A relaxed Michael Norman successfully defends his two state titles

Michael Norman knew he had to be at his best Saturday night to top what he did at the 2015 CIF state track and field championships.

On the same oval where he set a national record of 45.19 in the 400 meters one year earlier, the Vista Murrieta senior defended his title in grand style by winning in 45.77 at Buchanan High in Clovis and bolstering his confidence for the U.S. Junior Nationals in two weeks (also at Buchanan) and the U.S. Olympic Trials in July in Eugene, Oregon.

“I tried to stay relaxed and pump my arms all the way through,” said Norman, the reigning Gatorade national runner of the year, who also ran the first leg on the Broncos’ victorious 4x100 relay, which clocked 40.32 for the second-fastest time in the nation this year and fourth all-time in California. “I didn’t feel too much pressure. I’m just taking it one step at a time. The main objective right now is to do well here and defend my titles.”

Norman’s 400 time was the second-fastest in the nation this year behind the 45.51 he ran at the Arcadia Invitational in April. Norman capped off the night by moving from fourth to first on the anchor leg of the 4x400 relay as Vista Murrieta won in 3:14.97 and captured the team title. Norman covered the distance in 44.9.

An hour and a half after the 400, Norman repeated in the 200 in 20.42 and joined Long Beach Poly’s Bryshon Nellum (2006-07) as the only sprinters to sweep the state 200 and 400 in back-to-back years. Norman ran the distance in 20.23 (the fastest time in the world this year against a headwind) a week earlier at the Southern Section Masters Meet.

West Hills Chaminade senior T.J. Brock took first place in the 100-meter dash in 10.43 to repeat as state champion. His winning time was 10.34 last year.

“I’ve been working on my starts every day in practice,” said Brock, a future roommate of Norman’s at USC. “I got out of the blocks fast today and that’s exactly what I wanted to do.”

Carson’s girls’ 4x100 relay, consisting of Long Beach Poly transfers Kenyla Miles, Autumn Wright, Kennedi Atkins and Kaelin Roberts, established a new City Section record of 45.06 -- the second-fastest time in the nation this year and 10th all-time nationally.

Roberts later won the 400 for the second time in three years in 52.28 (the fastest in the nation this year), finished second in the 200 and anchored the winning 4x400 relay that gave the Colts 40 points, making them the first City girls’ team to win the state title in 37 years.

Agoura junior Tara Davis won the 100 hurdles in a personal-best 13.38 (fastest in the state and seventh-fastest in the nation this year), won the triple jump in 41-05.0 and finished second in the long jump at 20-04.00.

It was a day of redemption for Westlake Village Oaks Christian junior Lauren Rain Williams, who won the girls’ 100 in 11.39 (second-fastest in the nation this year) after finishing second last year to Oxnard Rio Mesa’s Zaria Francis, who was third in 11.55. Celera Barnes of Ventura St. Bonaventure was second in 11.47. Williams opened quickly in the 200, but collapsed on the turn and couldn’t finish the race, which Barnes won in 23.25.

Rancho Santa Margarita Tesoro senior Amanda Gehrich repeated as girls 1,600 champion, separating from Temecula Great Oak’s Destiny Collins on the final straightaway to win in 4:45.51. Gehrich passed Collins in the final 100 meters to win in a national-leading 4:33.33 last spring. Later, Collins was unable to defend her 3,200 crown, completing the eight laps in 10:23.79 to finish second behind Davis senior Fiona O’Keeffe (10:12.02).

Southern Section Masters Meet champion Isaac Cortes of Great Oak ran the final lap in 55 seconds to win the boys’ 1,600 in 4:04.62, overtaking Madera South’s Eduardo Herrera (4:05.63) and leading qualifier Tyler Janes of Riverside King (4:05.86). Cortes later used a late charge to win the 800 in 1:50.75, edging Thomas Heib from Los Alamitos (1:51.52). Great Oak’s Cole Spencer lost to Cooper Teare of Alameda St. Joseph Notre Dame by two-thousandths of a second in the boys’ 3,200 final.

Anaheim Canyon junior Rachel Baxter won the girls’ pole vault with a height of 14-02.00 and Jett Gordon of Huntington Beach Marina won the boys pole vault at 16-8.00.

Joseph Anderson of Upland won the the boys’ 110 hurdles in 13.59 (fourth-fastest in the nation this year) and Cody Burton of La Quinta won the 300 hurdles in 36.34, tw- hundredths off the national lead.

The total two-day attendance was 14,755.