Arcadia, California, April 05-07—Athletes from across the state, country and—in some cases, the world—flocked to a renowned San Gabriel Valley venue to take on the best of the best at the Arcadia Invitational, and they did not disappoint.
Transitioning from indoor to outdoor track & field can be fickle. Some may need a few weeks of low-key training before hitting it hard again for the outdoor season, while others may keep it going if they feel they are on a roll. That is why Arcadia can be a great gauge for those on a roll or on the rebuild.
On Saturday, things got cracking with Chandler (Arizona), nipping Rancho Verde (Moreno Valley, California) 41.44–41.49 in the 4×1. That was followed by a 13.82—the No. 2 time in the country—in the 110H by Georgian Cameron Murray (Westlake, Atlanta).
That set the stage for the 100. The middle lanes were filled with premier sprinters, but in lane 1 was one of the athletes who was on a roll.
Austin Kratz (Dock Mennonite, Lansdale, Pennsylvania) had a PR of just 10.66 from ’17 but finished this year’s indoor season running 21.01 to win the 200 at the New Balance Indoor Nationals after finishing 3rd in the 60m.
Kratz burst out of the blocks and streaked past his rivals to win going away in a big PR of 10.34, 0.09 ahead of Eric Allen (Bullis, Potomac, Maryland) in 10.43 with Yucaipa, California’s Asani Hampton (10.47) 3rd.
Kratz confided afterwards, “In the 100, I really don’t worry about the lane, it’s a straightaway event and I don’t have to worry about catching anyone, but I kind of like it, too, because it means some people aren’t thinking about me, they’re thinking about lanes 4, 5, and 6 and being in lane 1, was like, I got to show ‘em, I gotta go sneak up on them when they don’t expect me and that’s what I did.”
He was also a bit shocked when his time was announced: “It was a little bit of a surprise, but for me my PRs last year outdoor, I broke my outdoor PR in the 200, it was a 21.17 and to be able to run 21.01 indoor, I knew had a good chance to get a big PR, but I didn’t have any idea it would be a 10.3, I thought maybe it would be a 10.5 or something like that.”
When asked whether he had any predictions about the upcoming 200, he simply said, “Fast, that’s all I know.” He came back to win in 20.74, 0.20 ahead of Allen. Kratz is now No. 2 on the yearly lists in both the 100 and 200.
Soon thereafter, the focus turned to the field and the pole vault, where Sondre Guttormsen (Davis, California) was trying to accomplish a series of goals.
After a couple of early misses at lower heights, the Norwegian native found himself in 2nd after clearing 16-7 and 17-1, Mexico’s Pablo Zaffaroni ahead on the countback.
Guttormsen, whose outdoor PR of 17-11 came at the Texas Relays (his indoor best of 18-0 came at the Pole Vault Summit), then cleared 17-7 and Zaffaroni missed his 3 attempts.
The bar was raised to 18-2½ (5.55) and Guttormsen cleared that on his second attempt. Aware that the Norwegian federation requires that all record-eligible marks be made on IAAF regulation pegs, he had requested meet organizers switch away from the longer supports used in prep competition if he was the only vaulter left.
That made his day, as he bettered the Norwegian Junior Record and qualified for this year’s European Senior Championships, in addition to breaking Brandon Richards’ California State Record of 18-2 from ’85.
The UCLA signee, now No. 5 on the all-time list, said, “The European qualifying was my main thing and I wanted to get it done and things happen, but California State Record is bigger than the national Junior record because California is much, much bigger than Norway.”
A big highlight of the meet is always the 3200 and how many competitors would break the 9:00 barrier. The ’18 race was no different, with the eventual answer being 16.
Coming into the race, there were only a handful of runners who had broken or were close to 9:00, but the talent was there and after a 65 first lap and 4:27.80 at the halfway point, things began to take shape.
James Mwaura (Lincoln, Tacoma, Washington) had a 5m lead at 1600, but slowed during lap 5, prompting Danny Kilrae (Lyons, La Grange, Illinois) to push the pace and come through 6 laps in 6:42.8 after a 66-second circuit, with Mwaura, Canadian Marcus Kemp, Michael Phillips (Chiles, Tallahassee, Florida), Ryan Oosting (Arlington, Massachusetts) and Jacob McLeod (Trinity, Dublin, Georgia) challenging.
A 66.7 penultimate lap saw Michael Mooney (Broomfield, Colorado) take the lead with 600m to go and begin the charge to the finish. It was then that Drew Bosley (Homestead, Mequon, Wisconsin) took a chance and bolted to the lead at the bell.
His lead did not last long, as Kemp passed Mooney, and then Bosley at the 300m mark and had a 2-step lead with half a lap left. Mooney and Mwaura waited for the homestretch to make their final challenge but came up short as Kemp kept checking over his shoulder and held form to win in a photofinish over Mooney, 8:50.95–8:50.96, with Mwaura 3rd (8:51.62).
Of the 16 who broke the 9:00 barrier, 15 established PRs and overall 21 set lifetime bests. The meet’s record for most sub-9:00s is the 25 from last year (when all-time best-mark-for-place times were turned in from 5th through 30th).
Cruz Culpepper (Niwot, Colorado), the son of Olympians Alan & Shayne Culpepper, won the mile in 4:13.14 with a 56.8 last lap.
Friday’s “Burning Batons Relays” was highlighted by a thrilling finish in the 4 x 1600 between two schools located just 32 miles apart in Northern California, Dublin and Bellarmine (San José).
