By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

The 54th Arcadia Invitational is scheduled for Friday, April 8 and Saturday, April 9 at Arcadia High.

ARCADIA INVITATIONAL LIVE WEBCAST INFO

Here are 10 storylines involving male athletes to follow at one of the nation’s elite high school track and field competitions, which features athletes from 29 states and more than 600 schools:

The drive for five, and a national record

Newbury Park made history last year by becoming the first high school boys team to have four athletes run under 9 minutes in the same 3,200-meter race, leading 15 competitors to sub-9 efforts in a field that included only California competitors.

Even with athletes from Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas and Washington joining the invitational 3,200 field Saturday, Newbury Park will still be the center of attention, as Colin Sahlman, Aaron Sahlman, Leo Young, Lex Young and Daniel Appleford will all be pursuing sub-9 performances.

But after Colin Sahlman ran 8:33.32 and Leo Young clocked 8:39.52 on Feb. 19 at the Sundown Track Series meet at Azusa Pacific, the Panthers also have their sights set on even greater goals at Arcadia High.

Although Sahlman ran the fastest time in a 3,200 race in prep history, former Sandburg High of Illinois standout Lukas Verzbicas boasts the 2-mile national record of 8:29.46, achieved at the 2011 Prefontaine Classic.

The unofficial conversion for Verzbicas’ performance would be 8:26.51 for 3,200.

German Fernandez, a former Riverbank High standout and California state champion in track and cross country, clocked 8:34.40 at the 2008 Nike Outdoor Nationals in North Carolina. His unofficial 3,200 conversion would be 8:31.42, still slightly in front of Sahlman for the fastest performance by a California competitor.

Former Newbury Park star and Nike Cross Nationals champion Nico Young, an All-American at Northern Arizona, ran the meet record of 8:40.0 in 2019, a mark that could be eclipsed by at least three Newbury Park competitors and possibly a few additional athletes with such an ambitious pace in mind.

Kenan Pala of Francis Parker, a Yale commit, hasn’t had the opportunity to compete against Newbury Park in a track or cross country race during his senior year, but the Eastbay national runner-up is ready for the challenge.

Zane Bergen of Niwot High in Colorado, a Stanford signee who finished fourth at both the Garmin RunningLane Championships and Eastbay finals in December, is also entered.

Isaac Teeples of Kamiakin High, a Brigham Young commit, placed 10th at the Garmin RunningLane Championships and fellow Washington competitor, junior Zack Munson of Sehome, was 27th in Alabama, and are both looking for big performances Saturday.

Three additional Eastbay All-Americans are also entered in 10th-place finisher Emmanuel Sgouros of St. John’s School in Texas, 12th-place performer Michael Maiorano of South Medford High in Oregon and 13th-place athlete Aidan Puffer of Manchester High in Connecticut.

Puffer is headed to Northern Arizona, Maiorano has committed to Gonzaga and Sgouros is a Texas signee.

Clovis junior Christopher Caudillo was fourth last season at Arcadia, with Jesuit’s Braden King, Bella Vista’s Sean Lacey, Stockton St. Mary’s standout Daniel Winter and Sage Creek’s Bryce Gilmore also scheduled to return after producing sub-9 efforts at last year’s meet.

Pursuing a sprint sweep

Max Thomas of Servite High is the reigning invitational 200 champion, but the USC commit has bigger aspirations Saturday by becoming the first sprinter to sweep the 100 and 200 in the same meet since Austin Kratz of Dock Mennonite Academy in Pennsylvania achieved the feat in 2018.

Thomas will encounter plenty of familiar faces in that quest, including reigning invitational 100 champion Patrick Ize-Iyamu of Chaminade, as well as Jaelon Barbarin of Simi Valley, Rodrick Pleasant of Serra and Micah Bell of The Kinkaid School in Texas.

Thomas hopes to maintain the momentum of his wind-legal 10.40 and 20.78 performances April 2 in the 100 and 200 at the Trabuco Hills Invitational. He also has a wind-aided 10.37 effort March 12 at the Redondo Nike Track Festival.

