San Diego High’s Charlize James defines competitor, at her best, and better, since the season moved into May.  James ran the second fastest  100 hurdles in San Diego Section history Friday,  :13.67 in the state track trials.

James, whose time also is No. 2 in California this year and 12th in the United States, will not have an opportunity to meet Scripps Ranch’s Aaliyah McCormick, who has run a wind-aided :13.46 and wind-accepted :13.61, because McCormick was disqualified when she veered into another runner in her heat yesterday.

James’ genes suggested excellence when the senior, headed to San Diego State after graduation, turned out for track as a freshman at San Diego.   Her father, former Cavers football coach Charles James, had a best mark of 24 feet, 2 inches in the long jump as a student at Morse in 1997.

San Diego Section girls qualified 31 entries for today’s finals.

102^nd STATE TRACK TRIALS

@CLOVIS BUCHANAN HIGH VETERAN’S STADIUM

SAN DIEGO SECTION FINISHERS IN ITALICS

100—Redmond (L.A Carson), :11.56. 6. McCormick, (Scripps Ranch), :11.77.  17–Hatton (Sage Creek), :12.15w.

200—Redmond (L.A. Carson), :23.68. 6—Bean (Poway), :24.36. 10–Smith (La Jolla), 24.70w. 22–Swyney (Carlsbad), :25.40.

400—Cenci (Clovis North), :53.72.  4—Bean (Poway), :55.48. 

800—Engelhardt (Ventura), 2:10.13. 6—Buswell (Poway), 2:12.59.   9–Dixon (San Marcos), 2:13.00. 10–Arciaga (Westview), 2:13.42. 

1600—Frias ((Manhattan Beach Mira Costa), 4:49.83.  9—Riggins (Del Norte), 4:51.58. 20–McCall (El Camino (5:03.90). 22–Selbrede (Mt. Carmel), 5:06.09).

110 Hurdles—James (San Diego), :13.67).  6—Coleman (Cathedral), :14.23.  McCormick (Scripps Ranch) won heat but later disqualified.

300 Hurdles—K. Janik (Torrey Pines), :42.77. 2–Coleman (Cathedral), :42.93.  7–D. Janik (Torrey Pines), :43.85.

4×100 Relay—Santa Clarita Golden Valley, :45.82. 11–Cathedral, :48.32.  17–Carlsbad, :49.03. 25–Poway, :51.15.

4×1600 Relay—Calabasas, 3:46.73. 6—Poway, 3:52.21.  8—Del Norte, 3:56.40. 9—Carlsbad, 3:56.97.

High Jump—Slovis, Los Gatos, 5-6.  4—Tarczy (Scripps Ranch), 5-4.  T8—Moore-Bastide (Eastlake), 5-4.

Long Jump—Hope (Riverside King), 20-3 1/4w.  6—Hatton (Sage Creek), 19-1 1/4w. 18—Lankford (Rancho Bernardo), 17-7 ½.

Triple Jump—Gatlin (Mission Viejo), 40-9. 7—Miles (Point Loma), 38-1 3/4w. 10—Pingley (El Camino), 37-1.

Shot Put—Gordon (Sherman Oaks Notre Dame), 42-11 ¼.  2.  Clarke (Cathedral), 42-2 ¾. 11—Kimuli (Mira Costa), 39-4 ¾. 17. Loy (Del Norte), 37-9 ½.

Discus—Fontenette (Sherman Oaks Notre Dame), 157-1. 2—Clarke (Cathedral), 146-8.  9—Seaboldt (Mt. Carmel), 128-8.  12—Loy (Del Norte), 124-10.

Pole Vault—Five at 12-7, including Wagner (Fallbrook), Leigh (Del Norte), Evans (Scripps Ranch), Downing (La Costa Canyon), Hansen (San Dieguito).  10–Thompson (Poway) and O’Connor (Rancho Bernardo), each at 12-3.

Adren Parker of Helix yesterday became the third San Diego Section runner to shade 47 seconds in the 400 meters, setting an all-time record of :46.82 Friday in trials of the 102nd state track meet.

Parker’s time was bettered only by the :46.81 of Jeremiah Walker of Fresno Central.  Two other runners who have run under :47 also qualified for what promises to be a hot final tonight.

