California Winter Championships
Cerritos College - February 13

The Winter Championships are traditionally an indoor meet held in Fresno each year, but the indoor track was not available in 2016 and the meet, including the “indoor” events, was moved south to Cerritos College’s outdoor track stadium.  The weather was hot and dry, more like Labor Day than President’s Day weekend.  Athletes needed to post qualifying times at one of several all comers meets held throughout the state in January and early February.  Athletes from Monrovia, South Pasadena, La Canada and Temple City competed unattached, and three got top 3 finishes: Kate Kutzer of South Pasadena 2nd in the Pentathlon with 3312 points over 5 events (a slight improvement in her shot put and she wins), Jordyn Tucker of Monrovia 3rd in the 60M dash with a 7.51 second time, and Katie Scoville of La Canada winning the 3000M in 10:21.89.  Each of these athletes had impressive seasons in 2015 and they are off to a great start for 2016.  Kate Kutzer’s performances in the 800M (2:24.58) and High Jump (5’ 2”) as part of the 5 event Pentathlon would have won Rio Hondo League in 2015.

Cougar Classic and Paramount Relays
Weekend of March 5

Monrovia athletes kicked off the Invitational season with some strong early season performances at the Cougar Classic held at APU.  Michael Washington posted an Rio Hondo League (RHL) leading time of 11.23 in the 100M dash and was also part of the RHL leading 4x100M relay team that posted a 44.46 time.  Jeronimo Padilla ran a strong 400M of 51.89 and also was in the 4x100.  Jordan Peevy posted the RHL leading time of 24.29 in the 200M dash.  Devin DeGuzman posted the league best 40’ 7.5” in the triple jump.  On the girls side, Jenesis Sanford clocked the fastest RHL 100M thus far, 12.87 seconds, and also the 200M in 26.75 seconds.  Jordyn Tucker took second in the 400M, but had the fastest RHL time to date, 59.72.  Baileigh Akins won the 100H in 15.43.  Micah Fulton took 2nd in the Triple Jump, but had a RHL leading leap of 36’ 8.5”.

At the Paramount Relays, Temple City’s Karlly Feng took second place in the pole vault with an RHL leading 11’ 0” vault.  This would have won Rio Hondo League in 2015.

Rosemead and Redondo Invitationals
Weekend of March 12

Monrovia, San Marino and Temple City participated in the Rosemead Invitational.  Monrovia’s Jordan Tucker won her 100M in 12.28 and 200M in 26.18, both Rio Hondo League (RHL) leading times this season.  Her teammate Baileigh Akins improved her RHL leading time in the 100H, taking second place in 15.34.  Monrovia’s girls won their 4x100M relay, and San Marino’s girls won the 4x800 and 4x1600 relays.  On the guys side, Temple City’s Alex Ortega took 2nd in the 3000M with an impressive 9:22.73.  His teammate Evan Kuo took 6th in the 110H, and had a RHL leading time of 17.11 seconds.  Not to be outdone, Brendan Xiong placed 5th in the 300H with an RHL leading 43.73 performance.  Monrovia’s Jorg Mendez took 2nd in the shot put with an RHL leading 44’ 20.5” throw, and Andrew Mendez (related?) placed 3rd in the discus with an RHL leading 132’ 3” throw.  In the jumps, Isaiah Adams of Monrovia won the long jump with an RHL leading 20’ 9.05” jump, and San Marino’s Chuma Azinge took 3rd in the triple jump with an RHL leading 42’ 7”.

At the Redondo Invitational, South Pasadena’s Elizabeth Bock had an RHL-leading 5:46.65 in the 1600 and Olivia Harrigian of San Marino ran 11:40 for an RHL-leading time in the 3200.  On the guy’s side, South Pasadena’s Amador Lagunas ran 2:05.01 in the 800M and Oliver Chang ran 4:36.63 in the 1600 for RHL-leading times.  Max Schoerner of South Pasadena leaped 6’ 0” in the high jump to post an RHL-leading mark.  Teammate Esteban Suarez matched his RHL-leading 14’ 6” vault in to take 2nd in the pole vault.

