By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

The 56th Arcadia Invitational is scheduled for Friday, April 5 and Saturday, April 6 at Arcadia High in California.

ARCADIA INVITATIONAL LIVE WEBCAST INFO

Here are 10 storylines involving female athletes to follow at one of the nation’s elite high school track and field competitions, which features athletes from 692 schools competing:

National record alert for Engelhardt

Following a lifetime-best 4:09.70 in the 1,500 meters March 16 at The TEN event, hosted by Sound Running, at JSerra High in California, Ventura High of California junior Sadie Engelhardt enters Saturday’s invitational mile not only in pursuit of a three-peat at Arcadia, but also a national outdoor prep all-time performance.

Katelyn Tuohy, a graduate of North Rockland High in New York, ran 4:33.87 in the mile at the 2018 New Balance Nationals Outdoor event in North Carolina.

Engelhardt ran a personal-best 4:34.45 to secure the New Balance Nationals Indoor mile crown March 11 in Boston, Mass., an improvement from running 4:38.65 to triumph last year. She also boasts the meet record of 4:35.16 from her freshman season.

Mary Cain of Bronxville High in New York is the only U.S. prep female competitor to run sub-4:30 in the indoor mile. Addy Wiley from Huntington North High in Indiana clocked 4:26.16 in an outdoor 1,600 meters in 2022, which converts to approximately 4:27.71 for the full mile.

Alexa Efraimson of Camas High in Washington, who was the first female athlete in Arcadia history to eclipse the 10-minute barrier in the 3,200 in 2014, has also run faster than Tuohy with her 4:32.15 indoor mile the same year.

Jane Hedengren from Timpview High in Utah ran 4:41.08 to finish second behind Engelhardt last year, before lowering that mark to 4:35.69 in June to win the Brooks PR Invitational in Washington.

Hedengren and Timpview teammate Lily Alder also scheduled to race in the invitational mile. 

Bethany Michalak of Air Academy in Colorado, Emma Zawatski from Freehold Township in New Jersey, Olivia Cieslak of Haverford High in Pennsylvania, Rebecca O’Keefe from Skyline High in Washington, Ashlyn Boothby of Scotts Valley High in California, and Oregon standouts Ana Peters from Lake Oswego and Chloe Huyler of Lakeridge High in Oregon also scheduled to compete, as well as Lone Peak High from Utah teammates Boston Bybee and Addie Meldrum, plus Landen LeBlond of Millennium High in Arizona.

There is enough depth present Saturday in the field to challenge the 2022 race, which produced five sub-4:45 performances.

East meets West in spectacular relay showcase

Two of the most programs in U.S. prep history are scheduled to square off Friday in the 4x800-meter relay, both capable of taking down the 2002 meet record of 8:58.30 held by A. Phillip Randolph from New York.

Union Catholic from New Jersey, the second-fastest high school quartet all-time at 8:44.98, is expected to battle the No. 2 group in California history in JSerra, the Nike Outdoor Nationals second-place finisher last season at 8:52.26.

Peyton Hollis and Jimmiea King are members of that lineup who are scheduled to race at Arcadia, with Union Catholic’s relay also expected to include freshmen Paige Sheppard and Sophia Thompson.

JSerra ran 8:54.14 to win Nike Indoor Nationals in New York, with Union Catholic clocking 8:59.98 at the 116th Millrose Games, also at The Armory.

JSerra is scheduled to have Georgia Jeanneret, Anne Elise Packard and Reese Holley from its national indoor championship lineup, with Chloe Elbaz expected to complete the Lions’ quartet.

Del Norte High from California returns Emily Russo, Ella Echsner and Paige Echsner from its victorious lineup last year at Arcadia, which clocked 9:00.77 for the No. 2 performance in meet history.

Flower Mound High of Texas, which ran 8:46.30 at the 96th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays, is the national outdoor leader this season. 

JSerra is also entered in the girls 4x1,600-meter relay Friday, looking to compete against Jesuit from Oregon, in addition to Utah programs Lone Peak and Mountain View.

The Lions are also expected to compete Saturday in the distance medley relay, also featuring California rivals Buchanan, Dana Hills, La Canada, Oaks Christian, Corona Santiago, Newport Harbor and Trabuco Hills, plus Utah entries Timpanogos, Grand County, Davis and Viewmont.