Noah Lyles of T.C. Williams High in Virginia still holds the meet records in both events at 10.17 and 20.48 from his spectacular 2016 double. Kratz is tied for second in the 100 at 10.34 and ranks No. 2 in the 200 at 20.74.

Jeremiah Walker of Fresno Central was second behind Thomas in the 200 and Ize-Iyamu took third last year.

Daniel Kidd of M.E. LaZerte in Canada is scheduled to compete in the invitational 200, along with the open section of the 100. Kidd, 18, won the indoor 60 and 300 meters in March at the Alberta Indoor Championships.

Marshall Law looks to rule again

Stockton St. Mary’s senior Jadyn Marshall, a UCLA commit, is the reigning champion in the invitational 110-meter hurdles and 300 hurdles, clocking 13.76 and 36.77 last season.

But after his wind-aided 13.35 performance March 26 at the 94th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays, Marshall is not only looking to eclipse the 2011 meet record of 13.43 by Canadian standout and Agoura High graduate Jonathan Cabral, but also challenge the 2019 state record of 13.22 achieved by his older brother and Arizona State All-American Jamar Marshall, Jr.

Marshall boasts a wind-legal best of 13.49 from the Texas Relays, producing faster times in the prelims and the final than Upland High standout Kai Graves-Blanks.

Also scheduled to compete in the invitational 110 hurdles is junior Andre Korbmacher from Squalicum High in Washington – the reigning New Balance Nationals Indoor 60-meter hurdles champion – along with Malik Mixon of Westlake High in Georgia, Ryan Trane of Weber High in Utah and Yan Vazquez of Red Mountain High in Arizona.

Vazquez is the biggest potential obstacle to another sweep for Marshall, especially in the 300 hurdles.

Vazquez clocked a personal-best 36.66 on March 26 at the Nike Chandler Rotary Invitational, with Marshall running 36.73 one day earlier at Texas Relays to finish fourth overall behind a trio of Texas competitors.

Delaney Crawford of Upland High boasts a personal-best 36.64 from last season.

The two fastest times in meet history came in back-to-back years, with David Klech of San Ramon California High clocking 35.45 in 2006, followed by Jeshua Anderson of Taft High running 35.75 in 2007.

Vazquez, Marshall or Crawford would need to run at least 36.65 to move into the top 10 in meet history.

Quest for shot put supremacy

The top five shot put competitors in California, all surpassing 61 feet so far this season, will all be assembled Saturday in a preview of the state championship meet in May at Buchanan High’s Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Nick Godbehere of Shafter is the reigning Arcadia champion, although none of the elite competitors were able to produce a 60-foot mark last year, only adding more motivation for the group.

Kai Deines, a junior at Redondo Union, entered the month as the state outdoor leader at 63-5.25 (19.33m), before Murrieta Mesa senior Cade Moran produced a national-leading outdoor performance April 6 of 64-7.50 (19.69m) in a Southwestern League meet against Murrieta Valley.

Moran surpassed the previous-best effort of 63-10.50 (19.47m) that he achieved March 13 to finish fourth at New Balance Nationals Indoor at The Armory in New York.

Moran also finished second June 30 with a 63-6 (19.35) performance at The Outdoor Nationals Presented by Nike at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

Aiden Pastorian of Great Oak prevailed March 12 at the Redondo Nike Track Festival with a 63-4.50 (19.31m) performance and Godbehere, a Cal commit, achieved a 63-4.25 (19.31m) effort March 18 at the Gateway to Track and Field Invitational.

South Pasadena senior Nik Iwankiw surpassed the 60-foot mark for the first time March 19 at the ASICS Laguna Beach Trophy Invitational with a 61-4 (18.69m) mark.

Mark Bryant from Orem High in Utah is also expected to be part of the competition, producing a personal-best 61-8 (18.79m) performance March 26 at the Pine View Invitational.

A significant improvement will be required of the winner, with the top 10 cutoff in meet history at 66-3 (20.19m).

