By Tyler Hendrickson, Mike Guardabascio
A historically deep Wilson team threatens to make school and city history this year along with a Long Beach Poly squad that’s loaded as always–both teams are looking to defend championships this year. The league is also packed with quality talent at the other schools as well, setting up what should be a great 2025.
Some key dates: the Arcadia Invitational will be April 11-12; Moore League Finals will be May 1; the CIF-SS finals will be held on May 17 at Moorpark High School; Masters will be 5/24 at Moorpark; and the CIF State meet is scheduled for May 30-31 in Clovis.
Wilson
Across all levels of amateur sports, there’s countless coaches who’ve struggled to get their athletes to “buy in” to the team concept, or even to just attend practice regularly.
The Wilson High track & field program has a different struggle: getting their athletes to leave.
“Trying to get out of here at five o’clock is hard, because no one wants to go home,” said Wilson co-heach coach Neil Nelson. “We have to say, ‘Okay, we’re locking the gates. You guys got to go home.’ No one’s forcing anyone to be here, and that’s what’s helped this program. Me and (co-head coach Shannon Fisher) talk about it all the time, if we were to do a seminar for track coaches, we wouldn’t talk about the workouts or anything. We’d talk about the culture. We’d talk about the atmosphere.”
The Bruins’ culture has ushered in historic levels of success for both the boys’ and girls’ programs in recent seasons. Since 2021, those programs have combined to win three CIF-SS team championships, a pair of runner-up plaques, and two CIF State Championships in Clovis.
Those two state titles have gone to the girls’ program in back-to-back seasons, and the Bruins have a great shot at making it three in a row this spring. Only two girls’ track programs in history have ever won three state titles in a row in California, and no Wilson team has achieved that feat in any sport.
It’s sometimes difficult to say what comes first: the culture or the success. But it’s clear that both are working in tandem for the Bruins. Expectations are high, and athletes know that they’ll need to put the work in from their first day on campus.
“The atmosphere when they train, they know when I say to line up and go, they know they’ve got to go,” said Fisher of the team’s work ethic. “You can’t take it off, because you’re gonna look up and be 40 meters behind the pack … You can see it in the young girls coming in, they’re wide-eyed about the girls that are here, and they want to be like them. They want to be the next set of girls that’s going to be champions. They want to push those seniors and be the next ones to take that place.”
There’s a ton of returning talent for the Bruins to build around this season, starting with senior Loren Webster, the reigning CIF-SS and CIF State champion in the long jump. Beyond her specialty, Webster was also a member of the 4×100 relay that took 2nd at CIF and finished 6th at State. Individually she was 9th in CIF in the 100m and she’s also been working on her triple jump heading into her senior season with the hopes to score in that event as well.
Senior Kaylin Edwards is another standout for the Bruins across multiple events. She was the CIF-SS champion in both the 100 hurdles and the 300 hurdles as a junior, while also winning gold in the 4×400 relay and silver in the 4×100. She’ll help lead an exciting group of hurdlers who may all represent each other’s biggest threat.
Senior Alene Washington was 4th at CIF in the 100 hurdles a year ago while also running in the 4×400, and super sophomore Saniah Varnado turned heads in the 300 hurdles with her 42.11 at the CIF State meet to take silver in that event as a freshman. Add in improving senior Jamiyah Sanders and junior Maya Coomber, and there’s impressive depth among the Wilson hurdles unit.
“It would be great to have four girls in the final at State in the 300 hurdles,” said Fisher with a chuckle, though perhaps only half joking. “And right now, we have three strong ones that could potentially, if nothing goes wrong, they’ll run fast enough to make it all the way to the finals.”
As usual, the Bruins will be strong in the 400, with Varnado and junior Brooke Blue leading the way. Varnado was 2nd at the CIF meet and Blue placed 5th in CIF and at the State meet as a sophomore. Those two, along with Edwards and Washington, are the reigning state champs in the 4×400 relay, looking to improve on their 3:41.40 last season in Clovis.
During the indoor season, Wilson’s 4×400 sent a message at the Simplot Games in Idaho, running a 3:42.64 to open the year. That time not only sets them up for a successful outdoor season, it also broke a 25-year meet record at the Simplot Games, set by a team from the United Stars Track Club out of Philadelphia back in 2000.
“We’ve never opened that fast,” Fisher said. “That was our first indoor 4×4, so for them to open up at 3:42, there’s no telling how far they’re going to drop from there, because there was room for improvement, even in that race.”
The Bruins will also be a threat in the 800 and the 4×800 relay at the state meet. Sophomore Riley Jones will be a big part of that effort, along with Poly transfer Shariyah Lewis-Williams, who was 7th in CIF in the 800 as a freshman. Add in junior Juanita Shotwell, and Wilson may have three runners capable of running 2:10 splits by the end of the season, making for a highly competitive relay squad.
In longer distances, Millikan transfer Nadia Mejia is a cross country standout ready to make her impact on the track the next two seasons.
The Bruins also have some exciting freshmen joining the program, including Brooklyn Fowler in the 200 and 400, and London Weston who’s been trying her hand in the jumps.
“Wilson has a history on the girls’ side, but this could be one of those top teams ever in the history of Wilson. That’s how good they look,” Fisher said, echoing the words of former track coach and Wilson Hall of Famer, Terry Kennedy. “We talked to him when we were in Idaho, and he was like, ‘This is insane. You guys could potentially have the best team that we’ve ever had.’”
Long Beach Poly
The Long Beach Poly girls’ track and field team is off to a fast start, with high expectations for 2025. The Jackrabbits saw league rival Wilson win the CIF State title last year, but it was the Poly girls’ who won the CIF-SS Division 1 championship, a tribute to how exceptionally deep the city’s track ranks are.
