arcadia invitational

After record-setting performances in the 4×100 relays last weekend at the Arcadia Invitational, the Servite and Rosary relay teams will try to do it again on Saturday at the Mt. SAC Relays at Mt. San Antonio College.

The Servite relay team of sophomores Jace Wells, Jorden Wells and Kamil Pelovello and junior Benjamin Harris ran it in 39.70 seconds at Arcadia, the fastest in state history.

Rosary, which is the sister school for Servite, featured sophomore Tra’via Flournoy, senior Justine Wilson, junior Pfeiffer Lee and sophomore Maliyah Collins running 44.23, breaking Long Beach Poly’s 22-year-old state record of 44.50.

Coach Brandon Thomas works with both teams and said he wanted to support the track community by having both participate.

Defending state high jump champion JJ Harel will compete in his specialty after winning at Arcadia with a mark of 6 feet, 9 inches. He’s still only a few weeks into training because of a previous injury.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

Anyone who has jumped out of a plane with a parachute deserves respect, but to do it 36 times, that’s worthy of a salute.

Saul Pacheco, who turns 88 in November, is sitting in a lawn chair at the Arcadia Invitational with his friends, the starters dressed in red suits who fire pistols to begin races.

That’s when he mentions how he was in the 82nd Airborne Division and jumping out of planes in the 1960s after graduating from Wilmington Banning High and UCLA.

“I was a jump master who became in charge of the parachute troopers,” he said.

Then he talks about becoming a teacher and wanting to return to his alma mater, Banning, which had no openings, so he ends up at rival Carson and coaching the offensive line for Hall of Fame coach Gene Vollnogle for more than two decades. Vollnogle was football coach from 1963 to 1990, winning eight City titles.

Pacheco also became a track starter in 1977. He was already well trained to fire a pistol. It was learning all the rules required in track and field that needed to be mastered.

He apparently did just that, because he’s been at it for 49 years and plans to retire as a track starter this spring. For 25 years, he was a starter for the Arcadia Invitational. Then he became the meet referee to settle any disputes. The respect he has earned can be seen in the way other starters appreciate him for helping them learn the ropes.

He’ll be inducted into the Carson Hall of Fame this fall for his contributions as a coach and athletic director.

His story is pretty amazing. He was one of 13 children. His parents apparently wanted enough siblings to form a football team. His father was a carpenter helping build minesweepers at Terminal Island for the Navy. His mother stayed home and took care of everyone. The first seven kids born were boys. He was No. 5. Imagine the competition for food at dinner time.

“Everbody came in to eat at different times,” Pacheco said. “My mother did a great job having stuff ready.”

But what about 13 children together for Thanksgiving?

“We had a lot of laughs. We all got along.”

Five of the brothers are still alive, including a 90-year-old. All three sisters are alive. One of his brothers, Henry, was football coach at San Pedro for 12 years. Henry was drafted and ended up in the Vietnam War, where environmental issues might have led to the illness, lymphocytic leukemia, that took his life in 1991.

Two of his brothers worked for the LAPD. Two other brothers became firefighters. He has a grandson who’s a deputy sheriff in Riverside.

Pacheco has worked five state track championships and numerous City Section championships.

Like an umpire in football who calls a holding penalty, the only time anyone notices a starter in track is when there’s a false start.

“If there’s a false start, someone complains,” he said.

So why spend 49 years as a track starter?

“The fun part is watching all the athletes compete and being around all the other officials,” he said. “The officials are tremendous and dedicated trying to do a good job.”

All this came out by just happening to stop by and say hello to the starters who are always pleasant and enjoy talking. Unless you ask a question, you’ll never find out about someone’s background.

So why wasn’t Pacheco wearing a red suit like the rest of his friends at Arcadia?

“I brought it just in case,” he said. “I was an alternate.”

Pacheco is always prepared, whether jumping out of planes or teaching life lessons to football players.

If anyone deserves a salute, it’s Saul Pacheco.

There is a new “Fab Four” in the making and they are the Friars.

Servite’s 4×100 relay clocked 39.70 seconds Saturday at the Arcadia Invitational, breaking the state record it set at the same meet last year.

Sophomores Jace Wells, Jorden Wells and Kamil Pelovello and junior Benjamin Harris left runner-up El Cerrito (40.57) and third-place Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks (41.02) far behind and later claimed their best is yet to come.

“We still want to drop more times in the coming weeks,” said Harris, who joined Jaelen hunter, Robert Gardener and Jorden Wells to run the event in 40 flat last year while also setting the meet record in the 4×200. “We work on passing the baton once a week and we’ll go back to the drawing board to make it even better. The most important thing is we got the stick around safely and finished the race healthy.”