For a list of top-10 marks through March 18 (based on Athletic.net reporting), click HERE.

Monrovia Wildcat and Laguna Beach Trophy Invites
Weekend of March 19

Athletes from almost all Rio Hondo teams supported host Monrovia at the Wildcat Relays, and there were several RHL-leading marks.  Baileigh Akins of Monrovia lowered her time in the 100H to 15.18 seconds in taking 2nd place.  Olivia Harrigian of San Marino posted a 5:22.86 in the 1600 for 2nd place.  Monrovia’s girls improved on their RHL-leading time in the 4x100 relay by running 48.88 seconds in a 2nd place finish.  China Simpson of Monrovia also improved on her RHL-leading mark in the discus by lofting a 96’ 4” throw, good for 3rd place in the meet.  On the guys side, Jeronimo Padilla of Monrovia lowered his RHL-leading mark in the 400M to 51.22 in taking 4th place.  Kieran Press-Reynolds of South Pasadena ran 4:28.93 for a 4th place finish in the 1600M and a new RHL-leading mark.  San Marino’s Chuma Azinge placed 6th in the 110H in 16.59, for a new league-best mark, and also improved his leading mark in the triple jump by taking 2nd in 42’ 10”.  Isaiah Adams of Monrovia also improved his league-best by winning the long jump with a leap of 21’ 1”.

Karlly Feng of Temple City competed in the Laguna Beach Trophy Invite, but was not able to improve on her 11’ season best.  For a list of top-10 marks through March 25 (based on Athletic.net reporting), click HERE.

The Qualifier and Meet of Champions Invites
Weekend of March 26

Rio Hondo athletes continued their busy March meet schedule at The Qualifier and APU/AHS Meet of Champions meets.  At The Qualifier, South Pasadena’s Kate Kutzer had an outstanding day improving on her RHL-leading marks in the long jump (18’ 2”, 2nd) and high jump (5’ 5”, 1st place).  In winning the 100M dash, Monrovia’s Jordan Tucker lowered her best  RHL time to 11.9 seconds (Monrovia now owns the four fastest RHL  times in the girls 100M and top six times in the 200M dash).  Her Monrovia teammates China Simpson (4th place, 31’ 5”) and Micah Fulton (2nd place, 36’ 9”) improved their RHL-leading marks in the Shot Put and Triple Jump, respectively.  South Pasadena’s Girls Varsity 4x400 relay team of Whitman, Taylor, Hugasian and Mora set a new RHL season best of 4:01.85 in winning the event.  On the guys side, Monrovia’s Michael Washington dropped his RHL-best time in the 100M to 11.13.

At the APU/AHS Meet of Champions, Temple City’s Alex Ortega took 2nd in the Frosh-Soph Rated 3200 and dropped his season best to 9:51.08.  Temple City now owns the top 10 RHL  times in the 3200 thus far.  For a list of top-10 marks through March 29 (based on Athletic.net reporting), click HERE.

Stanford Invitational
Weekend of April 2

South Pasadena’s Esteban Suarez and Kate Kutzer travelled north for the Stanford Invitational, with each achieving PRs.  Kutzer ran a 15.17 PR in the 100H (currently 2nd place in RHL for 2016) and also achieved a  18’ 2.5” long jump.  Suarez improved on his RHL-leading mark in the pole vault, soaring to an amazing 15’ 6.25” to take 2nd at the prestigious Stanford Invite.  His performance improved his 2016 best by a foot and his career PR by 3”.

Arcadia and Tiger Invites
Weekend of April 9

Most of the Rio Hondo teams had athletes competing at the prestigious Arcadia Invitational and Multis meet, as well as the Tiger Invite hosted by South Pasadena.

