The Southwestern League Finals are shaping up to be a great meet with many athletes currently in the California top ten competing.
Vista Murrieta looks to continue their success from the Inland Empire Championships as they have many athletes that are in contention for team points on the women's side.
The men's team title will be tight as Great Oak, Murrieta Mesa and Vista Murrieta all have a good chance of taking it home.
Starting off the night will be the Frosh-Soph 3200. Aidan Tzinberg of Murrieta Valley holds the top seed time by more than 16 seconds with a time of 9:58.00. Murrieta Valley will look to score big points here as Tzinberg’s teammate, Camden Brown--seeded second with a time of 10:15.44--hopes to improve his time.
The 4x100 will kick off the sprint events of the evening. Vista Murrieta comes in holding the top seed time in both the boys and girls Frosh-Soph. The Bronco’s girls Frosh-Soph have the top seed time by over two seconds. Murrieta Mesa looks to put a stop to a Vista Murreta's 4x100 relay sweep as they are top seeds in the Varsity section.
One of the night's highlights is looking to be Keelan Wright (Chaparral). Wright is the current state leader in the 200 and ranked 3rd in the 100. She will have a busy night running four events. Wright returns this season coming off a great 2024 season placing sixth in the 200 and eighth in the 100 at the California State Meet last year. She will also look to help Chaparral with the team title with the possibility of contributing 40 points.
The boys and girls Varsity 400s will be quite a show as both league leaders are seeded about three seconds faster than the following seed. Bella Cablayan of Murrieta Mesa comes into the 400 with a seed time of 56.52. She is the reigning Southwestern League champion. Cablayan will also have a busy meet, running the 200 as well and legs on both of the Ram's relay teams.
Jack Stadlman will also be someone to watch as the current league leader in the 100, 200 and 400. Stadlman is scheduled to compete in the 200, 400 and both relay teams for Temecula Valley. With a time of 45.69, he is the current state leader in the 400 and number three in the 200 (21.10). Stadlman will have some competition in the 200 as Darryl Conyer III of Murrieta Mesa comes in with a seed time of 21.40.
Conyer leads the sub-11-second pack in the boys 100 and comes off a great meet last week where he set a new school record in the 100m with a time of 10.46. There are currently 13 guys set to run that are sub-11. Conyer will come back later in the evening to face off against Stadlman in the 200.
California #2 in the boys 110HH, William Bright, will also make an appearance in the 110HH, 300IH and both relays for Murrieta Mesa. Coming off a PR of 13.85 at the Mt. Sac Relays, Bright will be the only sub-14 high hurdler in the race. He will run the 300IH later in the night with a seed time of 38.05, although his lifetime best is 37.50.
– Colin Benoy
