2012 San Gabriel Valley Championships

Over 1300 athletes braved the heat and competition to make the 2012 San Gabriel Valley Championships a great meet.  Forty-Five schools took part, the most ever.  Six Varsity meet records were set, fewer than last year, but the last two years had so many outstanding athletes that the pace of change was bound to slow at some point.

Monrovia was the big winner in the boys team competition with 98 points to runner-up Arcadia‘s 52.5.  The Wildcats only win was a MR in the Shot Put from UCLA bound Ellis McCarthy, but they scored in almost every other event to make up their total.  Hosts Glendora were the Girls champs by a margin of just 2.5 points over Monrovia.  Like the boys winners, the Tartans scored in 14 of the 16 events and had wins from Makayla Jacoub (PV) and Rocki Bartholomew (DT)

Highlighted performances were the boys 110m Hurdles, where four (!) athletes broke the meet record and the boys 3200, where the meet’s only remaining record from the first year in 2006 finally went down.

The Athletes of the Meet were both from meet newcomers Bonita.  Toure McCully broke the tape three times, in a MR 110 hurdles against our strongest field, in the 100m and in the 4×100 relay, and he was 3rd with PR in the long jump.  His teammate Marissa Scott was the girls winner on the strength of her triple win in the 800, 1600, 3200.  She won by considerable margins in all three and just missed the MR in the 800.

The sprinter/hurdler awards go to Toure and Skyler Buchanan (Monrovia)  Skyler, who’s headed to Howard University this Fall, won the 200m and was 2nd in the 100, and won the long jump as well.

The girls distance award goes to Marissa.  The boys distance award was also a tough call, with three different and excellent winners, but we gave the edge to Daniel De La Torre‘s (La Salle)  MR win in the 3200, taking down our oldest meet record on a hot day.

Cassie Ramirez (Northview) is the field athlete of the meet on the strength of a MR win in the shot and 2nd in the discus.  Michael Harris (Monrovia) is the boys choice with a long jump and triple jump double

De La Torre is the boys Small (Div. IV) Schools Athlete of the meet.  Miya Wensley (Webb) is the girls winner with three 3rds in the LJ, TJ, & HJ.

On the Frosh/Soph level, Arcadia was the boys and girls winner, with Glendora the runner up in both.  There were eight F/S meet records, led by Monrovia soph Madison Herrera‘s three bests in the 100m hurdles, 300m hurdles and the long jump.

Thanks to all who competed and to those who worked so hard to make this a great day.

Next year’s meet will be Saturday, April 20 – so start planning and training today!

Results & Top Ten Lists

 

Keep checking back, many, many photos are coming.

Preview: 2012 SGV T&F Championships

Forty-five schools will compete in this year’s SGV Champs, with athletes from some of the strongest programs in the state along with athletes from very small schools, all competing together in the same events to see who is the boss of the SGV.

Arcadia is the defending boys team champion while the Claremont girls came out on top last year.  Both teams should contend again this year for both titles, as will Glendora, which dominated the F/S division in ‘12, along with Monrovia, Covina and California.

Covina’s Remontay McClain was the male athlete of the meet in 2011, setting dominant meet records in the 100m (10.60) and the 200m (200m) and went on to defend his State titles in both events.  Remontay is competing at Azusa Pacific this year.  Now at UCLA, Kylie Price was the female AOM, with MR performances in the 100 (12.11) and the long jump (19’2”).

Last year’s meet was extraordinary, with several State leading marks, multiple State Top 10’s, and Meet Records in 14 events.  Even with that progress, this year we have entries superior to the meet record in 12 of the 32 Varsity events.

James Knowles

In the sprints and hurdles, Monrovia’ Kia Smith is the returning 100m hurdles champ, and her ’12 best of 14.64 is better than the meet record.  She ranks 9th in the Southern Section  Kimberly Chen (Claremont) returns as 400m Champ.  In the 100m Sklyar Buchanan (Monrovia) has a seasonal best just .01 off the meet record, and her 200m is .02 from the meet record.  The Arcadia boys 4×400 is ranked #5 in California and #3 SS.  St. Francis James Knowles is having a great year, and his best in the highs ranks #4 CA and #1 in the Southern Section

In the distances, Rowland’s Nick Rivera is the defending 800 champ and record holder, and he’s the top seed in the 800 and 1600 and ranks CA #5, SS #2, and CA #9 and SS #5 in those two events.  He’ll be challenged in the 800 by Arcadia’s Tony Mosely.  Second in the 400m here last year, Tony has taken the 800 by storm, and his recent PR ranks him #8 CA and #4 SS.   3200 champ Ryan Vargas (Arcadia) is back, but will run the 1600.  Teammate Sergio Gonzalez is top seed in the 3200, and his ’12 best is well ahead of the meet record – the only record standing from the meet’s first year in ’06.  Sergio ranks #6 CA and #3 SS in the 3200 and #9 SS in the 1600, where he’ll challenge Rivera.

Rocki Bartholomew

Two champs return in the throws – Cassie Ramirez (Northview) and Elis McCarthy (Monrovia) in the shot, and both have thrown past the meet record this year.  Elis has exceeded the discus mark, too and ranks #10 SS.  Glendora’s Rocki Bartholomew leads the discus list and is ranked 7th in the Southern Section.

In the jumps, Phillipe Ueng (Temple City) and Makayla Jacoub (Glendora) will defend in the pole vault, and both have jumped past the meet record mark this year.  Phillipe is ranked CA #6 and SS #3.  Emily Sanchez (Covina – sorry, Northview) returns as triple jump champ, while Monrovia’s Michael Harris is SS #7 in the long jump.

Ed: And while we are making corrections – the record on the Girls Varsity 4×400 is not held by Covina, but by either Northview or possibly Claremont.

The meet begins at 10:00am at West Covina High School.  Admission is $5

Meet Details:

2012 SGV Champs: Accepted Entries

A record 45 schools will contest the 2012 San Gabriel Valley Championships, including newcomers (or returning from an absence) Bassett, Bell Gardens, Bonita, El Rancho, Mayfield, John Muir, Pomona, Pomona Catholic, San Dimas, South El Monte, and South Pasadena.

Last year saw a number of extraordinary performances, with Varsity records set in 14 events.  This year’s entries look just as promising, with 12 entries with marks equal to or superior to the meet record, and another 10 within range.  And that’s not counting the athletes that come up a special performance out of no where, something that always happens at this meet.

You can view Accepted Entries & Alternates (by school) here: 12-sgv-final-accepted-entries

Heat sheets and the Final Schedule will be available in the Meet Program on Saturday.

Check back for meet previews and final coverage and results after the event.

2012 SGV Track & Field Champs Are Almost Here!

We’re less than two weeks away from the 7th Annual San Gabriel Valley Track and Field Championships.  The meet will once again be held at West Covina High School’s fine facility on Saturday, April 21.  37 schools have already committed, including traditional SGV powers Arcadia, Claremont, Covina, Glendora and Monrovia.  Taking part for the first time this year will be Bassett, Bonita, Diamond Bar, Edgewood, El Rancho, Pomona, Pomona Catholic, and South Pasadena, getting us even closer having all of the SGV schools compete in this regional Championship meet.

The athlete’s of the SGV have turned in a strong set of performances as we move into the Championship portion of the season.  You can view the season’s Top 10 lists (and more by clicking on the event heading) here:

2012 SGV Performance Lists

Coaches should be reminded that entries are due on Sunday, April 15 at 9:00 pm.  Preliminary accepted entries will be sent to coaches on Monday, and Final Accepted Entries will be posted here on Tuesday of meet week, followed (hopefully) by event previews.