A big weekend out in southern California at the Arcadia Invitational should lead to some fantastic results. Warm weather, little wind and plenty of sunshine are setting up for ideal racing conditions. MileSplit will bring you the best coverage possible this weekend from the first race to the last. Keep checking back all weekend.

Arcadia Invitational (CA)

Arcadia Invitational: Friday Results / Official Website / Meet Page

Saturday Coverage

Photo: Chris Derrick (IL) en route to running 13:55.95 for 5k

- Boys 5,000m Run: Leading the list of top events throughout the whole weekend was the boys 5,000m run.  In its first year of existence at Arcadia, the event certainly did not disappoint.  For a few weeks Chris Derrick (Neuqua Valley, IL) had been labeled as the pre-race favorite, while New Jersey's finest, Brandon Jarrett (St. Benedict's, NJ) and Doug Smith (Gill-St. Bernard, NJ) were considered his chief competition.  From the gun Derrick shot out to hit the first 400m in 68 seconds, as a large group followed pace.  What would transpire however simply shook the distance world greater than perhaps any race in the last few years.

Derrick continued on a torrent pace, hitting 67-68 seconds for each lap.  Around the mile mark Jarrett dropped out, collapsing to the track in agony.  However, as Derrick passed through the first 1600m split in 4:33, he had company from Smith and Ryan Prentice (Mt. Rainer, WA).  Over the course of the next mile Derrick would drop both athletes rather easily and crossed the 3200m mark in 9:03.  As the laps counted down, the crowd became more and more aware of what was taking place.  9:03 would have earned Derrick sixth place in the open 3200m race earlier in the evening, but he was looking relaxed and fast through that marker and actually picked up the pace at that point.

Into the final mile Derrick went, as he started to lap runners and ride the wave of energy that the crowd provided.  Derrick his 67, 67, 66 for his next three laps and into the last 600m he went.  On his twelvth lap Derrick hit 61 seconds and sprinted home for the win with a 30 second last 200m, finishing in the U.S. #6 all-time performance of 13:55.96.  Simply incredbile!

Derrick's Splits: 68, 2:16 (68), 3:24 (68), 4:33 (69), 5:41 (68), 6:48 (67), 7:56 (68), 9:03 (67), 10:10 (67), 11:17 (67), 12:23 (66), 13:25 (62), 13:55.96 (30.96).

- Boys 3200m Run (Invitational): In the 3200m race, Luke Puskedra (Judge Memorial, UT) toed the line against Kiwi star Dominic Channon (New Zealand).  As the gun sounded, Puskedra did his usual song and dance and lept to the front.  Pushing an honest pace through the mile, Puskedra towed a slew of runners to nine minute pace, passing through in 4:27.5.  Into the final few laps Puskedra and Channon flew, with the New Zealander sitting right on Puskedra's shoulder.  As the gun lap sounded Channon flew up next to Puskedra and took the lead down the backstretch.  Many in attendance thought Puskedra was finished, but that was not the case.  With 100m to go, Puskedra swung wide and took the lead one last time to close in 60 seconds and win the race in 8:46.40, while Channon finished a strong second in 8:48.00

- Girls 200m Dash (Invitational): Sophomore Ashton Purvis (CA) continued her impressive day by winning in 23.54.

Photo: Jordan Hasay (CA) & Christine Babcock (CA) in the girls 3200m

- Girls 3200m Run (Invitational): Jordan Hasay (CA) and Christine Babcock (CA) staged a historic dual Saturday evening, running stride for stride the entire race. From the gun, both athletes sprinted to the front and had a five second gap on the rest of the field by 600 meters. From there the two athletes traded off leads until the 1600m split of 4:57.8. At the 1600m mark Babcock pressed to the lead, holding off multiple surges from Hasay. As the laps counted up the crowd became more and more into the race, rising to their feet on the final lap. WIth 300m to go Babcock gapped Hasay by about three meters, but Hasay came back up. Into the final stretch the two athletes came, running neck in neck, until Hasay pulled away in the final strides 10:03.07-10:04.03.

Photo: Nico Weiler (CA) clearing 17-04 in the pole vault

- Boys Pole Vault: Nico Weiler (CA) vaulted 17-04 to break the meet record as the sun was setting Saturday. The home-state favorite gave the crowd a show, nearly clearing 17-08 on his first attempt. His last three attempts were close but just a bit off. His performance raised his U.S. #1 marking of 17-01 set in March.

- Boys 400m Dash (Invitational): Long Beach Poly's Joey Hughes (CA) ran 46.97 to win, pulling away from the field over the last 150 meters to win the race. Over Hughes' last few performances he has shown an improvement every time out.

Photo: Charles White (CO) winning the boys mile race in 4:13.60

- Boys Mile (Invitational): An early pace of 66.1 for the first 400m bunched the race up quite a bit, and the pace maintained an average race hitting the 800m mark in 2:10.2. After a 64 second third lap, the kickers, Charles White (CO) and Patrick McGregor (AL) took charge, both pulling away from the rest of the field. White made one last move with 150m to go, running 28 seconds in the last 200m to win in 4:13.60. White said afterwards, "I didn't want to take the lead until the final lap, which hurt my goal of getting the Colorado state record (4:08.05)."