Gero-Holt ready to raise the bar

When JaiCieonna Gero-Holt, a junior at Emerald Ridge High in Washington, cleared 6-2.25 (1.89m) in the high jump at the USATF Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, N.M., the only competitor to prevail against her was Vashti Cunningham, winner of eight consecutive national indoor titles.

But Gero-Holt has the opportunity to surpass Cunningham in Saturday’s invitational high jump, pursuing the 2014 meet record of 6-2 (1.88m) achieved by the former star at Bishop Gorman High in Nevada.

The best career outdoor clearance for Gero-Holt is 6-1.50 (1.87m), which she achieved in July at the USATF Under-20 Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

Gero-Holt needed only a 5-10 (1.77m) clearance last year to prevail in the invitational high jump, after winning in 2022 with a 6-foot (1.83m) performance. She is one of only six female athletes in meet history to achieve a 6-foot clearance.

Cunningham is the last female athlete to win the invitational high jump in three consecutive years at Arcadia from 2013-15.

Gero-Holt is also entered in the invitational shot put, in addition to the seeded 100-meter hurdles, placing fifth in both events last season.

Jillene Wetteland from Long Beach Poly High in California has cleared 5-10 this season, with Cami Cvitkovich of Weber High in Utah achieving a 5-9 (1.75m) effort entering Saturday’s competition.

Top Ten inspired to achieve sub-10

It will be the most difficult act to follow in meet history Saturday in the girls invitational 3,200 meters, especially after a record nine competitors eclipsed the 10-minute barrier, including Morgantown High of West Virginia star Irene Riggs producing the fastest all-time mark at Arcadia of 9:52.66.

But there is exceptional depth present in the field once again, including three athletes who contributed to the historic sub-10 haul last year.

With Hanne Thomsen from Santa Rosa Montgomery High in California not returning to compete this season after securing second last year in 9:55.31, the top returning athlete is Isabel Allori from Liberty Common High in Colorado, who placed fourth in 9:56.82.

Payton Godsey of Oaks Christian School in California clocked 9:57.77 to take fifth and Gioana Lopizzo from La Costa Canyon High in California earned seventh in 9:59.08.

Expected to join that group are Abby Faith Cheeseman from The Webb School in Bell Buckle, Tenn., along with Ella Hagen from Summit High in Colorado and Avalon Mecham of American Fork High in Utah, who all ran under 10:20 in last year’s race.

Addy Ritzenhein, the Nike Cross Nationals winner from Niwot High in Colorado, could also be part of the lineup, should she choose the 3,200 over racing the invitational mile.

Emily Wisniewski from Crescent Valley High in Oregon, Utah entries Andie Aagard of Lone Peak High, Cadence Kasprick from Grand County, Jaylie Jenkins of Union and Mountain View’s Julie Moore, Washington competitors Sophia Rodriguez from Mercer Island High and Anna Callahan of Skyline High, Nelah Roberts from Skyline High in Idaho, Colorado standouts Keeghan Edwards of Mountain Vista High, Payton Meineke from Riverdale Ridge and Mia Prok of Niwot, Nevada athletes Eleanor Raker from Galena and Amaya Aramini of Bishop Manogue, and Charlotte Sinke from National Sport School in Alberta, Canada are also expected to compete.

Godsey and Lopizzo are scheduled to be joined by fellow California athletes Rylee Blade of Corona Santiago, Holly Barker from Trabuco Hills, Chiara Dailey of La Jolla, Jaelyn Williams from Chula Vista Eastlake, Maya DeBrouwer of La Canada, Abigail Errington from South Pasadena, Summer Wilson of JSerra and Huntington Beach’s Makenzie McRae.

Humphries headlines return of multis

Although Meagan Humphries, a senior at Castaic High, has never competed in the heptathlon in her career, the reigning Nike Indoor Nationals winner in the pentathlon not only has the potential to produce the meet record Friday and Saturday, but also challenge the California all-time mark.

Humphries prevailed March 10 at The Armory in New York with 3,813 points in the pentathlon.

With the addition of the javelin throw and 200 meters, Humphries has a pair of targets to motivate her at Arcadia, with Sterling Lester of Marietta High in Georgia achieving the meet record of 5,288 points in 2018, and Shana Woods of Long Beach Poly High boasting the California prep record of 5,533 points since 2006.

Only five athletes in meet history have surpassed the 5,000-point barrier.

