CLOVIS -- Brandon Arrington erased whatever doubt was left in California.
The Mt. Miguel sophomore absolutely blew away the field -- and the crowd -- in his state prelim on Friday at the CIF State Outdoor Championships on Friday, clocking a wind-aided 10.27 second performance in the 100m, setting up his follow-up on Saturday in the final.
Just a year ago, Gardena Serra's Rodrick Pleasant secured a CIF state meet record in the 100m with his time of 10.20 seconds.
Few believed that time would even be challenged in 2024.
But Arrington apparently had other ideas. While he entered with a wind-aided best of 10.41 entering Friday's action, he left with another shiny new PR, doing so on a 2.3 meters per second wind.
Beyond Arrington, Saturday's CIF final will feature an underrated group of sprinters who weren't necessarily the front-runners entering the state meet. Bishop Alemany's Demare Dezeurn, a freshman who many had predicted could become the first first-year athlete in California history to claim a state title in the 100m, did not make it out of the prelims, running 10.60.
Long Beach Poly's Benjamin Harris, however, did, and he will get that chance. His 10.52 time was third-best on Friday and granted him a ticket to the final.
Bakersville's Jalen Ford, meanwhile, ran 10.34 seconds. Just a sophomore, Ford joins Arrington in the final. The top three finishers were all underclassmen and a total of five will be in the final on Saturday.
For more race videos from the first day of action, check out our full race archives:
Photo Credit: Raymond Tran/MileSplit
Prelims
=========================================================================================================
NAME YR TEAM MARK H# WIND
=======================================================================================================
1 Brandon Arrington Jr. 10 Mt. Miguel Sds 10.27 3 2.3
2 Jalen Ford 10 Bakersfield Ces 10.34 1 3.2
3 Benjamin Harris 9 Poly(LB) Ss 10.52 2 2.1
4 Jordan Coleman 12 Granada Hills Ch. Las 10.36 1 3.2
5 Jaden Jefferson 10 De La Salle Ncs 10.40 3 2.3
6 Devin Bragg 11 Los Alamitos Ss 10.49 3 2.3
7 Nathaniel Guillory 12 Los Altos Ccs 10.51 1 3.2
8 Jeremiah Harris 12 Roosevelt, Eleanor Ss 10.53 3 2.3
9 Brian Bonner 10 Valencia(V) Ss 10.57 1Related Links:
CIF State Outdoor Championships: The race archives