Arcadia Multis
South Pasadena’s Kate Kutzer continued her big debut this year with 4 new PR's at the Arcadia Multis in the heptathlon (7 events - 100H, Long Jump, High Jump, Shot Put, Javelin, 200M, 800M), and giving her 6 new career PR's in just 14 day window. She ended 4th in the competition (#1 Junior in the nation) scoring 4,718 points including PR's in the 200m, Shot Put, Javelin and the 800m. Her 200M time of 25.92 and her 800M time of 2:21.34 are both the fastest to date in RHL.  This was her second hep and improved by 498 points over her Arcadia Multis score last year. A small miscue in the long jump (only 17' 02") cost her a shot at the win, but still an outstanding and well earned finish against some of the best high school girls in the nation and Canada.  Complete Arcadia Multis results are HERE.

Arcadia Invitational
Rio Hondo athletes achieved top three finishes in several events:  Micah Fulton of Monrovia extended her RHL-leading performance in girls triple jump, taking 1st in the Open division with a leap of 37’ even; Monrovia’s 4x200M relay team of Fulton, Akins, Curry and Tucker won the girls Rated division in a time of 1:42.88; and Monrovia’s Baileigh Akins also took 3rd in the girls open 100M Hurdles in a time of 14.92.  La Canada’s Katherine Scoville ran 10:49.36 in the girls 3200 to  post a top Rio Hondo season-to-date mark.  Rio Hondo results at Arcadia can be found HERE (NOTE: Justes Nance is listed as Rio Hondo, but he is actually from Blair High in New Jersey).  Complete results for Arcadia by day are:  FRIDAY TRACK, FRIDAY FIELD, SATURDAY DAY TRACK, SATURDAY DAY FIELD, SATURDAY INVITE TRACK, SATURDAY INVITE FIELD.

Tiger Invitational
Kalen Marshall of Blair clocked the fastest guys 400M of the season, 50.70, to take 2nd place in the varsity race.  South Pasadena’s Oliver Chang had a nice double, with PRs of 4:34.95 in the 1600 and 9:53.37 in the 3200.  On the girls side, Emily Ye of South Pasadena also had a nice double PR with a 5:21.34 in the 1600 (which is also the fastest RHL time to date) and an 11:26.83 in the 3200.  There were a number of top 3 finishes by Rio Hondo athletes, including:  Brieona Lang, Monrovia, 2nd in girls Rising Stars 100M with 13.40 seconds, and 3rd in the 200M with 28.31 time; Jenesis Sanford of Monrovia won the Rising Stars 200M in 27.39; Kamryn Creighton of La Canada took 3rd in the Rising Stars 400M in 1:05.71; Lindsay Calva of South Pasadena placed 3rd in the rising stars 1600 in 5:50.22; Claire Murray of La Canada took 2nd in the Varsity girls 100M hurdles in 15.62; Cate Latting of South Pasadena won the rising stars 100M Hurdles in 16.13; and Monrovia had teams that won both the rising stars 4x100 and 4x400 relays!  On the guys side, Daylon Akinson of Monrovia won the rising stars 400M in 54.53; Ben Martinez of South Pasadena placed 3rd in the rising stars shot put in 43’ 6.5”; Jaylin Park of South Pasadena also took 3rd in the rising stars High Jump with a 5’ 4” height; and Monrovia’s Isaiah Adams took 2nd in the Varsit long jump with a 20’ 9” leap.  There were also numerous top 10 Rio Hondo season-to-date performances at the meet, which attracted 129 schools from California, the western US, and even New Zealand!  Kudos to host South Pas for a thriving, well run meet and for all the Rio Hondo League schools for supporting the meet.  Rio Hondo results are HERE and complete meet results can be found HERE.

