No sport in Long Beach has been more successful than track and field over the last several years, so it’s no surprise that both of this year’s All-City Freshmen of the Year come from the oval. Long Beach Poly and Wilson both captured state titles this year, and neither would have been atop the podium at the end of the night if it hadn’t been for their standout freshmen.
At Long Beach Poly, freshman Ben Harris was the most electric ninth grader in California as an elite sprinter. He led the Jackrabbits’ 4×100 to a CIF State silver medal with a time of 40.80–that relay in and of itself was three freshman and a sophomore and will be making a lot of noise for the next couple of seasons. His fellow 4×100 freshmen Julius Johnson and Donte Wright could arguably be the second and third-place finishers for Frosh of the Year on the boys side, especially with Johnson’s finish in the 200 at the CIF State Meet.
Harris also won the Arcadia Invitational 100 as a freshman, believed to be the first in at least two decades to do so, running a 10.38. He placed fifth at the CIF State meet in the 100, as the only freshman running in the race.
At Wilson, freshman Saniah Varnado exploded onto the scene this year and coach Shannon Fisher described her future as “limitless.”
Varnado opened the season running races anywhere from 100-400 and both hurdles events as well. In her first 300 hurdles this season she won the Cal High All-Comers Meet with a time of 47.46. Four months later she would take second at the CIF State Meet in the event with a PR time of 42.11, as the only freshman running in the State Final.
She was also a valuable part of the Bruins’ relays, and helped lead them to a CIF State title in the 4×400 with a time of 3:41.40.
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