Colin Sahlman (8:43.42) holds off Lex Young (8:43.71), who sets sophomore class national record, with Leo Young (8:55.82) and Daniel Appleford (8:56.77) part of first high school lineup to have four athletes run under 9 minutes in same race, which produces 15 marks overall; Jadyn Marshall sweeps hurdles in 13.76/36.77

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor/Photos by Chuck Utash

ARCADIA — When a sophomore class national record by Lex Young wasn’t the lead storyline Saturday night for Newbury Park at the 53rd Arcadia Invitational, it provided another indication as to the levels of historical significance and excellence continuing to be achieved by the deepest collection of distance athletes on any team ever assembled at the high school level.

Newbury Park became the first team to have four athletes run under 9 minutes in the same race at either the 3,200-meter or 2-mile distance, placing the entire quartet in the top nine of the invitational race that produced 15 sub-9 performances by only California athletes at Arcadia High.

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With junior Colin Sahlman and teammate Lex Young leading the charge, Newbury Park also added sophomore Leo Young and junior Daniel Appleford to its growing list of sub-9 competitors, making it six for the Panthers in the past three years, including Nico Young and Jace Aschbrenner.

Sahlman prevailed in a national-leading 8:43.42, running the No. 7 time in meet history and elevating into the top 10 all-time in California.

Lex Young ran 8:43.71 to achieve the national sophomore mark, with his converted 2-mile effort of 8:46.75 well below the 8:49.46 performance achieved at the 2018 Brooks PR Invitational by Cole Sprout, a Valor Christian High of Colorado graduate and Stanford freshman.

Leo Young was sixth in 8:55.82, with Appleford ninth in 8:56.77, helping Newbury Park – which had already established a record by having five athletes run under 15 minutes Dec. 5 in a 5,000-meter track race in Arizona – surpass the success of the 2014 trio of Mikey Brannigan, Tim McGowan and Jack McGowan representing Northport High in New York at the New Balance Nationals Outdoor meet in the 2-mile final, along with the 1975 lineup at Hammond High in Indiana that was highlighted by Rudy Chapa, Tim Keough and Carey Pinkowski.

Ajani Salcido of Jesuit took third in 8:51.32, with teammate Braden King finishing 10th in 8:56.89, giving the program eight total athletes to eclipse the 9-minute barrier, more than any team in California history.

Bellarmine Prep teammates Nolan Topper (8:52.95) and Colin Peattie (8:56.73) followed their invitational 4x1,600 relay victory Friday by finishing fifth and eighth, joining Newbury Park as the only programs from the state to have multiple athletes run under 9 minutes in the same race at Arcadia, an achievement only previously accomplished by American Fork, Ogden and Springville from Utah.

Christopher Caudillo, a sophomore from Clovis, dropped more than 16 seconds from his performance April 24 on the same track at the Meet of Champions Distance Classic, finishing fourth in 8:51.98, after running 4:15.49 in the open section of the mile earlier in the day.

Joshua Schuld of Beckman also enjoyed a significant improvement, lowering his time from the March 27 race at the Sundown Track Series in Arizona by nearly 20 seconds to secure seventh in 8:56.34.

The most significant matchup outside the 3,200 came in the invitational 300-meter hurdles, with juniors Jadyn Marshall of St. Mary’s High in Stockton and Delaney Crawford of Upland – the two elite competitors in the state and among the top 10 in the country.

Crawford, who had already run 36.64 on April 20, held the lead at the final curve, but Marshall surged over the final two hurdles to prevail by a 36.77 to 36.95 margin, as the Upland standout stumbled across the finish line.

Marshall prevailed against another Upland athlete in the invitational 110-meter hurdles, running a state-leading 13.76 to hold off Kai Graves-Blanks (13.95) to achieve the sweep.

Downey senior Ugonna Ikejiofor built on his state lead in the invitational discus throw, surpassing 190 feet for the second time in less than a week. Following an effort of 190-1 (57.93m) on Wednesday against Gahr, Ikejiofor produced a third-round throw of 190-2 (57.96m) to become the first individual athlete in program history to win an invitational gold medal at Arcadia.

Ikejiofor, who had four throws beyond 183 feet in his series, also finished fifth in the invitational shot put at 50-8.50 (15.45m), an event won by state-leader Nick Godbehere of Shafter with a third-round mark of 59-1.75 (18.02m).

Jason Thompson of Harvard-Westlake produced a thrilling sixth-round showcase in the invitational triple jump to not only surpass his own program record, but take over the state lead.

Thompson trailed St. John Bosco junior Camryn O’Bannon, who had achieved a 46-9 (14.24m) effort to take the lead. But Thompson, who entered the competition with a top mark of 45-7 (13.89m), followed a 46-6 (14.17m) jump earlier in his series by rallying on his final attempt to secure the gold medal with a 47-2 (14.37m) performance.

Antonio Abrego of Golden Valley regained his position at the top of the state in the 800 meters, winning the invitational race in 1:51.33. Abrego clocked 1:52.05 at the same venue April 24 for the Meet of Champions Distance Classic, only to have John Lester of Amador Valley run 1:51.62 on May 1 at the West Coast Relays.

Patrick Ize-Iyamu, a junior at Chaminade, and Servite junior Max Thomas earned a split decision in their invitational 100- and 200-meter showdowns.

Ize-Iyamu produced a state-leading effort in the 100 with a wind-legal 10.47, as Thomas took second in 10.58. Thomas returned to win the 200 in a state-leading 21.37, with Ize-Iyamu finishing third in 21.51.

Jeremiah Walker, a junior at Fresno Central, won the invitational 400 in 47.58, then placed second in the 200 in 21.50.

Central also added a victory in the invitational long jump with Cameron Tarver, who was third in the invitational 100 in 10.72 and won the seeded 200 in 21.42, producing a wind-aided leap of 23-6 (7.16m).

Tarver also contributed to Central finishing second in the invitational 4x100 relay in 41.90.

Upland, which set the state record Friday in the 4x110-meter shuttle hurdle relay by clocking 57.75, also triumphed Saturday in the 4x100 in a state-leading 41.43.

Crawford, Graves-Blanks and Dequan January, who all ran on both victorious relays, were joined on the 4x100 by Jailen Burrell.

Long Beach Wilson prevailed against Cathedral and Upland in the invitational 4x400 relay.

Isaac Lewis, Leroy Crook, Phillip Jefferson and Marcell Mitchell-Francis ran a state-leading 3:17.74, with Cathedral placing second in 3:19.66, just ahead of Upland (3:19.72).

Great Oak added another invitational distance medley relay title to its legacy at Arcadia, with seniors Mateo Joseph, Kyle Reden and Austin Montez joined by junior Cameron Smith to run 10:09.66, second in the state and nationally behind only Jesuit, which ran 10:07.25 on April 17.

Newbury Park’s success wasn’t only limited to the 3,200, with sophomore Aaron Sahlman winning the invitational mile in 4:14.07, holding off Taylor Iden of Archbishop Mitty, as the senior clocked 4:14.94.

Kyle Lemoreux, a sophomore at College Park, won the rising stars mile in 4:20.41.

La Costa Canyon senior Garrett Brown, already the state pole vault leader with a San Diego Section record 17-1 (5.20m) clearance Thursday against Torrey Pines, secured the invitational victory by clearing 16-3 (5.05m). Brown, a Stanford signee, became the first San Diego vaulter to win the boys invitational competition at Arcadia since 2002.

Vista Murrieta senior Darius Hill cleared 6-9 (2.05m) on his third attempt to win the invitational high jump. Hill also took third in the invitational long jump at 22-10.75 (6.97m).