Mt Sac Relays
Weekend of April 16

Athletes from La Canada, Monrovia, South Pasadena and Temple City competed at the prestigious Mt. Sac Relays.  Monrovia’s boys 4x100M relay team clocked a RHL-leading 43.48 in taking 13th in the Seeded section.  South Pasadena’s girls 4x400M relay team went sub 4 minutes, 3:59.04, in taking 6th place.  La Canada’s Katherine Scoville ran in the Brooks Mile and ran an amazing 4:59.08, which converts to a 4:57.35 1600M (a new RHL-leading time by over 20 seconds!)  Monrovia’s Micah Fulton continued to improve upon her RHL-leading mark in the Triple Jump, taking 3rd in the Seeded division with a 37’ 2” effort.  Complete results are: FRIDAY RESULTS, SATURDAY RESULTS.

San Gabriel Valley Championships
Weekend of April 23

The San Gabriel Valley Championships, held at San Dimas High, selects top athletes from across the Valley in all four CIF divisions.  Rio Hondo athletes had numerous top finishes in both varsity and frosh-soph action, and the marks posted rose to the top in many of the best 2016 season-to-date for RHL athletes (especially on the boys side).  With athletes from five of six RHL schools participating, the meet was a nice preview of what to expect come League Finals in less than two weeks.  Rio Hondo athlete results are HERE, and complete meet results are HERE.

On the boys side, Blair’s Kalen Marshall won the varsity 200 and 400 meter events, improving on his RHL leading times in both and posting the top 400M mark (49.74) in D4 so far this year (and 6th fastest 200M).  South Pasadena’s Amador Lagunas dropped his RHL-leading time in the 800M to 2:04.24 and was closely followed by teammate Kiran Press-Reynolds at 2:04.83.  Earlier in the meet, Press-Reynolds had posted an RHL-leading 4:26.70 in the 1600M. Brendan Xiong of Temple City lowered his RHL-leading time in the 300M Hurdles to 42.63. Monrovia’s 4 x 400M relay team of Adkinson, Robinson, Baray and Washington improved their season-leading mark to 3:36.81. Additional top 3 finishes include: Jonathan Jackson-Williams of South Pas 3rd in Varsity 100M, Michael Washington of Monrovia 1st in both the Frosh-Soph 100M and 200M, Oliver Chang of South Pas 2nd in the F/S 3200M, Monrovia’s 4 x 100M relay 3rd in F/S, Ben Martinez of Monrovia 1st in F/S Shot Put, followed by South Pas’ Josiah Topping in 2nd, Esteban Suarez of South Pas taking 1st in Pole Vault, and Temple City’s Bon Li and Harry Del Pilar taking 3rd in Varsity Long Jump and 2nd in F/S Triple Jump, respectively.

On the girls’ side, South Pasadena’s Christina Taylor claimed the best RHL time of 2016 in winning the F/S 400M with a 59.65, and she also took 3rd in the F/S 200M (Monrovia’s Jenesis Sanford won the F/S 200M in 26.49).  Monrovia’s China Simpson continued her dominance in the throws, improving her RHL-season best to 33’ 3” in the shot and having a huge improvement in her best discus to 112’ 4” and taking 3rd place in each event.  Other top 3 finishes include: Monrovia’s Jordyn Tucker 2nd in 100M varsity and Jenesis Sanford 2nd in 100M F/S, South Pasadena’s Alexis Mora took 3rd in varsity 400M and teamate Elizabeth Bock took 2nd in the F/S 800M, in the 100M Hurdles, Monrovia’s Baileigh Akins took 2nd in the varsity and South Pas’ Cate Lating won the F/S race, in the relays Monrovia and South Pasadena’s F/S teams took the first two places in both, with Monrovia winning the 4x100 and South Pasadena winning the 4x400M, Monrovia’s Micah Fulton won both the F/S long jump and triple jump, South Pasadena’s Gina Catania took 2nd in the F/S long jump, Karlly Feng of Temple City placed 2nd in the Varsity pole vault and Cate Latting of South Pas took 2nd in F/S, and in the high jump, South Pasadena’s Kate Kutzer placed 2nd in Varsity and teammate Molly Round won the F/S division.