Humphries boasts personal-best efforts of 5-10.25 (1.79m) in the high jump and 20-3.25 (6.17m) in the long jump, in addition to running 23.55 seconds in the 200 meters. She will rely heavily on those events during the two-day schedule.

Adrienne Russell from Boise High in Idaho, Tia Brown of Palo Verde High in Nevada, Valerie Jirak from Star Valley High in Wyoming, New Mexico entry Charli Koseoglu from Academy of Technology and the Classics, and California competitors Katherine McGuinness of La Canada and Avery Leck from San Marcos are also entered in the heptathlon.

Humphries is also scheduled to pursue back-to-back titles Saturday in the invitational girls triple jump, with Kemarah Howard of Las Vegas Centennial in Nevada and Maleigha Canaday-Elliott from McDaniel High in Oregon also scheduled to compete.

Several hurdling highlights set to unfold

Both the girls meet records in the 100-meter hurdles and 300-meter hurdles were set in 2017, with the latter performance of 38.90 seconds achieved by former Union Catholic of New Jersey star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone still standing as the national prep all-time mark.

Although it might be difficult for any athlete Saturday to challenge the standard established by McLaughlin-Levrone, or the 13.01 effort in the 100 hurdles produced by former Agoura High of California standout Tara Davis-Woodhall, the strength in both events might be the best at Arcadia since the exceptional showcase seven years ago.

Taylor Cox of Union Catholic, the reigning New Balance Nationals Indoor champion in the 60-meter hurdles, is expected to square off in the invitational 100-meter hurdles against Kori Martin of Hamilton High, the Arizona state record holder at 13.32 seconds.

Cox ran 13.52 at the USATF Under-20 Championships in July, with Martin clocking 13.75 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

Annaleise Taylor of Canyon View High in Arizona, Jaden Billings from Westlake High in Georgia, Gabriella Cunningham of Grandview High in Colorado, Kyndall Harrington-Spain from Cardinal Ritter in Missouri, plus California athletes Anisa Bowen-Fontenot of San Diego High and Rocklin’s Gigi Kirchner have also produced sub-14 performances during their prep careers.

Only three athletes in meet history have run sub-13.30.

Taylor is the top entry in the 300 hurdles following her 41.79 performance March 23 at the Nike Chandler Rotary Invitational.

Bowen-Fontenot, Harrington-Spain, Martin and Cunningham are also expected to compete in the invitational 300 hurdles, along with Morgan Herbst from Carlsbad High in California and a potential appearance from Josie Donelson of Lake Oswego High in Oregon, who is also entered in the invitational 400 meters.

Four competitors all-time at Arcadia have run under 41 seconds in the 300 hurdles.

Saira Prince of Williams Field High in Arizona swept both hurdling events last year, clocking 13.58 and 41.24, respectively.

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame from California returns Sofia Boyd, Emerson Chasko, Pharyn Kelley and Sofia Martinez from the winning quartet last year in the 4x100-meter shuttle hurdles relay that clocked 1:02.47.

The Knights are trying to become the first girls program to repeat in the shuttle hurdles since California rival Long Beach Poly in 2012-13. Notre Dame is scheduled to race Friday against Long Beach Poly, Long Beach Wilson and San Jose Archbishop Mitty.

Ince knows every inch counts

Ali Ince, a senior at Normal Community High in Illinois, ran the second-fastest 800-meter race in meet history last year with her 2:03.17 effort.

But it was only good for Ince to place second, with Mackenize Browne of JW North High in California relying on an exceptional finish to prevail in a meet-record 2:03.07.

Madison Shults of Niwot High in Colorado ran 2:04.28 for the No. 3 all-time mark at Arcadia, all faster than Ince’s winning performance of 2:05.42 during her sophomore year.

Whether Ince can eclipse Browne’s meet record remains to be seen Saturday, but she will have several motivated challengers looking to benefit from an ambitious pace.

Jimmiea King and Paige Sheppard from Union Catholic High in New Jersey are also scheduled to compete, in addition to California standouts L’Mio Edwards of Claremont, Georgia Jeanneret from JSerra, Arielle McKenzie of Calabasas and Carlsbad’s Makenna Herbst.

Katelyn Kliesch of Notre Dame Academy in New York is also expected to race, as well as Rosie Mucharsky from Denver East in Colorado and Ahry Comer of Pope County in Illinois.

