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Long Beach Poly Track & Field Wilson

Track: Long Beach Poly, Wilson Post Great Marks At Texas Relays

Long Beach Poly and Wilson are both national-level track programs this year, and the two teams have been traveling like it. After spending the weekend in San Diego for the Mt. Carmel Invitational two weekends ago, both teams were in Austin last weekend for the 92nd Annual Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays, one of the most historic meets in the country.

Long Beach Poly had a great trip to austin, winning the distance medley relay. The Jackrabbits 4×100 squad of Kenyon Reed, Kejuan and Keon Markham, and Anthony Johnson posted a new state-leading time of 40.91, and are the only team to go under 41.5 in California this year. Poly’s 4×400 boys squad took second in Texas with a top five state time.

Hurdler Liam Anderson stayed in the top seven in the state in the 300 hurdles with a PR of 38.43.

On the girls’ side, a minor hamstring injury to USC signee Kenya Payne hampered the Jackrabbits’ plans, but they still put up a season-best 4×100 time of 47.02, good enough for No. 4 in the state with the quartet of Queen Okoh, Saundria Martin, Jaelyn Predium, and Zanae Woods.

Across the boys’ and girls’ teams, Poly has 15 top 10 marks in the state.

It was a historic trip to Texas for Wilson. The Bruins had never before won an event at the Texas Relays, and won two this year. The first was the team’s 1600-meter sprint medley, which took first with a nation-leading time of 3:28.31 led by great splits from Andrew Richards and Armando Bryson.

Junior superstar Rachel Glenn also won the Texas Relays championship in the high jump with a leap of 5’8”; Glenn is the defending state champion in the event.

While Wilson had a big group in Texas, other Bruins were burning up the track at the Stanford Invitational, where they posted the No. 2 Distance Medley Relay time in school history with a 10:33.41, good for a top ten spot in California this year. That quartet was Caden Elsesser, Juan Garcia, Jesus Nichol, and Nico Colchico.

Wilson has 12 top 10 marks in the state across its boys’ and girls’ teams.

Neither the Jackrabbits nor the Bruins will be stepping off the national stage any time soon. Both teams will compete at the Arcadia Relays this Friday and Saturday, widely considered one of the top meets in the nation. The two teams will have their league meet against each other on May 10 and then compete at the Moore League Finals at Wilson on May 19.

 

Mike Guardabascio
An LBC native, Mike Guardabascio has been covering Long Beach sports professionally for 13 years, with his work published in dozens of Southern California magazines and newspapers. He's won numerous awards for his writing as well as the CIF Southern Section’s Champion For Character Award, and is the author of three books about Long Beach history.
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