Bay Area's top qualifiers, storylines at CIF State Track and Field championships
The year before, there was only one local champion — De La Salle-Concord high jumper Chukwunonso Udeh (now at Cal) won the long jump — and in 2022 three Bay Area girls won state titles: Dublin pole vaulter Jathiyah Muhammad, Los Gatos high jumper Hannah Slover and Montgomery-Santa Rosa 3,200-meter runner Hanne Thomsen.
Pittsburg boys senior pole vaulter Khaliq Muhammad: His 17 feet, 1 inch vault not only won him his third North Coast Section Meet of Champions' title on Saturday, but it set a new meet record. His mark is 6 inches better than the field, though defending champion Kai Anderson, of University City-San Diego, is in the mix. Muhammad's sister Jathiyah won her second state title last season, when Khaliq placed second. 'I expect myself to break records and win titles because I've been training at this for 12 years,' Khaliq said. 'Everything is consistent with me now. I've hit 17 feet three meets in a row. Hopefully I can make it four.'
Menlo School-Atherton boys senior 3,200 runner Landon Pretre: It's been a steady rise for Pretre, who qualified but did not finish as a freshman in state finals. As a sophomore he ran on the 4x800 relay at state (Menlo placed second) and last year he finished seventh in the 3,200. His winning 8:48.57 Central Coast Section title time last week at cool and blustery Gilroy High was more than a second faster than the runner-up, Piedmont Hills-San Jose senior Yosef Berhan (8:49.65), who is the No. 2 qualifier.
De La Salle boys junior sprinter Jaden Jefferson: After placing fourth in the 100 last year in 10.49 seconds, the North Carolina football recruit put together his best performance last week as a prep, winning the NCS MOC 100 in a section-record 10.30 — the state's top qualifying mark — and taking the 200 going away in another PR of 21.11, which ranks fourth. His second leg in the 4x100 relay will be key for the Spartans to place. Their second-place 41.20 time ranks fifth going in.
St. Mary's-Berkeley girls junior triple jumper Kira Gant Hatcher: She won by almost a foot at NCS MOC, but her top qualifying mark of 40 feet, 10½ inches was aided by a 4.5 meters-per-second wind. The wind was in her face while winning the long jump at 19-4¾, which ranks second heading into the meet.
More storylines
• Stanford-bound distance runner Thomsen ranks sixth in the 1,600 (4:47.25) and fifth in the 3,200 (10:19.56), but she was just cruising en route to two of her five NCS MOC titles last week. After winning the state 3,200 as a freshman, she was injured as a sophomore (at Arcada she PR'd in the 3,200 at 9:55.31) and placed second in the 3,200 last season to Eastlake-San Diego's Jaelyn Williams, who is back to defend her title.
• St. Ignatius juniors Ellie McCuskey-Hay and Prince Babalola-Buchango could win up to five medals. McCuskey-Hay was the state runner-up in the 100 as a freshman and could challenge again for a gold medal. Babalola-Buchango probably won't be shooting for first, but is looking to final in the 100, 200 and 110 hurdles.
• De La Salle's run for a state title is filled with drama and inspiration after losing head coach John Harvey, who died unexpectedly on April 28 due to a respiratory ailment. The Spartans have athletes scattered all over the board, including NCS champions Anthony Dean (triple jump), Trey Caldwell (3,200) and Chase Young (110 hurdles).
• Sacred Heart Cathedral 1,600 boys standout Miles Cook has a qualifying time of 4:10.09 but his 4:08.33 mark last season is the fastest in San Francisco prep history. The Cal Poly-bound senior may not win a state title — CCS rivals Benjamin Bouie (Crystal Springs-Hillsborough) and Aydon Stefanopoulos (Los Gatos) have faster times — but he's made an indelible mark on the SHC program and region. 'He's a better person than he is a runner, which is obviously saying a lot,' Irish coach Andy Chan said.
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