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Articles by Mark Gardner
California Girls Cross Country 2023 Super Seven
Jul 11, 2023 If we were to take California's top returning high school girls cross country runners to compete for state bragging rights against the best from other states, what super seven returning girls would be on the line to represent the Golden State? We asked Mark Gardner to select this fall's MileSplitCA Super Seven Girls XC Team. Mark is a longtime former coach, popular XC/T&F announcer, and a regular contributor to MileSplit. Here are his selections ranked 1-7: 1.
CA Sophomore Girls All-State Track and Field Team
MileSplitCA Sophomore Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year Sadie Engelhardt Ventura (SS) Sadie is a two-time 1600m CIF-State champion, who set the meet record this spring with a U.S. No. 1 time of 4:33.45 (just off her 4:33.29 CA record from a year ago), and then she went out and did the unthinkable, doubling in the 800m with a late kick for a 2:07.22 victory to defeat the defending champion and current national leader.
Southern Section Boys Track and Field Season in Review
Rodrick Pleasant (right) and Jordan Washington dropped sprint performances during the 2023 post-season that stood above the rest in the history of high school track and field in CA. * * * With another record-setting season in the rearview mirror, we reflect on the top headliners from the 2023 season!At the California State Championships, the Southern Section captured the gold in 12 of the 17 events while the sprints carried most of the headlines in 2023.
CIF STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS: Girls and Boys Team Title Preview
At the 2023 CIF-State Track and Field Championship meet that begins Friday at Buchanan HS, there are 14 individual events, now three relays, and a new scoring format that additionally awards 0.5 points for ninth place. These all add up to team scoring at Saturday's finals with some sweet iconic hardware making the trip back for boys and girls team champions and runners-up.
RANKINGS CA Pre-State Meet Track and Field Team Rankings
After last weekend's action where we witnessed the CIF-SS Divisional finals, to go along with qualifying action in the Central, Central-Coast, San Diego, and Sac-Joaquin sections - we had some slight shuffling of our California team state rankings. The inaugural 4x800 relay may also play a major role in determining the state champion. Our subjective rankings are based on the new scoring system that the California State Meet is using this year where ninth place is now granted 0.5 points.
PREVIEW: The CIF-Southern Section Masters Meet
May 19, 2023 Upland senior Davis-Davis Lyric is a favorite in both the 110m and 300m hurdle races at Southern Section Masters. Southern Section Masters at Moorpark HS WATCH LIVE ON MILESPLIT Field at 11:30 a.m., Track at 1 p.m. Advancement into the May 26-27 State Meet at Buchanan HS, Clovis: Top six (6) finishers in each event, plus anyone hitting the at-large standard will advance to the State Meet.
CIF-STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS - Boys and Girls Distances Preview
May 24, 2023 Next up in our series previewing the 2023 CIF-State Track and Field Championships by event group, we focus on the three distance events. In the 800m and 1600m events, the top three in each heat, and the next fastest times to total twelve (12) at Friday's prelims will advance to Saturday's finals. The 3200m is a finals-only event to be held Saturday night.
RECAP JSerra Dominates at the CIF-SS Division 3 Prelims
May 08, 2023 JSerra girls were dominant at the Southern Section Division 3 Preliminaries at Yorba Linda HS. For the first time, the CIF-SS Division 3 prelims were held at Yorba Linda High and the section transitioned away from Estancia High.With that, the top-ranked JSerra girls squad checked all of the boxes as expected in advancing more than any other team, regardless of division.
RECAP Team Battles Tighten at Southern Section D-2 Prelims
Westlake and Mater Dei among boys, Culver City and J.W. North among girls, are the top teams that emerged from the D-2 Prelims at Ventura HS primed to compete for division titles at this week's championships. RESULTS|PHOTOS| INTERVIEWS Hosted at Ventura High, the CIF-Southern Section Division 2 Prelims took center stage while showcasing some of California's top talents.
