By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Here are 10 storylines involving high school events to follow at the 60th Mt. SAC Relays at El Camino College in Torrance, Calif.

Programming Note: You can watch the live Webcast here of the meet Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The USATF.TV broadcast and on-demand videos will only be available for USATF.TV +PLUS subscribers. Subscribe here.

A dynamic distance field

To illustrate just how coveted an automatic berth to participate June 8 at the Brooks PR Invitational is, athletes are traveling from Colorado, Nevada, Texas and Wyoming to race against some of California’s elite talent in the girls 3,200 meters.

After deciding not to defend her title April 7 at the 51st Arcadia Invitational, Malibu junior Claudia Lane – second in last year’s Brooks PR 2-mile race – is scheduled to compete Friday in an attempt to secure a return trip to race the week after the California state meet in Shoreline, Wash.

Fort Collins CO graduate Lauren Gregory, an Arkansas freshman, set the 3,200 meet record last year by clocking 10:08.31. Lane has a personal best of 9:57.52, but has only run one competitive 3,200 this season when she prevailed in 10:24.72 on March 31 at the 43rd Stanford Invitational.

Cheyenne Central WY senior Aubrey Frentheway, Telluride CO senior Soleil Gaylord, Basic NV junior Raquel Chavez and Libby McGrath, a home-schooled freshman from San Antonio TX, are all scheduled to compete against Lane and two-time Nike Cross Nationals finalist Lauren Peurifoy, a junior at Martin Luther King CA.

Other California standouts Elena Denner and Maddy Denner of Oak Ridge, McKenna Brown of La Costa Canyon and Kelli Hines of Mission Viejo are all entered in both the mile and 3,200, so it remains to be seen where they will place their focus since the races are less than 30 minutes apart Friday.

Another memorable mile

The winners of the boys 1,600 or mile races the past eight years at Mt. SAC are some of the most decorated prep distance runners in recent memory, highlighted by St. Joseph Notre Dame CA star Cooper Teare, now an Oregon freshman, running 4:00.16 in the mile last year.

With a guaranteed spot on the starting line June 8 at the Brooks PR Invitational awarded to the winner of Friday’s race, there are several elite performers from California and other states ready to join the legacy of Mt. SAC champions.

Volcano Vista NM senior Jericho Cleveland, the 1,600 national leader (4:09.81) who ranks second in the mile (4:11.22), is primed to follow winners from Arizona, Colorado and Nevada and steal the spotlight from several California standouts.

Mira Costa senior Xavier Court won the mile March 24 at the New Balance Azusa Meet of Champions and followed with a seeded 3,200 victory April 7 at the Arcadia Invitational.

Bakersfield Highland senior Moises Medrano, Jesuit sophomore Matt Strangio, Liberty Ranch senior Collin Ullrich, Menlo senior Robert Miranda and Redlands East Valley senior Elias Opsahl are all leading contenders, along with Bishop Shanahan PA sophomore Jonah Hoey.

Looking to double her pleasure

Long Beach Poly senior Ariyonna Augustine is entered in four events, but the one that carries the most weight for the reigning California sprint champion is the 100, where a trip June 8 to the Brooks PR Invitational is at stake.

There won’t be any strangers in the competition for Augustine, with all nine entries representing California.

Augustine won the 100 in a wind-legal 11.56 on April 7 at the Arcadia Invitational. Amador Valley junior Chinyere Okoro placed third in the same race in 11.63.

Serra junior Jazmyne Frost boasts a season best of 11.74, with Coronado junior Alysah Hickey running a personal-best 11.87.

Frost will look to make it two in a row for Serra after Jasmin Reed, now an Oregon freshman, won last season. Augustine, who is also entered in the 200, 4x100 and 4x200, will look to follow former Long Beach Poly star Ariana Washington and secure the Jackrabbits’ first victory in the event since 2014.

Renewing acquaintances

Five of the athletes entered in the boys 3,200 competed in December at either Nike Cross Nationals or Foot Locker Nationals, so there should be plenty of familiarity, even if they have yet to race each other during the outdoor track season.

