2024 Week 9: Section Athletes End Great Track Season

I’ve seen at least 40 state meets since my first in 1957 at Edwards Field in Berkeley and they evolve each year, becoming arguably one of the best high school events in the country.

Buchanan High in Clovis has been the venue since 2009 and the site of some of the San Diego Section’s finest moments, especially in 2024 as 10 individuals won gold medals, a record for the section and the most since there were seven in 2019.

PARTING OBSERVATIONS

Brandon Arrington, Jr. became the fifth San Diego Section runner to win the sprint double since the first state meet in 1915 and the second since 2019.

Arrington’s grace and power that resulted in two dynamic 100 (:10.33) and 200 (:20.55) victories were more impressive in that the tall Mount Miguel runner is in the 10^th grade and will be a favorite when he takes to the starting blocks in 2025.

Tables include previous state winners.

DOUBLE 100 & 200 

*—Race at 100 yards, others at 100 meters. w—Over allowable wind assistance of 2.0 kilometers.

TOUGHING IT OUT

—La Jolla’s tiring Payton Smith determinedly held off a  stretch run by Hannah Rutherford of Mountain View to join Monique Henderson and University City’s Katrina Wright as a 400 winner:

—Poway’s Tessa Buswell, a savvy state meet veteran, was the ninth of 12 qualifiers in the 800 at 2:12.39 in the Friday trials but bided her time before cueing a :60.85 last lap to overtake Carlsbad’s Makenna Herbst and Keaton Robar of Newport Beach Newport Harbor in a San Diego Section-record 2:06.51.

Buswell refused to be pushed over the cliff, beating back challenges down the stretch to become the first from the area to earn an 800 gold medal.

—San Diego’s Anisa Bowen Fontonot overcame slow starts in the trials and finals but grinded through the rounds to win the 100 hurdles in :13.59 and joining former Cavers champ Charlize James, who won at :13.95 in 2022:

*Devers won when the height of the hurdles was 30 inches; they have been 33 inches since 1993.

—Cain Evans of Carlsbad lurked in the middle of the pack as the 800 runners approached the final 200 and then opened up on the curve and won in 1:50.21, fighting off fast-closing Wyland Obando of Long Beach Wilson, who ran 1:50.25.

*Race at 880 yards and three turns, starting with 15 others from a chute.
**Race at 880 yards.

WHAT ABOUT MONIQUE?

The future Olympic gold medalist  as a member of the 2004 4×400 relay team, achieved probably the most impressive pair of victories in County history.

Monique won the 200 in :23.19 and the 400, a virtual sprint, in :50.74, in 2000 at Cerritos College in Norwalk.

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