- Girls Mile (Invitational): A conservative early pace meant the last lap was going to be fast, and it all came down to who had the best kick. With a large pack through three laps, a group of four pulled away with 300m to. Into the final 100m Alex Dunne (CA) turned on the burners and won the race by a few strides with a 69 second last lap.

Photo: Long Beach Poly winning the girls 4x100m relay in U.S. #2 46.27

- The evening invitational events kicked-off in grand fashion, starting with the always speedy 4x100m relays. Most of California's top talent were entered in the finals of each. On the boys side out-of-state favorite Desert Vista (AZ) ran great on all four legs and won in a U.S. #4 time of 41.35. The squad sealed the win with superstar Allante Battle's anchor leg. On the girl's side, Long Beach Poly (CA) continued their sprint dominance with a huge 46.27 effort, good enough for U.S. #2. Three U.S. top five times were earned in the event.

Friday Coverage

Photo: Saugus (CA) girls pose after running a U.S. #3 all-time mark in the 4xMile Relay

- Girls 4xMile (Invitational): Perhaps the great race of the day came in the girls 4xmile, as Saugus (CA) put on a show by dominating the field and running a U.S. #3 all-time performance of 20:10.75. Closing out their relay was senior Katie Dunn, who ran a reported 4:53.7 anchor. Congrats to the ladies of Saugus!!!

Saugus Relay Order: Anne Randall (Jr.), Nine Moore (Sr.), Kaylin Mahoney (Fr.), Katie Dunn (Sr.)

Photo: Westfield, VA (right) and Great Oak, CA anchoring the girls 4x8

- Girls 4x800m Relay (Invitational): Westfield (VA), despite one of their top girls being sick, ran to a big win. With a strong kick from their anchor, Westfield edged Great Oak (CA) by winning in 9:21.86.

Photo: Loyola (CA) wins boys 4x8 in 7:49.24, freshman anchor Elias Geydon (far right) blazed 1:52.2!

- Boys 4x800m Relay (Invitational): Led by anchor Elias Geydon, who's only a freshman, Loyola (CA) ran strong legs throughout, good enough to win a close battle in 7:49.24 over Dana Hills (CA) who finished runner-up in 7:49.49.

- Boys 4x200m Relay (Invitational): A deep 4x200m relay produced the fifth fastest time in meet history, as Servite (CA) won with an incredible anchor leg in 1:27.11. Powerhouse program Long Beach Poly (CA) was runner-up in 1:27.80.

- Girls 4x200m Relay (Invitational): With an incredible third leg from Yasmin Woodruff, St. Mary's (CA) took home the title in this event with a U.S. #3 mark of 1:37.87. St. Mary's was in fourth place heading into Woodruff's leg, but she gave them a sizeable lead. Perhaps the best individual performance of the day.

- In the Boys 1600m Sprint Medley Relay, solid 400m legs and amazing 800m legs led Rancho Verde (CA) and Colonie (NY) to run nearly stride for stride the entire way, as Rancho Verde (CA) pulled out a close win in a new U.S. #1 time of 3:26.60. Colonie finished in second, as their anchor leg ran 1:51.7, while Rancho Verde's ran 1:52.1.

- Girls 1600m Sprint Medley Relay (Invitational): Long Beach Wilson (CA) dominated from start to finish, running 4:00.97 and winning by 5.5 seconds. Their third leg Angele Cooper and anchor Christina Smith simply outworked the field. Their splits were 25.2 (200), 24.5 (200), 55.0 (400) and 2:16.2 (800).

- Girls 3200m Run (Seeded): The "B" heat got off to a fast start thanks to Jordan Burke (CA). Burke took the field out in an intense 77 seconds for the first 400m, the slowing down the pace to an 82 for the second 400. Burke was tailed by only Catherine Basbrouck (CA) during the race, but pulled away from the sophomore after the mile (hit in 5:26). Burke's winning mark was 11:00.64, and just missed breaking the eleven minute barrier.

- Boys 3200m Run (Seeded): A close race early on opened way up on the fifth lap as Matt Duffy (CA) threw down a 65.5 400m split. By stringing out the field Duffy continued his charge, showing a huge lead heading into the final lap. However, George Barlow (UT) never gave up and unleashed an unearthly kick to nip Duffy at the line in 9:13.09-9:13.68, as both athletes negative split the race.

**Arcadia Newsflash: German Fernandez (CA) drops out of 3200m run Saturday as more a preventative measure to a possible injury.

**Arcadia Newsflash: Foot Locker champion Ashley Brasovan (FL) pulls out of 3200m run Saturday due to feeling she is not fit enough to race with leaders.

**Arcadia Newsflash: Christine Babcock (CA) will be facing Jordan Hasay (CA) with a fresh set of legs in the 3200m run, bypassing the mile.