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Now the fun starts. The Monrovia Wildcats will be here on Thursday and they will be bringing some good Division III athletes, especially on the girls’ side:
Men - If he was at a Div 4 school (like SMHS), George Frazier would be an elite. Frazier can toss the cannonball 47 feet, within 2 feet of the winning Div 4 CIF-ss toss last year. They have other throwers at 41’ 9”, 37’ 10” and 37’ even. Or, how about their 4x100 relay team clocking a 43.9 last Saturday at the Aztec Invitational? But, we have a couple of pretty strong guys, too. Chip Crowley gives just a second away to their blue chip 400 athlete, Austin Casner. And Brandon Chen is dead even with the Wildcats’ Cravon Gillespie in the 100. The 800 is unclear. Freshman Cusick Cusick (that can’t be his name) does a 2:13 in the 800 but we may be the first to get a look at their upper classmen in the 800 (if they exist). Their fastest milers (okay, 1600 meters) are both underclassman (at 5:03 & 5:06) so we’ll need Drew to do some damage there. Their 3200 entry crossed the line in 11:42 a couple of weeks ago. Drew prey? Matthew Ferraco will have his hands full with Roberto Merkell (cleared 5’ 10” two weeks ago) in the high jump. They are loaded in the long jump but their best jumpers go frosh-soph this early in the season. Sophomores Octavius Spencer (20’ 8”) and Seth Raines (19’ 4”) would be tough varsity competitors, let alone frosh-soph. The only varsity jumper who has competed this season is Deshaun Potts (17’ 2”).
Girls - Monrovia has always been a sprinters’ school and it is no different this year. Monica DeJesu will be surrounded in the 100. Madison Herrera (12.7) and Sidney Mosley (12.8) went 1-2 at the Aztec Invitational last week. Jasmine Thomas (12.68) skipped the 100 last week in order to run the 400 (59.3). Oh, and Ms. Thomas also does the 200 (25.6). In the past, the Titans would compensate for the Wildcats’ speed by grabbing the distance points. That will be tougher this year, thanks to senior Amanda Mansoorbakht (2:18 in the 800 and 5:12 in the 1600). Amanda has a junior partner in Mara Armenta (5:48 in the 1600). Olivia Harrigian and Charmaine Yiu will have to deal with freshman Alana Elliott (2:41) in the frosh-soph 800. And, Mara will have a couple of hours to rest before taking on Sarah Linton in the 3200. With all that speed, what do their relay teams look like? How does 48.92 hit you (4x100)? You don’t want to know what they do a 4x400 in. The good news is that we have pole vaulters. Their best are sophomores Marline Colin (8’) and Sophie Carnavalle (7’ 6”). In the triple jump, they have sophomore Sidney Mosley, who can reach 32’. Annika Yip should be able to win the shot.
A tough meet to be sure but it doesn’t get any easier. To be the best, you have to run with the best.
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