RECAP CIF-SS Division 1 Prelims Provide the Fireworks
The battle for Southern Section D-1 supremacy between Long Beach powers Poly and Wilson survived Saturday's preliminary test with flying colors en route to targeting next week's division final throwdown.
[Hybrid Event] Navigating the M&A Waters of FDA-Regulated Companies - May 18th, Spring Park, MN | JD Supra
VIEW THE AGENDA Join Gardner Law and colleagues live from Lord Fletcher's on Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota for a complimentary CLE event. Hear from a panel of experts on compliance, data breaches, FDA regulations, privacy, and more. Live and virtual attendance options: In person at Lord Fletcher's on Lake Minnetonka, 3746 Sunset Dr, Spring Park, MN Virtually via GoToWebinar (a link will be sent during registration)
RECAP: Boys on Fire at APU Distance Meet of Champs!
As we typed up our meet preview going into the Distance Meet of Champs, our excitement of what could be accelerated as we previewed each nighttime race. Once the set had completely set and crowds filtered out of the stadium - it was clearly evident that the boys did not disappoint and lived up to the headlines and elite expectations! As the kids, these days would say...
PREVIEW APU Distance Meet of Champs Elite Field Is Loaded
AZUSA -- The largest distance-only meet assembled in Southern California, the Meet of Champions will be once again held at Azusa Pacific University! Snuggled up against the San Gabriel Mountains, over 2,500 athletes will converge on the quaint venue that has become synonymous with some of the fastest times in distance running in the nation - from the prep level up to the elites! Meet director Tim O'Rourke has expanded the number of heats (and depth) of the nighttime invitational session which...
RECAP Winter Champs Showcases Distance Talents!
* * * COVERAGE -RESULTS-PHOTOS-INTERVIEWS -ARTICLES The 2023 edition of the CA Winter Championships did not disappoint as like we witnessed in most of the events, across the board, the distance talents on display also created their own fireworks! Arguably the day's top performance came from the girls of Oaks Christian! Focused solely on stealing the show in the Distance Medley Relay, they brought three separate squads but the Lions 'A' team smoked the track to an 11:47.11 effort, which is the...
Transatlantic Legal-Regulatory Update: Live from the Heart of Silicon Valley | JD Supra
US and EU Life Sciences Law firms Fieldfisher & Gardner Law recently held a CLE event in Silicon Valley covering Healthcare Compliance, Data Privacy and Regulatory hot topics for MedTech and Pharma companies.
STATE MEET PREVIEW What to Watch for in Division I
Top Individual Storyline With Buchanan ready to monopolize the top ten, will there be someone else claiming the individual title? Individual Competition Unfortunately due to injuries, our defending champion Anna McNatt (McClatchy/SJ) had to sit out the season. That would leave Buchanan senior Sydney Sundgren, after placing third a year ago (17:30.4) to the front of the line.
PREVIEW Elite Talent, Fast Times set for Woodbridge Classic
41st Woodbridge Cross Country Classic Buchanan's Sydney Sundgren (left), Newbury Park's Aaron Sahlman (center), and Ventura's Sadie Engelhardt (right) lead elite California athletes and teams into this week's Woodbridge Invitational.
'22 CROSS COUNTRY PREVIEW - Southern Section Girls
eight consecutive divisional titles and 10 in the past 11 seasons - they are primed to bring the team title back to their campus. In a season where, on paper, Division 1 is thinner at the top-tiered squads, no other program can match their depth and overall talent. They return eight girls with sub-12 minute resumes for the 3200 meters with six of those competing on their 2021 State Meet squad, which also placed second at the CIF-SS D-1 final.
30 Boys XC Teams to Watch this Fall: Newbury Park (SS)
Aug 20, 2022 It's time to get fired up for cross country! In our final installment of the 30 Teams To Watch preview series, we saved the best for last. As always, if you catch an error or have updated information for us, email CA state editor Jeffrey Parenti (jeffrey.parenti@flosports.tv) and we'll make the corrections.