The only other race in meet history with multiple athletes running under 2:08 came in 2019.

Muhammad motivated to establish pole position

Jathiyah Muhammad, a former California state pole vault champion at Dublin High, is now competing for Pittsburg during her senior year and arrives at Arcadia following a 14-4 (4.37m) clearance to secure victory March 29 at the 96th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays.

Muhammad has the potential to produce the best vault by a California athlete in meet history Saturday, looking to surpass the 14-2 (4.31m) effort achieved in 2016 by former Anaheim Canyon standout Rachel Baxter.

The top three performances at Arcadia all belong to athletes representing the Northwest Pole Vault Club in Washington.

Hana Moll of Capital High produced the first outdoor 15-foot clearance in U.S. prep history last year, surpassing the previous meet record of 14-8 (4.47m) established in 2019 by Chloe Cunliffe from West Seattle.

Amanda Moll, also competing for Capital High, prevailed in 2022 with a 14-4 clearance.

Baxter, Cunliffe and the Moll sisters are the only female vaulters in meet history to achieve 14-foot performances, with Muhammad looking to join the elite group Saturday.

Iliana Downing of La Costa Canyon, the reigning state champion, is also entered, along with fellow California competitors Aspen Fears of Vista Murrieta, Olivia Bettinger from Los Alamitos and Kelly DeJong from Maranatha Christian, in addition to Julie Segroves of Biloxi High in Mississippi, Landry Allen from Hanford High in Washington, Kourtney Rathke of Peak to Peak Charter in Colorado and Jocelyn Phillips from Basha High in Arizona.

Battle for sprint supremacy crosses state lines

Niya Clayton of Oaks Christian School is the reigning California state champion in the 100-meter dash.

Mayen Usoro from Cesar Chavez High won the inaugural Arizona Open state title in the 100 last year.

Iyonna Codd of Las Vegas Centennial swept Nevada Class 5A crowns in the 100, 200 and 400 meters last season.

With Oregon Class 6A state champion and meet record holder Mia Brahe-Pedersen of Lake Oswego not expected to compete Saturday in the 100, the spotlight shifts to the talented trio, in addition to several inspired challengers.

Keelan Wright of Temecula Chaparral, Mikaela Warr from Canyon Country Canyon and St. Ignatius standout Ellie McCuskey-Hay, the returning state runner-up, are also scheduled to compete in the invitational 100, along with Angelena Bullocks from Whitney Young in Illinois and Stacey Onyepunuka of Agua Fria in Illinois.

Only 11 competitors in meet history have run 11.50 or faster in the 100.

Codd. Onyepunuka and Usoro are also scheduled to square off in the invitational 200, in addition to Zion Lockette from Westlake High in Georgia, Rhia Randolph of Union Catholic in New Jersey, Devyn Henderson from North Canyon High in Arizona and Missouri entries Aniyah Brown of Cardinal Ritter and A’Laji Bradley from Pattonville.

Nine athletes all-time at Arcadia have achieved sub-23.50 performances in the 200.

Level 42 on stage in shot put

A deep group of athletes with 42-foot credentials are expected to match up in the girls invitational shot put Saturday, led by Sherman Oaks Notre Dame standout and reigning California state champion Aja Johnson, who produced a 46-1 (14.04m) performance March 22 at the Pasadena Games.

Golda Demby from San Benito Hollister, Nicole Steiner of Los Gatos, Alexa Sheldon of Huntington Beach Edison, Andreese Ortiz from Menifee Heritage and Mai Ricks of Long Beach Poly are all California entries who have surpassed 42 feet during their prep careers.

Chayanne Gordon of Liberty High in Nevada is another athlete in the field with a 42-foot effort this year.

Johnson took third last season at Arcadia with a 41-7 (12.67m) performance and is the top returning competitor Saturday.

JaiCieonna Gero-Holt from Emerald Ridge High in Washington and Steiner both surpassed 40 feet at last year’s meet.

Johnson is also the top returning competitor from the invitational discus competition last year, taking third with a throw of 148-3 (45.18m). She is expected to be challenged by California rivals Elisabeth Driscoll from Canyon Crest Academy, Samantha Chang of Mission Viejo and Demby, in addition to Arizona entries Brooklyn Montgomery from Campo Verde and Basha’s Juliana Garcia.