“We love it,” said Poly coach Crystal Irving. “You need good competition to make you better–it brings out level of competition up. You have to compete against the best to be the best because you need to be pushed. We’ve both benefitted from that–we both welcome the competition.”
The Jackrabbits sprinters have exploded into 2025, with Brooklyn Lee, Leila Holland, Jaylin Hunter, and Aniyah Brooks all running sub-12.00 times in the 100, and Aurya Betty, Nevaeh Lewis, and Aliyah Stokes all running fast times in the 200 as well. Stokes, Betty, and Hunter will all run the quarter as well.
Holland, Hunter, Brooks and Lee make up Poly’s 4×100 relay, which already posted a 46.01 time at the Redondo Nike Track Festival.
“These times are amazing at this time of year,” said Irving. “We’re looking for some incredible things from our girls’ sprinters this year. We have several girls running faster than what our normal top girls would be running at this time of year.”
Poly is getting a boost in the hurdles from Kadence Bain, the sophomore who recently picked up the hurdles and has currently posted the No. 2 time in the state in the 300 hurdles with a 43.56. Miyana Gramata-Massey and basketball convert Joy Anderson will also hurdle this year, with Anderson also high jumping.
One of the stars of the city this year, high jumper Jillene Wetteland will be the favorite in California this year. The Harvard signee opened the season with a 5-10 mark and is hoping for six feet this Spring.
“She set the tone with the No. 1 mark in the nation to start the season,” said Irving.
Anderson has proven a more than worthy jump-mate for Wetteland, with a 5-8 that’s tied for second-best mark in the state; Anderson was the Moore League Player of the Year in girls’ basketball this year and will attend Pepperdine next year.
Freshman Cynthia Mercado will also high jump for Poly, with Gabrielle Cason pole vaulting, and Eriss Portley long jumping. Jayla Biggers will give Poly a boost in the throws, while the Jackrabbits have depth in the distance races with Avery Peck, Alexa Hernandez-Lujan, Sienna Young, Emily Chun, and Poppy Wells all contributing fresh off Poly’s girls’ cross country title. Peck currently has the league’s fastest time in the mile (5:11) and two mile (11:11). Young is one of the young runners in the league to watch, with the No. 5 time in the league in the mile and No. 4 time in the two mile.
Millikan
The Rams girls’ team will be very young this year, but coach Dee King likes where they’re headed.
“I have a very young girls team–very, very young but promising,” she said. “A lot of girls are on the come-up. Our Site Night was amazing, we had so many kids interested in track and field not just on the boys’ side but also the girls’ side.”
Audrey Hutcherson will run the hurdles, which is King’s specialty (she’s also the hurdles coach at LBCC). The team will feature Estela Lopez in the sprints, Amelia Samudio in the 400, Jaela Brown as a sprint standout, as well as Rachel King and throwers Jocelyn Jimenez and Dali Ramirez in the distance races. Elle Carr and Faith Flores will provide a boost in the throws.
Lakewood
Lakewood has some returning firepower on the girls’ side, with senior Amaya Rice remaining a threat in the sprints. As a sophomore, Rice was part of the Lancers’ 4×100 relay that finished fourth in the state, and individually she placed fourth in the 100 and ninth in the 200 at the CIF-SS finals. She followed that up with a 7th place finish in CIF as a junior in the 200, and will be looking to finish strong in her final season with the Lancers.
Head coach Daniel Sorenson is in his first season overseeing the program after being bumped up from assistant coach, and is hoping a few tweaks can help the Lancers reach their potential
“I have made some major changes focusing on form and strength this preseason,” Sorenson said. “Lakewood has some amazing athletes that our coaching staff and myself are thrilled to see what they can do this season. We want our athletes to challenge themselves to be the best they can be.”
She’ll be joined by sophomore Anaya Jacobs and junior Kai Embree running the 200 and 400, with senior Tinaya Campbell focusing on the 400 and the 300 hurdles.
The Lancers have a pair of distance runners who should be standouts this season, with senior NIkie Costa looking to break 12 minutes in the 3200 and senior Maia Lopez improving her speed to focus on the 800 this spring.
Lakewood will be led in the field events by junior Chrisette Hill in the throws and sophomore Jania McMichael in the triple jump and pole vault.
Cabrillo
Cabrillo coach Kennard Hamilton is excited to build on the success the Jaguars had last season.
“We look to lean on Lauren Farr (fifth place CIF Finals last year) to lead our squad this season,” he said. “Our ladies team is young this year but I’m excited and expecting great things in the future for them.”
Farr was a podium finisher in the throws at league who took fifth in the CIF-SS Finals with a 36-0.5, a mark she already bettered in her first competition in 2025.
Jordan
Jordan is in rebuild mode after the departure of coach Sharaud Moore, who took the job at Loyola High. Moore’s boys’ Panthers won the Moore League title in 2022 (the school’s first in 13 years) and the CIF-SS title that year as well, the school’s first since 2001. This year well-respected youth coach Scoey Peters has taken the reigns with the Panthers.
“We’re thin and looking for consistency right now,” he said. Peters has had a successful run coaching at Cabrillo previously.
Compton
The Compton girls’ squad will be led by a talented youngster in sophomore Laia Williams, who made it to CIF prelims as a freshman in the long jump, posting a PR of 16-08.5 in her final jump of the season. As a sophomore, she’ll be focusing on running the 200 and 400, according to coach Derrick Anderson.
St. AnthonySt. Anthony has a young squad this year under head coach Stephen Kelley. The Saints will look to junior Laila Hughes to lead the way in the sprints while sophomore Olivia Contreras should be a standout in the 800 and the half-mile.
