The top spot on our list goes to the last event of the school year, as Long Beach’s athletes saved the best for last. The CIF State Track & Field Championships have been hosted in Clovis since 2009, but in many of those years, the path to a championship has come through Long Beach.
The 2024 meet was no exception, as two schools from the 562 brought home all the hardware. The Wilson girls went back-to-back as the best team in the state, while the Long Beach Poly boys won their first state title since 2011.
For the Bruins, it was their fifth state title in girls’ track, and they are the first Wilson team ever to win back-to-back state championships. Junior Loren Webster started off the day with an impressive performance in the long jump, winning an individual state title with a mark of 20-05.25.
Wilson also won the girls’ 4×400 relay to close out the meet and secure their state title, holding off Ventura by a margin of 36-30. Freshman Sania Varnado made a key contribution for her team, exceeding expectations by taking silver in the 300 hurdles.
For the Poly boys, they had just one individual state champion on their way to an 11th state title in program history, defeating Clovis North 33-28.
Senior Xai Ricks ran a 46.79 to take gold in the boys’ 400, winning his first individual state title to help propel the Jackrabbits to the top of the team standings. The Georgia-bound All-American also anchored Poly’s 4×400 relay, which took third place to close out the meet and secure the team title.
The Poly boys also won a CIF-SS championship two weeks prior, in a tie with Wilson’s boys’ team. Meanwhile, the Poly girls were CIF-SS champs with Wilson taking the runner-up plaque. Needless to say, the 2024 track season belonged to Long Beach, and with tons of returning talent at both schools, 2025 could bring more of the same.