30 Boys Teams to Watch this Fall: San Clemente (SS)
It's time to get fired up for cross country! Our traditional XC countdown is back, although it may look a little different this time around - our longtime data analyst Jeff George has moved on, leaving this energizing project to the MileSplit team in CA. Our collective goal is to briefly highlight 30 boys and 30 girls teams that we think will have an impact this fall. We will spotlight one team per gender per day over a 30-day period.
30 Boys XC Teams to Watch this Fall: Great Oak (SS)
Great Oak (SS/Division 1) Even with the 2021 Division II State Champions in San Luis Obispo moving into the division for 2022, Newbury Park switching out finds Great Oak as the favorites for this season's Division I State title. Aside from NP, no other squad has four boys with sub-16 minute credentials on the Woodward Park 5K State Meet course while Great Oak's top returning five averaged under 15:45 for the course.
30 Girls XC Teams to Watch this Fall: Great Oak (SS)
Great Oak (SS/Division I) Great Oak has been the most dominant girls cross country program in California over the past decade. No team has ever placed themselves on top of the podium at the California State Meet more than the Wolfpack while they boast a resume unmatched in California prep history.
30 Girls XC Teams to Watch this Fall: Westlake (SS)
It's time to get fired up for cross country! Our traditional XC countdown is back, although it may look a little different this time around - our longtime data analyst Jeff George has moved on, leaving this energizing project to the MileSplit team in CA. Our collective goal is to briefly highlight 30 boys and 30 girls teams that we think will have an impact this fall. We will spotlight one team per gender per day over a 30-day period.
CIF-STATE MEET PREVIEW Closer Look At The Distances
CIF-STATE TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS * * * GIRLS 800 METERS State Meet Record: 2:02.66 (Amy Weissenbach, Harvard-Westlake, 2011) Seven of the top 10 times in California for 2022 step to the line.
RECAP Pleasant's Record 100m Highlights CIF-SS Masters
May 22, 2022 CIF-SOUTHERN SECTION MASTERS MEET Serra junior Rodrick Pleasant (center) set a CA record in the 100 meters with a wind-legal 10.14 clocking at the CIF-Southern Section Masters Meet on Saturday at Moorpark HS. At left, Los Alamitos freshman Devin Bragg's 10.45 clocking set a state class record. (Raymond Tran photo) * * * MOORPARK -- It was almost as if the time was suspended, with all of us looking at each other to gather our senses ... Did he just run 10.14?!?!!??? Wait - what?!!?
PREVIEW 2022 CIF-Southern Section Division Finals
Dalia Frias (Mira Costa) - Despite the snafu of missing her heat for the 3200 meters, the Duke-bound senior still stands as the California State record holder for the Mile at 4:35.06!She and McDonnell will lock up in the 1600 meters while both may very push one another below the divisional meet record of 4:42.50 (Shannon Murakami, Saugus, 2006).
PREVIEW CIF-Southern Section Division Prelims
CIF-SOUTHERN SECTION TRACK AND FIELD PRELIMS * * * The Southern Section initiates the 2022 CIF track and field postseason with four divisional preliminary meets on Saturday with field events at 11 a.m. and track events starting at noon. The schedule is the same for all division locations: Trabuco Hills HS (Division 1), Ventura HS (Division 2), Estancia HS (Division 3), and Carpinteria HS (Division 4).
ARCADIA Distance Domination from the Californians!
54TH ARCADIA INVITATIONAL - DISTANCE RECAP * This is one in a series of event-group recaps from the 54th Arcadia Invitational. Check back for updates.
MEETS ON TAP Redondo Track and Field Festival
Having been the first major invitational canceled two years ago at the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, the Redondo Track & Field Festival is back and stronger than ever! With 77 schools and over 3,100 athletes ready to compete, we anticipate some huge marks to come out of the meet with several of the state's best programs and individuals on the docket! Several of the top sprint programs will be on grand display as the Grizzlies of Central High will travel down south to take...
