louisa McNatt and Olivia Johnson joining senior Julia Heckey to produce the No. 4 national performance this spring.

Audrey Suarez of Mayfield Senior, another athlete with several impressive career performances at Arcadia, finally secured her first victory at the meet by winning the invitational mile in 4:52.74. It marked the fastest time in the event for the Stanford signee since the 2019 adidas Boost Boston Games, as Suarez used the race as a dress rehearsal in preparation to compete against Barnett on May 15 in the high school mile at the Sound Running Track Meet in Irvine.

One of the most anticipated matchups in the sprint events came in the invitational 400 meters, with 2019 state champion Katriina Wright of University City squaring off against California leader Takiya Cenci of Clovis North.

Wright prevailed by a 54.24 to 54.84 margin, posting her fastest time since winning the state title two years ago. Cenci, who competed in four events, also took fourth in the invitational 200 in 24.67, in addition to helping Clovis North place third in the 4x400 relay (3:52.79) and eighth in the 4x100 (47.75).

The remaining invitational sprint events provided a glimpse of an exciting future in California, with sophomores Reign Redmond of Carson and Aujane Luckey of Long Beach Wilson both earning victories.

Redmond held off senior Aysha Shaheed of San Diego Madison by an 11.75 to 11.76 margin in the invitational 100, with Buchanan senior Lauren Fowler taking third in 11.80.

Luckey produced a state-leading 24.20 in the invitational 200, followed by Fowler (24.50) and Redmond (24.66).

St. Anthony senior Asjah Atkinson captured a pair of invitational gold medals, pulling away from San Diego High junior Charlize James (14.25) over the final three barriers to win the invitational 100-meter hurdles in a wind-legal 13.85 seconds for the top performance in the state this season.

Atkinson also won the invitational long jump with a wind-legal leap of 19-7.25 (5.97m) in a competition that didn’t include 2019 state champion Caelyn Harris of Upland, who only competed in the 4x100 relay.

Elise Miller, a senior at San Pasqual, took second to Atkinson in the long jump with a wind-aided 19-1 (5.81m) effort, but produced a personal-best 41-1 (12.52m) performance in the sixth round to secure the invitational triple jump victory.

A pair of state-leading marks came from the invitational throwing events, with Bakersfield Liberty senior and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo signee Bella Rigby achieving a personal-best 163-9 (49.91m) on her first attempt in the discus. Rigby also added a 163-6 (49.83m) in the fourth round of her series.

Hope Gordon, a junior at Notre Dame Sherman Oaks, saved her strongest effort for her final attempt, capturing the invitational shot put with a sixth-round effort of 45-7.25 (13.90m) to improve on her previous-best performance by more than a foot and secure the state lead.

Paige Sommers, a senior at Westlake High and a Duke signee, just missed her opportunity to become only the third female vaulter at Arcadia to achieve a 14-foot clearance, but she won the competition easily with a 13-9 (4.19m) clearance.

Rancho Bernardo senior Ashley Callahan, who cleared a lifetime-best 14 feet in a dual meet Wednesday against San Marcos, was second Saturday at 13-1 (3.98m). The 2019 state champion and San Diego State commit hadn’t competed against Sommers since June.

Long Beach Poly added to its tradition at the meet, as juniors Alyssa Perkins, Kennadi Reed, Anayah Wych and freshman Taylor Johnson ran a state-leading 47.06 to win the invitational 4x100 relay.

JW North secured a victory in the invitational 4x400 in 3:50.11, holding off Oaks Christian (3:51.51) and Clovis North (3:52.79). Makayla Browne, Mackenzie Browne, Idara Ibekwe and Raykiyat Olukoju emerged victorious for JW North, which entered the meet with a state-leading 3:48.35.

Cathedral Catholic sophomore Kapiolani Coleman won the invitational 300-meter hurdles in a lifetime-best 43.51 seconds, with Buchanan senior Alexa Dandridge clocking a personal-best 43.67 to place second. Coleman also won her open section in the 100 hurdles in 14.82, with Dandridge running 15.34.

Isabella Chilcutt, a junior at Bella Vista, prevailed against Meagan Humphries of Golden Valley and four other athletes in the invitational high jump by clearing 5-4 (1.62m) on her first opportunity.