Potential for a middle-distance masterpiece

There hasn’t been a sub-1:50 performance at Arcadia since 2012, but there is plenty of depth in the field capable of joining the ranks of the elite competitors in meet history.

Dana Hills senior Jai Dawson, who was unable to finish last year’s race after being tripped up, has been looking forward to another opportunity to compete at Arcadia ever since. The UCLA commit has only gained greater motivation after running 1:50.63 on March 12 at the Irvine/ASICS Invitational.

One of the biggest surprises this season has been senior Ellis Delvecchio of Thacher, who clocked 1:50.66 on March 26 at the Meet of Champions Distance Classic at Azusa Pacific University to finish third behind the two national outdoor leaders from Newbury Park, Colin Sahlman (1:48.84) and Aaron Sahlman (1:48.91).

Myles Plummer of Union Catholic High in New Jersey has run 1:51.09, with Xavier Jemison of McLean High in Virginia also bringing strong credentials to Saturday’s race with a personal-best 1:51.93.

Yutaka Roberts of San Francisco El Camino High ran 1:51.94 in an all-comers meet Feb. 19 at Cal’s Edwards Stadium. He has prevailed in his two biggest tests of the season March 19 at the Dublin Distance Fiesta and April 2 at the Stanford Invitational, running 1:52.51 at Cobb Track and Angell Field.

Adding international flavor to the field will be Canadian standout Mats Swanson of Leduc Composite, who has run 1:51.86.

Alec Jackson of Eagles Landing in Georgia has clocked 1:52.19, with Buchanan junior Noah Ray one of the most improved athletes in the state at 1:52.66, after finishing 10th in the invitational 800 last year in 1:55.18.

Aerial assault

There have been 13 competitors to clear 7 feet (2.13m) in the high jump in meet history, but none since 2016.

Elias Gerald of Westlake High in Utah, the reigning Nike Indoor Nationals champion, appears to be the leading contender to surpass that barrier Saturday, clearing 7-2 (2.18m) indoors Feb. 5 at the Salem Field Invitational and producing a 6-10 outdoor clearance (2.08m) to triumph April 2 at the Utah Valley Invitational.

Gerald cleared 6-11 (2.10m) on March 12 at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex on Staten Island to capture the indoor crown. He achieved a 7-foot clearance last year at the Utah High School Activities Association state championship meet.

Gerald’s biggest challengers are expected to be Sonny Ciccarelli, a junior at Woodland Park High in Colorado who has cleared 6-9 (2.05m), as well as Seth Johnson of Cajon, who is expected to have a busy weekend that includes running a pair of relays and competing in the 110-meter hurdles.

Johnson, who has cleared 6-9, was runner-up last year with a 6-5 effort (1.95m) behind Vista Murrieta’s Darius Hill, who won with a 6-9 clearance.

Leon Gillis of Steele Canyon has achieved a mark of 6-8 (2.03m), along with Yan Vazquez of Red Mountain High in Arizona, who is scheduled to race in the 4x400 relay, along with both the 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles.

Brandon Gorski of Mater Dei, the top freshman high jumper in the country at 6-6 (1.98m), is also expected to compete.

Seeking sea-level success

Several of the top distance runners from Utah will be looking to take advantage of racing at lower elevation Saturday in the invitational mile, with Tayson Echohawk of Orem, Jaron Hartshorn of Lone Peak, Ethan Peterson of Farmington and Nate Jaster of American Fork headlining a strong group looking to produce the first sub-4:10 performances at Arcadia since 2017.

Peterson prevailed March 26 in the 1,600 meters at the Pine View Invitational by clocking 4:11.14, ahead of Echohawk at 4:13.89 and Hartshorn at 4:16.64.

Jaster boasts a 1,600-meter personal-best 4:14.90.

Aiden Emerson of Arlington High in Washington is looking to continue his momentum following a 4:11.84 effort March 26 in the 1,600, with Brayden Seymour of Hagerty High hoping to follow his victory April 2 at the Florida Relays.

