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On Friday night (April 19, 2024), in the top ranked boys invitational 4 x 800, a 44 year old record set by Coach Parkinson himself was beat by .13 seconds, highlighted by Keeran Murray’s 1:51.91 anchor leg (a NEW SCHOOL RECORD relay split for the 800m).
The lead off leg was freshman Michal Scarince, who had been battling a 103 degree fever the night before. He ran within 1 second of his best 800 time at 2:00.43. The second leg was Rocket McDonald who had the biggest surprise of the team, running a 2:02.63, almost 9 seconds faster than his time in March. The third leg was run by Adam Ruiz who had his first sub 2 minute run at 1:59.45, (he had been sick for the previous 3 days!) The anchor leg Keeran Murray ran a 1:51.91, placing the Tigers at 7th place in the prestigious Invitational Heat with 7:54.41. The boys 4 x 800 now ranks 13th in the State.
The girls 4x800m relay placed 11th with a time of 9:41.87, a #2 all time South Pasadena time. The four runners were Saidbh Byrne 2:23.44, Rose Vandevelde 2:28.08, Chloe Koo 2:26.98, and Abby Errington 2:23.4. The girls 4 x 8 now ranks 35th in the state.
On Saturday South Pasadena came back and set the school records in both the Girls and Boys DMR(Distance Medley Relay).
On the girls side, Saidbh Byrne ran a PR 3:49.13 for the 1200m, Mia Holden ran a PR of 56.93(PR) for the 400m, Rose Vandevelde ran 2:27.79 for 800m, and anchor Abby Errington ran a 4:53.40 for the 1600m. The girls team ran 12:07.24 to place 7th in the Invitational Heat, shattering the old record from 2019 by 26.44 seconds! They now rank #6 in Southern Section CIF and #11 in the state!
On the boys side, freshman Michael Scarince ran 3:08.49(PR) for 1200m, to Peter Dickinson 51.58 for 400m, to Adam Ruiz 2:05.20 for 800m, to anchor Keeran Murray 4:12.53 for the 1600m leg. Keeran’s 4:12.53 is a PR and the #3 all time South Pasadena time behind Coach Mike Parkinson’s 4:08.62 and Sam Pons’ 4:10.37. The boys time of 10:17.78 placed them at 7th in the invitational heat, breaking the old mark of 10:32.90 from 2021 of Andrew Parkinson, Jaden Eden, Patrick Latting, and Andrew Villapudua, by 15.12 seconds! The boys DMR team now ranks #9 in CIF Southern Section and #11 in the state!
Other SPHS tigers had phenomenal times. Senior Mia Holden tore up the track, placing 2nd in the 300m hurdles at 42.90. She is now ranked 1st in CIF Southern Section and 3rd in the State.She also placed 5th in the 100m hurdles with a time of 14.69 seconds, now ranked 2nd CIF southern section and 7th in the State.
Other Tiger performances included:
Omar Soufi 7th seeded Shot Put 49’-00.25”
Girls 4x200m relay 5th in 1:43.89(3rd on SoPas all time list) with Jackie Sides, Naya Holden, Ireja Lauderdale, Sophia Allen
Ranked #13 CIF SS/#19 State
Girls 4×400 relay seeded 7th 4:09.47
Jackie Sides, Perri Koo, Kara Wang, Sophia Allen
Girls 4×100 relay seeded heat 7th 49.15
Jackie Sides, Lyla Keller, Naya Holden, Mia Holden
League Prelims are Tuesday April 23, League Finals are Friday April 26, both at SPHS. CIF starts up the following week.
Photo: Here are the two DMR (Distance Mixed Relay) relay teams that set new records yesterday with Coach Parkinson.