Kashon Harrison of Kirtland Central NM, the Foot Locker West Regional winner, reunites with Darius Riley of Rancho Cucamonga CA and Joaquin Martinez de Pinillos of Cathedral Catholic CA. El Camino Real CA senior Justin Hazell and Rubidoux CA sophomore Kevin Ramos competed at NXN.

Cibola AZ senior Thomas Cain is also scheduled to race, with the winner earning the opportunity to compete June 8 at the Brooks PR Invitational.

After no athlete broke the 9-minute barrier from 2007-15, St. Joseph Notre Dame CA graduate Cooper Teare ran 8:55.33 in 2016, followed by Fresno CA standout Evert Silva, now a freshman at Portland, setting the meet record at 8:54.74 last year.

Hurdling hierarchy

El Cerrito CA graduate Kaylah Robinson, now an Oregon freshman, won the girls 100-meter hurdles in 13.72 seconds last year at the Brooks PR Invitational and she wasn’t even the fastest performer from her own state. That honor belonged to state record holder Tara Davis of Agoura High, who ran a wind-legal 12.95 the following week at the USATF Junior Outdoor Championships.

In addition to earning a trip to race June 8 at Brooks PR in Shoreline, Wash., there is a legacy of great hurdlers who have won at Mt. SAC that Upland CA senior Jada Hicks, Temecula Valley CA senior Danae Dyer and the other entries are trying to follow.

Former Hoover AL star Brittley Humphrey, an LSU sophomore, set the meet record in 2016 by running a wind-legal 13.24. Long Beach Poly CA graduate Traci Hicks has the fastest time under all conditions from 2012 with a wind-aided 13.22.

Upland has three entries, with Hicks being joined by teammates Kennedy Smith and Jordyn Grady. Santa Margarita CA senior Nikki Merritt is also entered after sweeping both hurdles April 14 at the ASICS Orange County Championships.

Redemption run

Yucaipa CA senior Asani Hampton rebounded April 14 by winning the 100 and 200 at the Inland Empire County Championships, but after not winning either event April 7 at the Arcadia Invitational, he is looking to join prestigious company at Mt. SAC by sweeping both titles.

Not since Notre Dame CA graduate Khalfani Muhammad, currently a running back for the Tennessee Titans, achieved the feat in 2012-13 has a male sprinter won both the 100 and 200 in the same year at Mt. SAC.

Hampton will face fields entirely of California standouts in both races, with emphasis on the 100 and clinching a trip to race June 8 at the Brooks PR Invitational.

USC teammates Michael Norman and TJ Brock hold the respective boys 100 meet records. Norman, a Vista Murrieta CA graduate, ran a wind-legal 10.27 in 2016 after Brock – a Chaminade CA graduate – clocked a wind-aided 10.20 the year before, the fastest prep time under all conditions in meet history.

Hampton has wind-legal personal bests of 10.40 and 21.19.

He’ll be tested in the 100 by Oaks Christian junior Cristian Moore, Servite senior Julius Irvin, Murrieta Mesa senior Christian Shakir-Ricks and Tulare Union senior Kazmier Allen.

Coming down from altitude for race with magnitude

Sonoma Academy CA senior Rylee Bowen had an opportunity to make history by becoming the first three-time girls mile winner in meet history.

Instead, her absence from the field Friday could result in the first representative from Colorado or Wyoming to win the race at Mt. SAC and earn a significant trip to compete June 8 at the Brooks PR Invitational.

Peak to Peak CO teammates Quinn McConnell, Anna Shults and Tiana Bradfield are all entered, with the trio having already competed in California on April 7 at the Arcadia Invitational.

Mackenzie Marler of Cheyenne East WY is also scheduled to race, along with St. James AL freshman Presley Miles, in a field that also includes several California standouts.

Saugus senior Mariah Castillo, Capistrano Valley senior Haley Herberg and Claremont senior Sydney Hwang are among the leading entries. Oak Ridge senior twins Elena Denner and Maddy Denner, along with La Costa Canyon senior McKenna Brown and Mission Viejo junior Kelli Hines are entered in both the mile and 3,200, making for interesting decisions as to where they will focus their energy Friday.