A pair of athletes from different Jesuit high schools, John Schuler from Oregon and Michael Vocke of Louisiana, are also entered, in addition to Spencer Werner of Loyola Academy in Illinois and Simeon Birnbaum of Rapid City Stevens in South Dakota.

A pair of California competitors are also expected to be in contention, with Agoura’s Ethan Godsey and Scotts Valley’s Jeremy Kain entered. Kain finished fifth last year in 4:17.62.

Ortiz out to showcase best of the West

Avaunt Ortiz transformed from one of the top 400-meter runners in Arizona to an elite national competitor in the span of 46.69 seconds March 26 at the Nike Chandler Rotary Invitational.

Now, the McClintock High junior is looking forward Saturday to challenging himself against some of the top athletes in California, as well as a promising freshman from Georgia, in the invitational 400.

In order to move into the top 10 in meet history, Ortiz would have to run under 46.50, but even after his exceptional performance at Chandler High, he indicated there was plenty of room for improvement.

Michael Norman, a former Vista Murrieta standout and national champion at USC, holds the meet record of 45.51 from 2016, prevailing against Josephus Lyles of T.C. Williams in Virginia, who clocked 45.94.

The 2019 edition of the Arcadia race showcased Justin Robinson of Hazelwood West in Missouri running 46.22 to prevail against Zach Larrier of Monterey Trail (46.49).

Ortiz will encounter a familiar challenger in Jayden Davis of Mountain Pointe High in Arizona, who ran 47.32 at Chandler High.

California will be represented by William Mullins and Jake Preston of Cathedral, Dijon Stanley of Granada Hills, Adren Parker of Helix and Christopher Coats of Upland.

Jacob Andrews is a promising junior from Sehome High in Washington, with ninth-grader Sidi Njie of Westlake High in Georgia the top freshman competitor in the country this season at 47.56.

Runway recognition

Led by JC Stevenson of Great Oak and Camryn O’Bannon of St. John Bosco in the triple jump, and Elijha Ellis of Golden Valley and Elijah Yoshinaga of Elsinore in the long jump, the invitational horizontal jumping events are always filled with clutch performances and dramatic final rounds, and Saturday should provide another example.

Stevenson boasts a personal-best 48-10.50 (14.89m) in the triple jump, with Ellis producing a 24-foot (7.31m) long jump to lead all entries.

Cole Miller of Bishop Kelly High in Idaho, Payton Barlow of Queen Creek High in Arizona, Brandon Cheeks II of Mission Bay and Bryson Williams of Rancho Cucamonga are scheduled to join Stevenson and Yoshinaga in competing in both invitational events.

Only 11 athletes in meet history have surpassed 50 feet in the triple jump, none since 2015.

Four competitors have soared beyond 25 feet at Arcadia, including former Clovis North standout and Florida athlete Caleb Foster, who jumped 25-1.50 (7.65m) in 2019.

Establishing discus dominance

After Ugonna Ikejiofor of Downey was the only athlete to surpass 190 feet in the invitational discus last year, California has at least five competitors capable of reaching that mark Saturday and potentially challenging the 200-foot barrier.

Cade Moran of Murrieta Mesa enters the event as the state leader and No. 2 nationally this season at 199-8 (60.85m), with Nik Iwankiw of South Pasadena at 189-2 (57.65m), Terraine Wiggins, Jr. of Golden Valley at 186-2 (56.74m) and Nick Godbehere of Shafter at 185-2 (56.43m).

Kai Deines, a junior at Redondo Union, has thrown 185 feet (56.38m), with Utah standouts Mark Bryant of Orem and Teague Anderson of Lehi also entered, as well as Trystan Gillis of Red Mountain High in Arizona.

Rory Devaney of San Luis Obispo, Abayomi Babalola of Enochs, Adam Laycock of Westlake and Brendon See of JSerra are all California entries with the potential to join the elite group Saturday and develop into section and state contenders come May.

The last 200-foot performance at Arcadia came in 2019, with Corey Moore of Liberty High in Nevada securing the invitational victory at 200-11 (61.23m).