Jesuit junior eclipses meet record, ascends into top 20 in California history to prevail against Redwood’s Anderson; Menlo’s Tomkinson wins girls 800-meter battle against Concord’s Stanziano

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

After 14 hours and 131 races Saturday at the 12th Dublin Distance Fiesta, one athlete among the more than 2,600 that competed at Dublin High commanded the spotlight like no other individual in meet history.

Jesuit CA junior Matt Strangio won the elite section of the boys 3,200 meters in a nation-leading 8 minutes, 47.97 seconds, highlighted by a 59-second final lap to pull away from reigning Nike Cross Nationals champion Liam Anderson of Redwood Larkspur CA, who placed second in 8:56.88.

RESULTS | INTERVIEWS

Strangio, the reigning California 3,200 champion, elevated to No. 18 in state history, smashing the 2016 meet record of 8:56.07 produced by former St. Joseph Notre Dame CA star Cooper Teare by negative-splitting the second half of the race after reaching the midway point at 4:25.6.

Strangio and Anderson, the defending California 1,600 champion, joined Teare, along with Michael Vernau of Davis Senior CA (8:57.70) and Luis Grijalva of Armijo CA (8:59.98) in 2016 as the only athletes to eclipse the 9-minute barrier in meet history.

Strangio, who entered the meet with a personal-best 8:56.18 from last year’s state final, continued to close in on Jesuit’s program record of 8:44.97 held since 1986 by Eric Mastalir, who ranks 11th all-time in the state.

Strangio and Anderson will have an opportunity April 6 at the Arcadia Invitational to compete against an even deeper field in the invitational 3,200, both looking to move into the top 10 in California history.

The most anticipated girls race of the event, which featured 118 schools to earn the recognition as the largest high school distance meet in the country, didn’t disappoint either as Menlo CA junior Charlotte Tomkinson and Concord CA senior Rayna Stanziano produced a thrilling showdown in the 800 meters.

Tomkinson, sixth at last year’s state final, recorded the fastest time by a junior in meet history and the No. 3 mark overall to prevail in 2:10.61.

Stanziano, third at last season’s state championship, elevated to No. 4 in meet history by clocking 2:11.22.

Tomkinson, who surged ahead of Stanziano in the final 75 meters to challenge her personal-best 2:10.58, returned to anchor Menlo to a third-place finish in the distance medley relay (12:30.09).

Marin Catholic CA rising talent Samantha Wallenstrom set the sophomore girls 1,600 record and produced the No. 2 effort in meet history by winning in 4:59.38. McClatchy CA sophomore Julia Heckey moved from fifth to second in the final 50 meters to ascend to No. 3 in meet history at 5:01.41.

Healdsburg CA senior Gabrielle Peterson, an Oregon State signee, improved from third in last year’s 3,200 to win in convincing fashion, clocking 10:39.81. Peterson also placed fifth in the 800 in 2:16.20.

Carlmont CA junior Kaimei Gescuk eclipsed the 11-minute barrier for the first time in her career to take second in 10:55.17, holding off a late charge by San Ramon Valley CA senior and Georgetown commit Kate Tavella (10:55.45). Emma Tavella, Kate’s twin sister and UCLA signee, also ran under 11 minutes for the first time to place fourth in 10:59.65.

St. Francis Sacramento CA freshman Cate Joaquin won the next-to-last section in 11:02.62, which was good for fifth overall. Joaquin also clocked 5:03.31 in the 1,600 to place fourth.

St. Francis also prevailed in the girls distance medley relay, relying on a strong anchor from Isabella Fauria to rally past Gregori CA by a 12:22.61 to 12:23.61 margin. Sophie DeBenedetti, Lexy Jones and Haley Silva also contributed for St. Francis.

Briseida Garcia-Meza, Kassie Rojas, Eva Rodriguez and Madison Kackley finished runner-up for the second year in a row for Gregori, lowering their own program record by nine seconds.

Sir Francis Drake CA was a runway winner in the boys distance medley relay, with Nicco Pompili, Josiah Russell, Owen Wolford and Amir Barkan clocking 10:44.32.

In the boys 800, Westmont CA junior Garrett MacQuiddy held off Jesuit junior Chase Gordon by a 1:55.07 to 1:55.58 margin, producing the third- and fifth-fastest times in meet history.

Maria Carrillo CA junior teammates Pierce Kapustka (4:22.97) and Colton Swinth (4:23.46) took the top two spots in a tactical final section of the boys 1,600, sprinting away from a group of four other challengers in the final 75 meters.