By Justin HAGER

Regional track and field competitions launched this weekend with CVHS hosting the Crescenta Valley Distance Invitational. Fourteen schools from across the region traveled to Crescenta Valley High School to compete in the meet, including local rivals Flintridge Prep and fellow Pacific League competitors John Burroughs High School from Burbank.

CVHS senior Rowan FitzGerald took second in the men’s varsity 800-meter run after a nail-biting race down the stretch with Mira Costa senior Max Levin, who outdistanced FitzGerald by 1.2 seconds.

Burroughs senior Leon Rubarts placed second in the men’s varsity 1600-meter with CVHS senior Max Ruiz finishing third. CVHS had five runners in the top 12 finishers of that race.

Burroughs senior Jalen Leighton placed fifth in the men’s varsity 3200, just seconds ahead of CVHS junior Luke Cheney. Cheney finished sixth after edging out Mira Costa’s Owen Franck in a photo finish with a .4 second split separating the two runners. CVHS junior Harrison Connors also finished in the top 10 in that race.

On the women’s side of the track, senior Rachel Arias placed seventh in the women’s varsity 800.

Burroughs was dominant in the women’s varsity 1600, placing four runners in the top 11 including junior Vivienne (Vivi) Cannon, who was the first runner up. CVHS senior Reese Sion placed fourth in that race, joined by senior Rebecca Doherty who finished sixth.

The women’s 3200 saw a cluster of varsity Falcons running and finishing together with sophomore Ava Martin, junior Emma Haworth, freshman Kaitin Kenney, and senior Taili Sherwood-Kong all crossing the finish line within four seconds of one another. Falcon junior Annabelle Tanner had crossed 15 seconds earlier for a seventh place finish.

The Falcons won both the men’s and women’s varsity 4×400 races with the boys beating local rival Flintridge Prep by 4.2 seconds and the girls turning in a blistering performance that put them 18 seconds ahead of first runner up Saugus in a race that was over before it began.

In addition to outstanding performances by CVHS and Burroughs, four runners from Mira Costa and Palos Verdes turned in elite performances, meeting the MileSplit standard for the U.S. Second Team. Most impressive was Mira Costa’s Dalia Frias, who turned in elite performances in both the women’s varsity 800- and 1600-meter runs.

While results were important, the meet also marked the first high school level races for many of the freshmen just beginning their high school careers and even some of the sophomores whose prior seasons were interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The track and field season continues this Saturday with the League meet at Arcadia High School, 180 Campus Drive.