“We have great chemistry — we all get along with each other,” added Pelovello, who handled the third leg Saturday for the defending state champions. “We’ll go back to the lab to see if we can do even better but what more can you ask for?”

After an hour’s rest, Harris had enough energy to take first in the 100-meter dash in 10.32 seconds — one hundredth of a second faster than his runner-up time last year.

Later, Pelovello (21.14), Jorden Wells (21.14) and Jace Wells (21.25) swept the top three spots in the 200 meters. The Friars pulled out of the 4×400 relay, but by then they had established themselves as the team to beat in the Southern Section.

Rosary’s Maliyah Collins (left) breaks the tape ahead of Calabasas’ Marley Scoggins in the girls’ 4×100 relay.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

So too did Fullerton Rosary, Servite’s sister school, in the girls’ 4×100 relay. Royals speedsters Tra’via Flournoy, Justine Wilson, junior Pfeiffer Lee and Maliyah Collins won in 44.23, breaking Long Beach Poly’s 22-year-old state record of 44.50.

“I’m in disbelief but I knew we ran something real fast,” said Collins, a sophomore who held off Marley Scoggins of Calabasas on the anchor leg. “Shout-out to Calabasas for a great race, but this is our spotlight. This is a proud moment for us and the boys.”

Rosary ran 45.57 last spring — the fourth fastest time in meet history — anchored by Wilson. On Saturday, the Royals posted the third-fastest national high school time ever.

Savoring the day’s successes was former UCLA All-American sprinter Brandon Thomas, who coaches both Servite and Rosary.

The opening relays set the stage for the most decorated runner of the meet, senior Quincy Wilson, who traveled across the country to put his talent on display.

Every eye in the stadium was fixed on Wilson as he knelt in the starting blocks awaiting the start of the 400 meters. When the gun sounded he accelerated from Lane 5 as if shot out of a cannon, picked up speed on every stride and circled the oval in 45.48 seconds — breaking the meet record as spectators watched in awe.

Olympian Quincy Wilson (center) cruises to victory in the 400-meter dash in a meet record 45.48 seconds.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

The senior from Bullis School in Maryland gained worldwide fame as a 16-year-old in 2024 when he became the youngest male U.S. Olympic track athlete, helping the 4×400 relay team qualify for the finals in Paris.

The crowd roared when Wilson got introduced for the one-lapper, then the star closed the show by anchoring the Bulldogs’ 4×400 relay, which won in 3:09.14, the second-fastest all-time at Arcadia.

Wilson broke his own national indoor 400 record with a 45.37 effort at the New Balance Nationals last month in Boston. Now 18, he has won four straight national indoor titles. As he proved Saturday, he is not too shabby outdoors, either.

While Wilson drew the most attention, the 58th edition of the nation’s premier high school track and field meet also spotlighted many of the Southland’s finest athletes.

San Jacinto Valley Academy 10th-grader Kaahliyah Lacy, a distant cousin of Florence Griffith-Joyner, won the Invitational girls 300 hurdles in 40.81 while Arkansas-bound senior Braelyn Combe of Corona Santiago ran 2:05.12 to take second in the girls 800 meters, edged at the finish by Union Catholic’s Paige Sheppard.

Jurupa Valley senior AB Hernandez doubled in the girls’ triple jump (42-6) and long jump (20-3) and placed third in the high jump at 5-8. Julia Teven of Brea Olinda won with a height of 5-10.

Aliso Niguel senior Jaslene Massey, an Oregon commit who won the shot put at the Nike Indoor Nationals with a throw of 54-2.75 inches (sixth-best in U.S. high school history) and posted a national-leading discus mark of 188-7 at the Asics Irvine Invitational, won the shot put Saturday with a mark of 53-2 and also took first in the discus (182-2).

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame senior Josh Harel, the reigning state high jump champion, cleared 6-9 to win the event Saturday.

Olympian Quincy Wilson from Bullis High in Maryland is ready to unleash his speed in two relay races and the 400 at Saturday’s Arcadia Invitational at Arcadia High. The night portion begins at 5 p.m.

Servite’s 4×100-meter relay team set a state record last week, becoming the first to break 40 seconds in the event. The Friars will be strong contenders in both events.

Jaslene Massey of Aliso Niguel is among the best all time to compete in the girls’ shot put and discus, and she always likes to perform well at Arcadia.

Defending state champion high jumper JJ Harel from Sherman Oaks Notre Dame will compete even though he only recently returned to full-time practice.