TEAM RANKINGS Southern Section Top-10 Per Division
Feb 17, 2022 Southern Section Top-10 Team Rankings Junior Aujane Luckey, who ranks No. 1 in CA among returning girls in the 400 meter dash, leads an always-strong Long Beach Wilson girls track and field team into the 2022 outdoor season. (Raymond Tran photo) * * * Wonder why you hardly ever see any team rankings for track & field until the end of May, unlike other sports?
CIF-State Cross Country Championships Early Recap
Nov 27, 2021 * * * This article will be updated frequently throughout the day. Be sure to check back often for updates.
STATE MEET PREVIEW Division I
CIF-STATE MEET - DIVISION I PREVIEW Newbury Park went 1-6 with an unprecedented 15 points to win the Division I title at the Southern Section Championships. What do these uber-talented Panthers have in store for Saturday's CIF-State Meet? (Raymond Tran photos) * * * 2019 FLASHBACK It is still surreal to think that a year ago, we were all sitting abandoned at home with no State Championship meet.
PREVIEW: Southern Section Championships
This Saturday, the Southern Section returns to the iconic Mt. San Antonio College course for the first time since 2015 to conduct its annual postseason cross country championship meet! Held at this venue from 1981, the tradition and history of this championship course is unmatched in the record books of the Southern Section! A week ago at the two-day preliminary meet, with all of the top squads resting key scorers or simply doing what was needed to qualify, last weekend did not provide much...
RANKINGS Check Out Our Southern Section Top 25
The girls cross country team at Newbury Park earned the No. 1 ranking in MileSplitCA's Top 25 subjective top teams in the Southern Section following impressive opening-season performances at both the Cool Breeze Evening Invitational and the Woodbridge Cross Country Classic. (Raymond Tran photo) *** MileSplitCA's Mark Gardner reveals our first set of rankings from the state's largest section, breaking down the top 25 cross country teams for girls and boys by competitive tiers.
JW North and Thousand Oaks Earn CIF-SS Division 2 Titles!
As was the case with each division, the traditional host of the Division 2 prelims, Moorpark High, also played host to the 2021 finals. Starting the meet with Golden Valley's Kylee Davis capturing the long jump title in a wind-legal best of 19-2.25, followed up by their California state leading 4x100 relay dropping the baton, the girls of JW North found themselves in an auspicious 22-point deficit despite being favored to win the meet by nine points. But after that 400 relay snafu ...?
RECAP: LB Poly and LB Wilson Claim CIF-SS D1 Titles!
MORE CIF-SS DIVISION 1 COVERAGE RESULTS | MEET REPLAY | PHOTOS | INTERVIEWS MISSION VIEJO -- For the first time in meet history, Trabuco Hills played host to the CIF-SS Division 1 Finals. In a year, headlined by continuous uncertainty, all four divisions hosted the finals at the same sites like that of the preliminaries.
PREVIEW CIF-Southern Section Division 1Finals
Southern Section editor Mark Gardner takes an in-depth look at the CIF-Southern Section Division 1 championship meet scheduled for Saturday at Trabuco Hills HS.
RANKINGS: Top 10 Southern Section Teams By Division
As we move closer to the post-season in the CIF-Southern Section, we wanted to take a first look at subjective team rankings by division. The post-season in the CIF-SS this spring will be broken into four division-specific preliminary meets on June 5 and four division-specific championship meets on June 12. Each of the four division prelims and finals meets will be held at separate sites this year, as a result of safeguards in place because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
RANKINGS: Southern Section Subjective Team By Division
As we move closer to the post-season in the CIF-Southern Section, we wanted to take a first look at subjective team rankings by division. The post-season in the CIF-SS this spring will be broken into four division-specific preliminary meets on June 5 and four division-specific championship meets on June 12. Each of the four division prelims and finals meets will be held at separate sites this year, as a result of safeguards in place because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
RECAP Orange County Championships at Mission Viejo HS
--- MORE COVERAGE: Photos | Interviews | Results --- This article was updated 4/17/21 at 11:45 am --- MISSION VIEJO -- Coming all together in the last week and receiving approval from the county to hold the meet, Mission Viejo High School was the site of the 2021 Orange County Championships! Meet director and longtime hall-of-fame distance coach at Esperanza, Rich Medellin, and the coaching staff and administration at Mission Viejo High School jumped through all the proper hoops to make the...
