Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. My name is Eric Sondheimer. It’s Arcadia Invitational time, the best track and field meet of the season on Saturday.

Fast times at Arcadia High

The Arcadia Invitational is the best high school track and field meet in California. It takes place on Saturday, with field events starting at 3:30 p.m. and running events at 5 p.m.

Among the confirmed participants are Brandon Arrington of San Diego Mt. Miguel, the defending state champion in the 100 and 200, and 15-year-old Sam Ruthe from New Zealand who ran the mile in 3 minutes 58.35 seconds last month.

One of the challengers to Arrington will be Granada Hills’ Justin Hart. Granada Hills has produced two second-place finishers in the 200 at the state championships in Jordan Coleman and Dijon Stanley. Hart has been gaining confidence in the 200.

Servite’s young but talented 4×100 relay team gets tested after running 40.56, best time ever by an Orange County relay team.

Distance runners Griffin Kushen of Tesoro and Evan Noonan of Dana Hills are expected to race in separate events.

Zach Lewis of Garden Grove Pacifica is an athlete to watch in the shotput. He won at Trabuco Hills last week at 61 feet, 4 inches.

A wide-open competition will take place in the girls’ sprints that could provide a preview for the state championships.

In the shotput, Aliso Niguel junior Jaslene Massey has become an athlete to watch after winning the Orange County championships with a mark of 50-7, the first time a girl in California has surpassed 50 feet since 2016.

Baseball

Pitcher Jackson Eisenhauer shows emotion after getting out of jam against Loyola.

(Craig Weston)

It’s midseason report time in high school baseball. Here’s a look at teams and players exceeding expectations. Jackson Eisenhauer of Crespi has thrown 36 innings without yielding any earned runs. Crespi’s 14-game winning streak came to an end with a loss to Sierra Canyon in Mission League play.

Corona, Huntington Beach and La Mirada begin play in the National High School Invitational in Cary, N.C. on Wednesday. Corona is 14-0 and ranked No. 1 in the country. The Panthers have hit 26 home runs and recorded 12 shutouts in 14 games. La Mirada is in Corona’s bracket and has already lost twice to the Panthers this season.

St. John Bosco pulled off a three-game sweep of Orange Lutheran for the first time since the 2017 season. James Clark went seven for 11 in the series. Here’s the report.

Aquinas won the National Classic, defeating Cypress in the championship game.

Birmingham is 7-0 in the West Valley League. El Camino Real has won six straight games and is staying close to the Patriots.

Hunter Manning of West Ranch set a school record with 16 strikeouts in a win over Valencia.

Here’s this week’s top 25 rankings by The Times.

Here’s the first Southern Section power rankings.

Softball

Rosary’s Daleah Cardenas delivers during an 8-4 upset of Orange Lutheran in the Gold Division championship game of the Michelle Carew Softball Classic.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

What a shocking week it was in softball. One of the most prestigious tournaments in the Southland, the Michelle Carew Classic, was won by Rosary in an upset of Orange Lutheran.

Here’s the report.

The semifinal game between Orange Lutheran and Norco was expected to be the championship game. Orange Lutheran won 1-0. But don’t ever count out Rosary, which defeated Fullerton in the other semifinals.

In the City Section, San Pedro knocked off defending City champion Carson in the Marine League. Granada Hills is 12-2 and starts West Valley League action this week.

Golf

St. Monica’s golf team is 11-1 and could be a Southern Section title contender.

Loyola, Palm Desert and La Serna top the Southern Section golf power rankings.

Volleyball

Corona del Mar’s Reid McMullen hits past Huntington Beach’s Logan Hutnick.

(Eric Licas)

Huntington Beach is coming on strong and could be the primary challenger to Mira Costa in volleyball. The Oilers are on the verge of a Sunset League title. Here’s the report.

Here’s the latest Southern Section power rankings.

The Chatsworth tournament was held, and Redondo Union defeated the host Chancellors in the top division championship game.

Palisades won the other division, defeating rival Venice.

Lacrosse

Maile Lyle (12) shoots and scores for Corona del Mar during the Battle of the Bay girls’ lacrosse game.

(Don Leach/Daily Pilot)

The Battle of the Bay between Corona del Mar and Newport Harbor girls’ lacrosse teams took place. Corona del Mar won. Here’s the report.

In boys lacrosse, Loyola has won eight consecutive matches and is 15-3 overall.

Hall of Fame memories

Steve Smith had his No. 2 Taft High jersey retired. His wife, Alyssa, was there, along with sons Jordan, Theo and Carter.

(Craig Weston)

The newest selections for the City Section Hall of Fame were inducted on Sunday.

Here’s a look back at some of their great moments.

Palisades Strong

Palisades football coach Dylen Smith is tasked with keeping his team together for the upcoming season.

(Mark Potts / Los Angeles Times)

The Times is following the Palisades High football team as it tries to regroup and move forward in the wake of the Palisades fire.

Here’s a look at the team beginning training and starting the process of preparing for the fall season.

Notes . . .

Alan Clinton has resigned as wrestling coach at Servite …

Ringo Bossenmeyer has resigned after 25 years as basketball coach at Tustin …

Pat Eaton is the new girls volleyball coach at Newport Harbor …

Receiver Da’Mari Hall, who played five games at Narbonne last fall before being declared ineligible, will be ineligible to play the first five games this fall for his new school, Crean Lutheran…

Derwin Henderson is the new football coach at Rialto. He’s been head coach at South East, Taft and Hawthorne, among his stops …

Wendell Jackson is the new basketball coach at Muir. He was an assistant at Arcadia …

Junior running back Deshonne Redeaux of Oaks Christian has committed to USC.

From the archives: Gabriela Jaquez

Gabriela Jaquez, pictured in 2021 at Camarillo, has been a key contributor for UCLA women’s basketball.

(Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times)

Former Camarillo standout Gabriela Jaquez has been a key contributor for UCLA’s women’s basketball team. She had 18 points in last week’s win over Louisiana State that sent the Bruins to the Final Four in Tampa, Fla.

The McDonald’s All-American is the sister of Miami Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr.

Here’s a story from 2021 on Jaquez and how proud she was of heritage and family.

Recommendations

From SI.com, a story on Etiwanda’s Grace Knox at the McDonald’s All-American game.

From The562.org, a story on Compton High leaving the Moore League.

From the Washington Post, a story on a transgender girl banned from the girls team and joins the boys team.

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