There should be lots of outstanding performances in the boys’ and girls’ 100 meters.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

This is the weekend high school track and field takes center stage in Southern California. Quincy Wilson, who won a gold medal at the age of 16 at the 2024 Olympic Games, is coming from Maryland to compete in the 400 and two relays at the Arcadia Invitational at Arcadia High on Saturday.

“I’m so fired up,” Servite coach Brandon Thomas said.

And Thomas isn’t running.

Servite’s 4×100 and 4×400 relay teams will have to deal with Bullis High and Wilson running the anchor leg in races that should have fans standing on their feet while listening to the oohs and aahs.

“From a competitive standpoint, they’re excited to compete against the country’s best,” Thomas said.

Servite’s 4×100 relay team sent a message on Saturday, becoming the first to break 40 seconds in California history, winning in 39.82 at Trabuco Hills.

It’s all a perfect setup, from the atmosphere to the stiff competition, to prepare for next month’s section and state championships.

There’s two Loyola High athletes, sprinter Zion Phelps and 400 runner Ejam Yohannes, who hope to use Arcadia as a springboard to continue their early success this season.

Zion Phelps of Loyola edges Emmanuel Pullins of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame in the 100 meters on Tuesday, winning in 10.56 seconds. Pullins rans 10.59.

(Craig Weston)

Phelps is in his first year of track after being a defensive back and receiver for the football team. He and Loyola’s new coach, Sharaud Moore, were having conversions during the fall.

“He swore up and down he was the fastest kid in the school,” Moore said. “Yeah, put your money where your mouth is.”

Said Phelps: “I told him, ‘Just wait.’ I knew I had that speed and wanted to prove it.”

He ran a wind-aided 100-meter time of 10.39 seconds this spring. Last week in a Mission League dual meet against Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, he won with a time of 10.56.

Said Moore: “I was his harshest critic on the field.“We’re going back and forth and he was right. He’s s really fast.”

Showing his speed is legitimate will help with his football recruiting going into his senior year in the fall.

“Definitely this year has pushed my recruitment out there with my track times,” Phelps said. “I wanted to show the. I’m dedicated to this and being a multi-sport athlete. It will translate a lot.”

Yohannes, set to face Wilson in the 400, has an equally compelling story. He never played organized sports until joining the track team as a freshman. His parents came here from the small African country of Eritrea. His first name is Ethiopian.

He ran the 400 in 52.48 seconds as a freshman, focused more on having fun. Sophomore season he dropped to 50.75 and said to himself, “Wow, I’m fast.” He started getting serious.

“Now I wanted to be better,” he said.

An injury in January of last year didn’t let him get the foundation to run as fast as he hoped. He dropped to 47.69. Then Moore became coach, and Yohannes finally put in months of training to build a foundation.

“He comes in and kills me,” Yohannes said.

Then came the reward — 46.11 on March 21. In his final tuneup on Saturday, he ran 47.17 at the Red Rock Running Invitational.

“He’s a student and studies racing, training, race plans, athletes, programs,” Moore said.

As for facing Wilson, Yohannes’ attitude is bring him on.

“I’m excited to go out there,” he said. “It’s great competition. If I don’t believe I can win, nobody else can. If I don’t believe in myself, it’s over. I’m going to give my best. I might be crazy to saying this, but I think I have chance. He’s world class already in high school. He’s top of the line talent, It’s whoever wins on that given day. This is going to be unreal pressure knowing if I win, my name is out there. That puts me on the map. I can dream.”

Rich Gonzalez, the meet director for the Arcadia Invitational, remembers when LeBron James showed up at Pauley Pavilion in 2003 to play in a high school basketball tournament, filling the venue.

Now he’s pulled off the track equivalent with the announcement that 2024 Olympian Quincy Wilson, from Bullis School in Potomac, Md., is coming on April 11 to compete at the Arcadia Invitational at Arcadia High.

Wilson competed at the 2024 Olympic Games as a 16-year-old running a leg in the qualifying for the 4×400 relay and earning a gold medal when the team won in the finals. The 400 meters is his specialty, and he’s scheduled to run in that event along with the school’s 4×100 and 4×400 relay teams. That means he’ll get to face Servite, which has California’s best 400-meter relay team. It also means no one is going to leave the meet early since the final event is the 4×400 relay. Loyola, Servite and Long Beach Poly will be challenging Bullis.

Another star committed is from the girls ranks, Natalie Dumas from Eastern Regional High in Voorhees Township, N.J. She’s coming to try to break the national record in the 300 intermediate hurdles held by Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.

Wilson is committed to Maryland and Dumas to Arkansas.

The meet begins at 5 p.m. on April 11. Tickets will go on sale this week.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.