Cross Country: This Week in the Southern Section
Watch the Sunset League Finals Girls Varsity Surf Division 3-mile championship race - - - The abbreviated winter cross country season is coming to a close in the Southern Section.
Cross Country: This Week in the Southern Section
Race highlights as Redlands East Valley and Yucaipa take the line in a Citrus Belt League battle. - - - With many leagues beginning to wrap up the abbreviated cross country season, many athletes will simply transition to the oval for the upcoming Track and Field season! Serrano Perseveres in the Snow Originally schedule to be held on Wednesday, the dual meet was snowed out as Serrano's home course in Wrightwood (4,300-foot elevation) received a fresh patch of powder last week.
Cross Country: This Week in the Southern Section
Many leagues are winding up their limited season. As we move week closer to the end of the limited cross country season, we also look forward to witnessing how this all translates into the results for the upcoming track and field season.
Cross Country: This Week in the Southern Section
With other headlines on the oval dominating the circuit (and for good reason!), we turn our attention back to the cross country season here in the Southern Section. With only several weeks remaining in the 2020-21 cross country 'season' -- more schools continue to come together and develop their schedule as our friends at Finished Results shared with us that more schools continue to set up meets.
XC Preview: Southern Section Division 1 Boys
- - - Editor's Note: We're a tad late in getting this article posted knowing that some parts of the Southern Section have already been able to hold dual and league 3x2 meets. But we felt it was important to go live with this story to recognize all the athletes and teams warranting recognition.
XC Preview: Southern Section Division 1 Girls
Sophomores Aishling Fabian (left) and Kelli Gaffney return to lead perennial Southern Section Division 1 champion Great Oak. (Photos by Patrick Corsinita) - - - We move forward with our XC season preview series as it appears there will be some form of a cross country season in the Southern Section this winter. We structure this article with the knowledge that Southern Section and CIF-State championship meets have been canceled and overall competition will be limited.
XC Preview: Southern Section Division 2 Girls
Division 2 of the Southern Section is loaded with talent including Emma Hadley (far left), Amber Rios (partially behind 993), MacKenzie Browne (911), Tiani Goeson (977) and Maddie Coles (697). (Photo by Patrick Corsinita) - - - We move forward with our XC season preview series as it appears there will indeed be some form of a cross country season in the Southern Section this winter.
XC Preview: Southern Section Division 3 Boys
Redlands East Valley, which returns the bulk of a lineup that placed fifth at the State Meet in Division 2, now competes in Division 3. (Photo by Patrick Corsinita) - - - We move forward with our XC season preview series as it appears there will indeed be some form of a cross country season in the Southern Section this winter. - - - Division 3 foes rejoiced upon hearing the news that the 2019 CIF-SS Division 3 runner-up, Royal, was moving up to Division 2.
XC Preview: Southern Section Division 3 Girls
- - - We move forward with our XC season preview series as it appears there will indeed be some form of a cross country season in the Southern Section this winter. We structure this article with the knowledge that Southern Section and CIF-State championship meets have been canceled. - - - The battle for the CIF-SS Division 3 girls title will welcome three new faces to the divisional scene.
XC Preview: Southern Section Division 5 Boys
Jackson Adelman of St. Margarets (1705), the defending CIF-State Division V champion, leads the pack early in the 2019 State championship race. This image includes other top 2020-21 returners (from left) Miles Clark (1889), Will Goddard (1443) and Ziggy Goddard (far right).
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