Mt. Carmel Invitational
Saturday, March 24 @ Mt. Carmel HS

San Diego Section

(SAN DIEGO, Ca) -- Invitationals fill the statewide schedule every weekend. Few -- no, very few --can compare to the Mt. Carmel Invitational. Strong competition, typical postcard San Diego weather, fine facilities and excellent organization make this a special weekend for Golden State teams each year.
The 2007 edition of the Mt. Carmel/Movin' Shoes Invitational was no different, with Southern Section powers Rancho Verde, J.W. North, Muir, Inglewood, Rio Mesa and Paramount among the cast of eye-catching programs making the drive south down Interstate 5 to take on acclaimed San Diego-based lineups from Helix, El Camino, University City, Rancho Buena Vista, Torrey Pines, Rancho Bernardo and host Mt. Carmel among others.
"People are turning this into a reward trip for those athletes working hard and it works - kids love San Diego," said meet director Dennis McClenahan during communication earlier this year. "We're always looking to improve and word is spreading quickly that this is a nice meet to be at."
Don't misunderstand. Yes, this is a fun meet, but it's "a business trip" too, with participants chasing after quality marks to catch the attention of college recruiters or to qualify for later key meets.
The action was very hot from the outset this year, with JW North rolling to a state-leading 7:53.79 effort in the 4x800-meter relay to kick off boys action. Right after that, Inglewood "took the baton" on top action to rip off a 41.94 clocking in the boys' short relay and Rancho Verde responded to post a 46.81 win in the featured heat of the girls' short relay. Three races: a state-leading mark and two of the finest performances in the state this spring. All occurring within a matter of minutes of each other!
Perhaps the most thrilling race of the morning occurred between two teammates that drove nearly two hours to determine who was faster. The case remains open as Muir's Jalisa Williams and Kiani Profit both clocked 14.42 in a wind-aided heat of the girls' 100-meter high hurdles!
Rancho Verde, easily one of the fastest-rising programs in the state in recent seasons, grabbed bragging rights in the dashes with Alicia King winning the 100 (11.90)
On the boys' side, title of "meet's fastest man" went to Inglewood's D'ondre McDonald, who flew across the line in a legal 10.66 to beat a fine field of three others to also crack 11 seconds.
Another state leader emanated from the girls' 800, where Esperanza's Emily Dunn continued her fine early-season running to win the top heat in 2:10.54. Hurdles are Coach Charles Leathers' bread-and-butter at JW North and the Huskies sweptr the 300-meter barrier races with Reggie Wyatt (37.08) winning the boys contest and Kiersten Kirkland (43.52) laying claim to the gold medal in the girls' competition.
There were plenty of fine marks in the field events, with Nelson Rosario's wind legal (+1.0 mps) 24-02.00 leap in the long jump competition registering as one of the best marks in the nation this spring. Rancho Bernardo's Emily Mattoon (12-04.00 in the girls' pole vault) and Paramount's Stephanie Aliimatafitafi (40-07.50 in the girls' shot put) also achieved marks worthy on inclusion on the national lists.