Having built a 50m lead with 2 laps remaining, Dublin’s Adrian Schroeder hung on to hold off Bellarmine’s Alex Scales, 17:29.92–17:30.20, the two top marks in the country.
ARCADIA BOYS RESULTS
Arcadia, California, April 5-7—
100(1.5): 1. Austin Kratz (Dock, Lansdale, Pa) 10.34; 2. Eric Allen (Bullis, Potomac, Md) 10.43; 3. Asani Hampton (Yucaipa, Ca) 10.47.
200(0.4): 1. Kratz 20.74; 2. Allen 20.94; 3. Hampton 21.35.
400: 1. *Zach Larrier (Monterey Trail, Elk Grove, Ca) 47.12; 2. **Justin Robinson (West, Hazelwood, Mo) 47.24; 3. *Karson Lippert (La Costa Canyon, Carlsbad, Ca) 47.44.
800: 1. Jett Charvet (Heritage, Brentwood, Ca) 1:52.60; 2. Ryan Bush (Tesoro, Las Flores, Ca) 1:53.55; 3. Alex Scales (Bellarmine, San José) 1:53.71.
Mile: 1. **Cruz Culpepper (Niwot, Co) 4:13.14; 2. James Lee (Silver Creek, Longmont, Co) 4:13.94.
3200: 1. Marcus Kemp’ (Can) 8:50.95; 2. Michael Mooney (Broomfield, Co) 8:50.96; 3. James Mwaura (Lincoln, Tacoma) 8:51.62; 4. Jacob McLeod (Trinity, Dublin, Ga) 8:52.72; 5. *Liam Anderson (Redwood, Larkspur, Ca) 8:52.74; 6. *Ryan Oosting (Arlington, Ma) 8:53.42; 7. *Carter Cheeseman (Christian, Ft Worth) 8:54.06; 8. Ryan Raff (Lehi, Ut) 8:54.65; 9. Michael Phillips (Chiles, Tallahassee) 8:55.53; 10. Danny Kilrea (Lyons, La Grange, Il) 8:56.84; 11. Brandon Garnica (Springville, Ut) 8:57.25; 12. John Bennett (Granada, Livermore, Ca) 8:57.33.
110H(1.2): 1. Cameron Murray (Westlake, Atlanta) 13.82; 2. Aidan Jackman (Clayton Valley, Concord, Ca) 13.98; 3. Johnie Talamantes (Red Mountain, Mesa, Az) 14.06.
300H: 1. James Smith (Westwood, Mesa, Az) 36.83; 2. Jackman 37.47; 3. *Brayden Borquez (Harvard-Westlake, Studio City, Ca) 37.47.
Relay Events
4 x 100: 1. Chandler, Az 41.44; 2. Rancho Verde, Moreno Valley, ca 41.49; 3. Murrieta Mesa, Murrieta 41.67; 4. Gorman, Las Vegas 41.69
4 x 200: 1. Clovis North, Fresno 1:26.09; 2. Murrieta Mesa 1:26.32.
4 x 400: 1. Wilson, Long Beach 3:16.81.
4 x 800: 1. Great Oak, Temecula 7:53.29; 2. Roosevelt, Eastvale 7:53.90.
4 x 1600: 1. Dublin 17:29.92 (HSL):
2. Bellarmine 17:30.20; 3. Timpview, Provo, Ut 17:37.53; 4. Lone Peak, Highland, Ut 17:41.73; 5. Great Oak 17:44.45.
800Med: 1. Harvard-Westlake, Studio City 1:32.75; 2. Dana Hills, Dana Point 1:33.94.
SpMed: 1. Mission Viejo 3:27.64 (HSL);
2. Los Alamitos 3:29.27; 3. Wilson, Long Beach 3:30.87.
DisMed: 1. Great Oak 10:15.49; 2. Dublin 10:17.49; 3. Carlmont, Belmont, Ca 10:19.27; 4. Palos Verdes, Palos Verdes Estates 10:19.58; 5. West Ranch, Stevenson Ranch, Ca 10:20.29; 6. Thacher, Ojai, Ca 10:21.16.
4 x 110H: 1. Red Mountain 60.68 (HSL);
2. Desert Vista, Phoenix, Az 60.80.
Field Events
HJ: 1. Tyler Cronk (Kentridge, Kent, Wa) 6-9.
PV: 1. Sondre Guttormsen’ (Davis) 18-2½ (5, x HS);
2. Pablo Zaffaroni’ (Mex) 17-1; 3. Andrew Ference (Salpointe, Tucson) 16-1; 4. Sam Care (Boise, Id) 16-1.
LJ: 1. C.J. Stevenson (Great Oak) 24-3; 2. Malcolm Clemens (St Mary’s, Berkeley) 23-10½; 3. Alex Enos (St Ignatius, San Francisco) 23-8¾.
TJ: 1. Jalyn Jackson (Eastlake, Chula Vista) 49-10¼; 2. Stevenson 48-10½.
SP: 1. *Daniel Viveros (Liberty, Bakersfield) 61-7¾; 2. *Carlos Aviles (Ventura) 59-5½; 3. **Jeff Duensing (Esperanza, Anaheim) 59-3.
DT: 1. Aviles 194-1; 2. Jaime Navarro (Great Oak) 184-8; 3. *Corey Moore (Liberty) 184-8.
Dec: 1. Josh Farmer (Rancho Bernardo, San Diego) 6963; 2. *Josh Pekar (Ventura) 6365; 3. Cole Whatley (Del Oro, Loomis) 6327.