Parker, according to Steve Brand of the San Diego Union-Tribune, also legged a :46.6 anchor as the Highlanders won their heat in the 4×400 heat in 3:17.47, fourth fastest of the day.

The father of Parker’s Helix’ teammate Lydell Burston, Jr., set the San Diego Section record of :46.85 in the 1996  state meet.  Karson Lippert of La Costa Canyon ran :46.91 in 2017.

Twenty-two San Diego Section entries got through the trials into today’s competition.

 102^nd STATE TRACK TRIALS

@CLOVIS BUCHANAN HIGH VETERAN’S STADIUM

SAN DIEGO SECTION QUALIFIERS IN ITALICS

100—Washington (Long Beach Jordan), :10.30w.  12—Priest (Maranatha), :10.64. 19—Smith (Mission Hills), :10.72w. 21—Wells (La Costa Canyon), :10.84.

200—Pleasant (Gardena Serra), :20.83. 17—Smith (Mission Hills), :21.98.  20—Priest (Maranatha), :22.13w. 22—Jones (Ramona), :22.26.

400—Walker (Fresno Central), :46.81.  2—Parker (Helix), :46.82. Section No. 1 all-time; previous, :46.85, Burston, Morse, 1996. 7. Brotschi (Otay Ranch), :48.12.  14. Maher (San Marcos), :49.25.

800—A. Sahlman (Newbury Park), 1:51.60. 4. Harder (San Marcos), 1:52.27.  5—Thomas (Torrey Pines), 1:52.34.  18. Lacour (Rancho Bernardo), 1:55.67.

1600—Lamoureux (Pleasant Hill College Park), :4:11.62. 9—Taylor (San Marcos), 4:12.66. 16—Correia (Point Loma), 4:17.34. 18—Sanchez (Liberty), 4:20.5.

110 Hurdles—Graves-Blank (Upland), :13.69.  11—Thomas (Mission Hills), :14.83.  14—Martin (Eastlake), :15.

300 Hurdles—Lewis (Long Beach Wilson), :37.57.  10—Nelson (Patrick Henry), :39.17.  16—Tragarz (Del Norte), :40.  19—Atilano (Cathedral), :40.65.

4×100 Relay—Fresno Central, :40.92.  9—Mission Hills, :41.70.  11—Helix, :41.75.  16—Lincoln, :42.51.

4×1600 Relay—Long Beach Wilson, 3:16.21.  2—Helix, 3:17.47.  7—San Marcos, 3:21.07.  19—Steele Canyon, 3:24.97.

High Jump—Twelve at 6-4, including Gillis (Steele Canyon), Cardoza (Eastlake).  Cheeks (Mission Bay), no height.

Long Jump—Stevenson (Temecula Great Oak), 24-9 ¼.  11—Matovu (Helix), 22-5w.  19. Cardoza (Eastlake), 21-3.

Triple Jump—Ellis (Santa Clarita Golden Valley), 47-10 ¾. 8—Buu (Eastlake), 45-8 ½.  11—Cardoza (Eastlake), 44-7 ½.  12—Cheeks (Mission Bay), 44-4 ½.

Shot Put—Pastorian (Temecula Great Oak), 61-1 ¼.  5—Lopez (El Centro Southwest), 58-10 ¾. 6—Martinez (Vista), 56-1/2. 10—Miller (El Camino), 53-3 ¼.

Discus—Wiggins (Santa Clarita Golden Valley), 195-3.  10—Lopez (El Centro Southwest), 175-4). 17—Miller (El Camino), 156-10.  20—Knowles (Rancho Buena Vista), 147-7

Pole Vault—Eight at 15-2. Four at 14-11, including Richards (Poway). Rydbeck (Rancho Bernardo), no height.  Correa (Poway), no height.

The top three finishers in last week’s San Diego Section championships move on to the state meet in Clovis this week.

In addition, any contestant who met the state qualifying standard in the section meet also is eligible.

For example, two 800-meter runners in the list below qualified, but a third, who ran 1:54.54, missed because the standard as set by the CIF is 1:54.52 in that event.

