Forty-five schools will compete in this year’s SGV Champs, with athletes from some of the strongest programs in the state along with athletes from very small schools, all competing together in the same events to see who is the boss of the SGV.
Arcadia is the defending boys team champion while the Claremont girls came out on top last year. Both teams should contend again this year for both titles, as will Glendora, which dominated the F/S division in ‘12, along with Monrovia, Covina and California.
Covina’s Remontay McClain was the male athlete of the meet in 2011, setting dominant meet records in the 100m (10.60) and the 200m (200m) and went on to defend his State titles in both events. Remontay is competing at Azusa Pacific this year. Now at UCLA, Kylie Price was the female AOM, with MR performances in the 100 (12.11) and the long jump (19’2â€).
Last year’s meet was extraordinary, with several State leading marks, multiple State Top 10’s, and Meet Records in 14 events. Even with that progress, this year we have entries superior to the meet record in 12 of the 32 Varsity events.
James Knowles
In the sprints and hurdles, Monrovia’ Kia Smith is the returning 100m hurdles champ, and her ’12 best of 14.64 is better than the meet record. She ranks 9th in the Southern Section Kimberly Chen (Claremont) returns as 400m Champ. In the 100m Sklyar Buchanan (Monrovia) has a seasonal best just .01 off the meet record, and her 200m is .02 from the meet record. The Arcadia boys 4×400 is ranked #5 in California and #3 SS. St. Francis James Knowles is having a great year, and his best in the highs ranks #4 CA and #1 in the Southern Section
In the distances, Rowland’s Nick Rivera is the defending 800 champ and record holder, and he’s the top seed in the 800 and 1600 and ranks CA #5, SS #2, and CA #9 and SS #5 in those two events. He’ll be challenged in the 800 by Arcadia’s Tony Mosely. Second in the 400m here last year, Tony has taken the 800 by storm, and his recent PR ranks him #8 CA and #4 SS.  3200 champ Ryan Vargas (Arcadia) is back, but will run the 1600. Teammate Sergio Gonzalez is top seed in the 3200, and his ’12 best is well ahead of the meet record – the only record standing from the meet’s first year in ’06. Sergio ranks #6 CA and #3 SS in the 3200 and #9 SS in the 1600, where he’ll challenge Rivera.
Rocki Bartholomew
Two champs return in the throws – Cassie Ramirez (Northview) and Elis McCarthy (Monrovia) in the shot, and both have thrown past the meet record this year. Elis has exceeded the discus mark, too and ranks #10 SS. Glendora’s Rocki Bartholomew leads the discus list and is ranked 7th in the Southern Section.
In the jumps, Phillipe Ueng (Temple City) and Makayla Jacoub (Glendora) will defend in the pole vault, and both have jumped past the meet record mark this year. Phillipe is ranked CA #6 and SS #3. Emily Sanchez (Covina – sorry, Northview) returns as triple jump champ, while Monrovia’s Michael Harris is SS #7 in the long jump.
Ed: And while we are making corrections – the record on the Girls Varsity 4×400 is not held by Covina, but by either Northview or possibly Claremont.
The meet begins at 10:00am at West Covina High School. Admission is $5
Meet Details:
- Performance List (Click) – last revised 8:00am 4/20
- 2012 Meet Schedule (12-SGV-Schedule-Final)
Another great event at the SGV Championships yesterday. The 3200 Varsity Men’s race was the highlight for me.