De La Salle sprinter Jaden Jefferson arrived at California’s 105th state track and field championships on Friday night in Clovis as the top qualifier in the 100 meters from last weekend’s sectional meets.
Turns out, he was just warming up.
In a mind-blowing dash at Buchanan High’s Veterans Memorial Stadium, Jefferson crossed the finish line in a wind-legal, state-meet record 10.01 seconds during the first of four preliminary heats that set up Saturday’s final. The previous record was 10.20, set in the 2023 final by Serra-Gardena’s Rodrick Pleasant.
Jefferson crossed the finish line first in Heat 1, a race that included Torrance’s Nicolas Obimgba running 10.20 to match Pleasant’s time.
Now Jefferson has to set his sights on the final, which will include Obimgba, among others.
Jefferson is a two-sport star at De La Salle.
In January, the junior made an oral commitment to play football for Bill Belichick at North Carolina.
This spring, he, along with his teammates, are competing with heavy hearts after the passing of De La Salle head track coach John Harvey, who died in late April at 56 after what has been reported to be a long respiratory illness.
De La Salle dedicated last week’s North Coast Section team championship to its late coach.
“Our coach’s passing was motivation for me,” Jefferson said on Saturday after he broke the NCS’s record in the 100 in 10.30. “He was always hard on me. He never told me what I wanted to hear, always told me what I needed to hear. He was very motivational.”
The pre-meet focus this week, across the state and nationally, was on Jurupa Valley’s AB Hernandez, a transgender athlete who is contending for championships in the girls triple jump, long jump and possibly the high jump.
Hernandez had a big day Friday, advancing as the top qualifier in all three of her events amid California Interscholastic Federation rule changes for this year’s meet that would allow anyone displaced by Hernandez on the medal stand to claim that medal along with Jurupa Valley junior.
On the track, the headliner was Jefferson, who before the 100 helped De La Salle qualify for the final in the 4×100 (40.87). Later, he advanced to the final in the 200, finishing second in Heat 4 in 20.99.
Other highlights Friday:
St. Ignatius’ Ellie McCuskey-Hay moved into the girls 100 final, winning Heat 1 in 11.43, the second-best time on Friday. Vanden’s Naiaja Sizemore ran the top time in 11.33. State leader Journey Cole of Redondo Union also made the final, running 11.66.
In the girls long jump, McCuskey-Hay qualified second in 19-5 ½ and St. Mary’s-Berkeley’s Kira Gant Hatcher had the third-best mark among the 12 athletes who advanced at 19-4.
Hernandez was the top qualifier at 19-11 3/4.
In the boys long jump, three Bay Area athletes – Monta Vista’s Ryan Shen, San Ramon Valley’s Kaleb Pleis and St. Ignatius’ Noah Gonzalez – moved on to the final. Shen qualified eighth at 22-10, Pleis was 10th at 22-9 ¼ and Gonzalez was 12th at 22-6 ¾. Mater Dei-Santa Ana’s Brandon Gorski posted the day’s top mark at 23-9.
Six athletes cleared 5-5 to advance to the girls high jump final, including Monta Vista’s Lelani Laruelle and Hernandez. Las Lomas’ Kimiko Hirahara and California’s Rachael Osicka reached the final with marks of 5-4.
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In the boys discus, state leader McKay Madsen of Clovis North outclassed the field in the preliminary rounds, throwing 206-11. Woodside’s Evan Usher qualified fourth in 177-3 and Acalanes’ Deonte Littlejohn was sixth at 176-5. San Mateo’s Emmanuel Fitzgerald also advanced, finishing with the 11th-best mark at 162-0.
St. Ignatius’ Prince Buchango-Babalola advanced in the 110 high hurdles, second second in Heat 1 in 13.68. Jasir Fontenot of San Diego was the top qualifier in a state-meet record 13.31, eclipsing the previous time of 13.33 that Upland’s Joseph Anderson set in 2017.
Crystal Springs Upland’s Benjamin Bouie (4:09.64), Los Gatos’ Aydon Stefanopoulos (4:11.73), Dougherty Valley’s Arrin Sagiraju (4:10.15), Pioneer’s Carson Hedlund (4:12.49) and Sacred Heart Cathedral’s Miles Cook (4:10.60) reached the final in the boys 1,600. The top qualifiers were Grant Miller of La Serna, who won Heat 2 in 4:09.37, and Lancaster’s Issaiah McCorvey, who won Heat 1 in 4:09.39.
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