IMPRESSIVE PAIR

Adren Parker of Helix and Quinn Harder of San Marcos are among state leaders in their respective events and also climbed on the section’s all-time list.

Harder’s 1:51.90 800 is seventh and Parker is eighth after his :47.31 in the 400.

A setback came when Lincoln’s Jalil Tucker pulled up and didn’t finish the 100 meters.  Tucker led the section at 10.51 and earlier scratched from long jump, at which his 23-11 is fifth best in the state.

Marks in parenthesis note overall ranking in state 25:

Four San Diego athletes lead the state as they head for state this week.

“State” is an often-used euphemism for an event such as  the California championships, renewed for the 102^nd time this year after being canceled because of the pandemic in 2020 and ’21.

Aaliyah McCormick continues to lead all 100 hurdlers with a best time of :13.61 and a wind-assisted time of :13.46.

McCormick won the San Diego Section title at :13.89 last week at Mt. Carmel and the section’s almost season-long 1-2-3 ranking in the state that included Charlize James of San Diego and Kapiolani Coleman of Cathedral now is 1-2-5.

Two runners, one from Rocklin of the Sac-Joaquin Section and one from the Southern Section moved into a tie for third at :14.03, behind James’ :13.92 and in front of Coleman’s  :14.05.

Kennedy Clarke of Cathedral still leads the shot put at 47 feet, 9 inches, and Lexi Evans of Scripps Ranch is tied for first in the pole vault at 14 feet.

Trials at Clovis Buchanan High get under way Friday afternoon.  Temperature of an expected 90 degrees in will be about 25 degrees warmer than was in the San Diego Section finals.

Warmer weather should aid all.

Numbers in parenthesis note overall state ranking in top 25:

Leon Gillis of Steele Canyon has a 6-foot, 9-inch high jump that ties Gillis for first in California with a jumper from San Bernardino Cajon.

Gillis and other qualifiers from the three divisional meets in the San Diego Section last week will attempt to better their season bests in Saturday’s 61st San Diego Section championships at Mt. Carmel.

All-time top 10 performances in 2022:

Sage Creek’s Bryce Gilmore is third in the 3200 with a best of 8:53.23.

Lincoln’s Jalil Turner ran the 100 meters in :10.51 at the Division II meet at University City, which would have been eighth fastest except for an aiding wind that was over the 2.0 limit.

The :47.36 in the 400 meters by Helix’ Adren Parker is tied for ninth. Gillis is tied for 21st with 10 others in his event.

San Diego Section best marks and where they rank in California in parenthesis, u.r. meaning not in the top 25:

San Diego Section girls have the best performances in California in three events, leading in the 100 and 300 hurdles, and shot put.

Aaliyah McCormick of Scripps Ranch is first in the short hurdles at :13.46 and Kapiolani Coleman of Cathedral is first in the longer barriers in :42.19.  Kennedy Clarke of Cathedral leads with a 47-foot, 5-inch shot put.

McCormick, who also leads the section with a :11.71 in the 100 meters, was aided by a 3.4 wind, over the allowable 2.0, in the Division II trials at University City last week.  McCormick has a 2022 wind-accepted :13.61, which serves as the county’s all-time No. 1.  Her :13.85 in 2021 was No. 1.

Other all-time top 10 performances in 2022.

Rankings in parenthesis:

Alysa Bean, Poway, 55.09 400 meters (9);

Tessa Buswell, Poway, 2:09.54 800 meters (10);

Mackenzie Rogers, Poway, 10:19.17 3200 meters (3);

Charlize James, San Diego, :13.92 100 hurdles (3);

Kapiolani Coleman, Cathedral, :14.07 100 hurdles (4);

Kapiolani Coleman, Cathedral, :42.19 300 hurdles (4);

Kennedy Clarke, Cathedral, 47-5 shot put (3);

Lexi Evans, Scripps Ranch, 13-10 pole vault (3).

Qualifiers from the D-I trials at Canyon Crest and D-III trials at Mount Miguel will join the D-1 qualifiers in the San Diego Section finals Saturday at Mt. Carmel.

San Diego Section state rankings in parenthesis, with 3200 and pole vault omitted: