By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

The 63rd Mt. SAC Relays are scheduled for Wednesday, April 12 through Saturday, April 15 at Hilmer Lodge Stadium in Walnut, Calif.

63RD MT. SAC RELAYS LIVE WEBCAST INFO

Here are 10 storylines involving boys high school athletes to follow at one of the nation’s most prestigious track and field competitions:

Sprint showdown in the spotlight

One of the most anticipated matchups of the meet involves a quartet of sprinters from California all squaring off Saturday in the invitational section of the 200 meters.

Jaelen Knox of Long Beach Poly ran a wind-aided 20.85 last year for the fastest all-conditions performance in meet history, but the meet record remains 20.90 established by Kenan Christon of San Diego Madison High in 2019.

Clovis North’s Nickolas Miller, who ran a wind-aided 21.00 at last year’s meet, is also entered, along with Gardena Serra’s Rodrick Pleasant and Granada Hills teammates Jordan Coleman and Dijon Stanley.

Pleasant swept the 100 and 200 titles at last year’s California state final and boasts a wind-legal personal-best effort of 20.40 in the latter.

Coleman prevailed in the 200 in 21.01 on April 8 at the Arcadia Invitational, with Stanley clocking 21.27.

Robert Woods is the last Serra athlete to win the 200 at Mt. SAC in 2010. Crenshaw’s DeAnthony Thomas was the last competitor from the L.A. City Section to secure the 200 victory at Mt. SAC in 2009.

Herriman seeks another chapter in Soles’ relay history

When Doug Soles coached at Great Oak High in California, the Wolfpack put together one of the greatest showcases in meet history in 2016 by sweeping the boys invitational section titles in the 4x800, 4x1,600 and distance medley relays, highlighted by a national prep all-time mark of 16:52.95 in the 4x1,600 at Cerritos College.

Soles, now coaching at Herriman High in Utah, has similar aspirations Friday and Saturday, with the Mustangs’ quartet of Maxwell Hofheins, William Steadman, William Horne and Noah Jenkins looking for a sub-17 performance in the 4x1,600.

Great Oak, Crescenta Valley, Menlo School, San Clemente, Campolindo and Madera South are among the California programs looking to prevent another team from outside the state from winning the invitational 4x1,600 for the second year in a row after Desert Vista High from Arizona prevailed last season.

Herriman will also match up Friday in the invitational 4x800 against reigning champion Simi Valley Royal, along with Long Beach Poly, Great Oak, Loyola, Martin Luther King and San Clemente.

The Mustangs are also scheduled to compete Saturday in the invitational DMR against San Clemente and Loyola.

Great Oak boasts the invitational 4x800 meet record of 7:37.61 from 2016, with Newbury Park achieving the all-time DMR mark of 9:55.24 to produce a California state record last year.

A dash of great distinction

For all the elite sprinters who have competed at Gardena Serra High in California, none of them have won the invitational boys 100-meter dash at the Mt. SAC Relays.

Rodrick Pleasant is motivated to end that drought Saturday, and the senior might just eclipse the meet record in the process.

Pleasant boasts a wind-legal personal-best 10.14 seconds, with Vista Murrieta High graduate Michael Norman achieving the meet record of 10.27 at Cerritos College in 2016.

Nyckoles Harbor II of Archbishop Carroll in Washington D.C. just missed Norman’s all-time mark with a wind-legal 10.28 performance last year.

Former West Hills Chaminade standout TJ Brock achieved a wind-aided 10.20 in 2015 for the best all-conditions performance in meet history.

Pleasant is scheduled to compete against California rivals Jordan Coleman of Granada Hills, Jordan Washington from Long Beach Jordan, Oaks Christian’s Chase Farrell and Clovis North’s Nickolas Miller.

Coleman prevailed in the seeded 100 on April 8 at the Arcadia Invitational in a wind-legal 10.36, looking to become the first L.A. City Section athlete to win the invitational event at Mt. SAC since 2001.

Momentum building toward meaningful mile

There hasn’t been a sub-4:10 performance in the invitational mile since Jericho Cleveland of Volcano Vista High in New Mexico clocked 4:09.42 to prevail in 2018 at El Camino College.

The last California prep athlete to run under 4:10 nearly eclipsed the 4-minute barrier when Cooper Teare of Alameda St. Joseph Notre Dame High clocked a meet-record 4:00.16 in 2017, also at El Camino College.

Although a sub-4 mile isn’t expected Friday, Clovis East’s Carter Spradling, Templeton’s Josh Bell, Long Beach Millikan’s Jason Parra, Palmdale Highland’s Matthew Donis and Los Angeles Cathedral teammates Emmanuel Hernandez and Emmanuel Perez are all looking to achieve sub-4:10 efforts.

Perez clocked 4:09.27 in the 1,600 meters March 4 at the Sound Running TEN event at JSerra High, with Spradling winning the West Coast Relays in 4:12.68 on April 1 at Buchanan High’s Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Parra finished fourth in the mile last year at Mt. SAC in 4:13.23. He clocked 8:46.50 in the invitational 3,200 on April 8 at the Arcadia Invitational, with Spradling running 8:50.79, Perez achieving 8:53.07 and Donis right behind in 8:53.66 to all place in the top 20.

Stanley takes aim at the greatness of Granville

Although Michael Granville of Bell Gardens High in California is best known for setting the national high school record of 1:46.45 in the 800, his legacy at the Mt. SAC Relays is winning the invitational 400 all four years in his prep career from 1993-96.

Although Granada Hills’ Dijon Stanley can’t match that overall career consistency, he does have a significant opportunity Saturday to take down Granville’s 1995 meet record of 46.49.