The last girls mile or 1,600 winner from outside California was Sydney Badger of Centennial NV in 2013. Bowen holds the meet record for the mile at 4:47.26 in 2016.

Jackman looks to be leading man

Clayton Valley CA senior Aidan Jackman became the first California athlete April 7 to run under 14 seconds this season in the boys 110-meter hurdles, clocking a wind-legal 13.98 at the Arcadia Invitational.

Jackman will look for a repeat performance Saturday when he looks to not only improve on his personal best, but punch his ticket to race June 8 at the Brooks PR Invitational.

Carson CA senior Andre Butt, St. Mary’s Stockton CA sophomore Jamar Marshall and Upland CA junior Caleb Roberson look to stand in the way of Jackman becoming the first Northern California athlete since former James Logan star Kevin Craddock in 2003 to win at Mt. SAC and deny him a trip to compete in Washington the week after the state meet.

Middle-distance marvel

Although the boys 800 is not one of the eight events where an automatic bid to race June 8 at the Brooks PR Invitational is guaranteed, senior Josh Hoey of Bishop Shanahan PA already made his case Feb. 25 when he ran a national high school indoor record 1:47.67 at the Boston University Last Chance Meet.

Along with sophomore brother Jonah Hoey, Josh is entered in the 800, aiming for the meet record 1:51.06, which was set in 1992 by Milton Hughes of Stagg CA and equaled in 2012 by Nick Hartle of Centennial NV, the last athlete outside of California to win the event at Mt. SAC.

Volcano Vista NM senior Jericho Cleveland, who ran 1:52.78 on March 24 at the 78th NIKE Chandler Rotary Invitational, is also scheduled to compete Saturday in the 800 after running the mile Friday.

Roosevelt CA senior Jackson Taylor, Tesoro CA senior Ryan Bush and Redlands East Valley CA senior Elias Opsahl are all expected to contend for the title.

Playing the field

Trabuco Hills CA senior Sean Lee, the 2016 winner at Mt. SAC, is one of three boys high jumpers in the country to clear 7-3 (2.21m) this season and if he can duplicate that feat Saturday, it would equal the meet record set in 1994 by Jeremy Fischer of Camarillo CA and matched in 2013 by Bishop Gorman NV star Randall Cunningham.

Two girls pole vault standouts from out of state who boast 13-foot clearances figure to square off for the championship when Liberty NV senior Gabby Carson and New Iberia Catholic LA senior Reagann LeLeux square off Saturday.

Since girls pole vault was added to the Mt. SAC Relays schedule in 1997, no female athlete outside of California has captured the title. Anaheim Canyon CA graduate and three-time champion Rachel Baxter, a freshman at Virginia Tech returning to compete in the collegiate event Saturday, set the high school meet record last year at 14-0 (4.27m).

Great Oak CA senior CJ Stevenson won the boys long jump and triple jump last season with marks of 23-2 (7.06m) and 48-4.25 (14.73m) to help the Wolfpack capture a fourth straight boys team championship. If Stevenson, who has efforts of 24-3 (7.39m) and 50-5 (15.37m) this season, can sweep both jumps again, he would be the first male athlete in meet history to win the two events in consecutive seasons.

Alexa Porpaczy, a senior at Semiahmoo Secondary School in Surrey, British Columbia, won the event last year with a 5-10 (1.78m) clearance and has a personal-best 5-11 (1.80m). Coronado CA junior Alysah Hickey cleared 5-9 (1.75m) to win April 7 at the Arcadia Invitational.

Ventura CA junior Carlos Aviles looks to sweep the discus throw and shot put, following the achievement of Esperanza CA graduate Bronson Osborn in 2016. Osborn set the shot put meet record of 71-7.25 (21.82m) and produced the No. 2 discus throw in meet history at 204-4 (62.29m).

Aviles is one of the top juniors in the country with season bests of 63-5.5 (19.34m) in the shot put and 194-1 (59.17m) in the discus. He will square off Saturday in the discus against Liberty NV junior Corey Moore.