Stanley won the invitational 400 in 45.92 on April 8 at the Arcadia Invitational for the second-fastest performance in meet history, also elevating to No. 12 all-time in California.

Helix’s Adren Parker was second last year at Mt. SAC in 47.70, with Stanley taking third in 47.74.

Parker, who was sixth at Arcadia in 47.33, will have another opportunity to compete Saturday against Stanley before they are likely to square off again May 26-27 at the California state meet.

Los Angeles Cathedral’s Ambodai Ligons, Moreau Catholic’s Bryce Thomas, Oaks Christian’s Chase Hansen and Bakersfield Liberty’s Ethan Mahanke are also scheduled to compete.

Two laps, pair of titles more than a decade in the making

Nick Hartle of Las Vegas Centennial High not only holds the meet record in the invitational 800 meters at 1:51.06, but he is also the last male athlete to secure back-to-back victories in the event in 2011-12.

Marcell Francis-Mitchell of Long Beach Wilson has the opportunity to not only repeat as champion, but potentially challenge the meet’s all-time mark after winning last year in 1:52.71.

Francis-Mitchell is expected to compete against Buchanan teammates Noah Ray and Zach Weaver as well as Great Oak’s Gabriel Rodriguez.

Rodriguez ran 1:51.79 and Ray clocked 1:51.97 on March 25 at the Meet of Champions Distance Classic at Azusa Pacific. Los Angeles Cathedral’s Santiago Orozco clocked 1:53.66 at APU and is also scheduled to race Saturday.

Francis-Mitchell ran 1:53.91 on March 18 at the California Relays.

Battle for bragging rights

Fresno Central is the reigning California state champion in the 4x100-meter relay.

Granada Hills is the state leader this season and ranks No. 3 all-time in California after Jordan Coleman, Dijon Stanley, Kanye Martin and Jayden Smith produced a 40.28 performance April 8 to win the invitational section at the Arcadia Invitational.

The powerhouses from the L.A. City and Central sections will collide Saturday in the invitational 4x100, both targeting the 2010 meet record of 40.72 established by Long Beach Poly.

St. John Bosco clocked 40.80 to win the invitational 4x100 last year at Mt. SAC, the first sub-41 performance at the meet since 2017.

Central boasts a season-best 41.82 from March 17 at the Gateway to Track and Field Invitational at Buchanan High’s Veterans Memorial Stadium, the site of the May 26-27 state meet.

Central triumphed last year at the state final in 41.36, with Granada Hills finishing seventh in 42.04.

The last L.A. City Section program to win the invitational 4x100 at Mt. SAC was Dorsey in 2005.

A ring dominated or a ring divided

Cade Moran of Murrieta Mesa High in California became the first male athlete to sweep the invitational discus throw and shot put titles at Mt. SAC since former Anaheim Esperanza standout Bronson Osborn in 2016, achieving marks of 65-0.25 (19.82m) and 200-6 (61.12m), respectively.

Redondo Union’s Kai Deines, Clovis North’s McKay Madsen, Rancho Buena Vista’s Tyler Knowles, Warren’s Jaylon Wells, Westlake’s Adam Laycock, Garden Grove Pacifica’s Zach Lewis and Buchanan’s Derek Smith are all scheduled to compete in both events, with one athlete to looking to step forward to sweep both events.

Deines was fifth in the discus at 180-4 (54.96m) and sixth in the shot put at 57-3 (17.44m) on April 8 at the Arcadia Invitational. Wells finished fourth in the shot put at Arcadia with a mark of 58-7 (17.85m) and Madsen secured sixth in the discus at 173-9 (52.95m).

Looking to end lengthy drought

Long Beach Poly has won the invitational 4x400-meter relay seven times in the past 25 years, but the Jackrabbits haven’t secured victory at Mt. SAC since 2014.

Long Beach Wilson has never won the boys 4x400 in meet history.

With the Moore League rivals entering the meet as the top two programs in the state this season, one of the droughts is likely to end Saturday, although Fresno Central, Granada Hills, Gardena Serra and last year’s champion Los Angeles Cathedral will attempt to prevent Poly and Wilson from securing the victory.

Wilson’s Diego Alvarado, JaeRon Harris, Marcell Francis-Mitchell and JT Kraemer ran 3:15.04 on April 1 at the 95th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays.

Poly’s Noah Smith, Caliph Johnson, Lamarr Kirk Jr. and Xai Ricks prevailed in 3:15.56 on April 8 at the Arcadia Invitational.

Central clocked 3:17.86 on March 17 at the Gateway to Track and Field Invitational at Buchanan High’s Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Cathedral, which prevailed last year in 3:18.02, has done an impressive job of reloading despite the graduation of three athletes from that lineup, clocking 3:18.20 at Arcadia.

Poly and Wilson both have the potential to challenge the 2011 meet record of 3:13.52 achieved by the Jackrabbits.

Green hopes to reach even more rarefied air

Buchanan senior Hilton Green has produced personal-best clearances in the pole vault in his past two invitational appearances, clearing 16-6 (5.03m) on April 1 at the West Coast Relays at his home venue of Veterans Memorial Stadium, followed by a 16-9 (5.10m) effort April 8 at the Arcadia Invitational.

Green will look to continue his momentum Saturday and the pursuit of the first 17-foot clearance at Mt. SAC since 2018.

Dylan Curtis of Redondo Union, who cleared 16-3 (4.95m) at Arcadia to place second, and fifth-place finisher Jacob Emerson of Sage Creek and his 15-9 (4.80m) performance are also scheduled to compete at Hilmer Lodge Stadium.

Curtis took third last year, but has improved significantly since clearing 15-1.75 (4.62m) at Mt. SAC.