Track & Field: State finals feature marquee matchups

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After an exhausting day of preliminaries in oppressive conditions, the weather will be cooler and the competition will be even hotter for today’s finals of the CIF State Championships at Clovis Buchanan High School’s Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Long Beach Poly’s girls began the weekend as the favorites to capture a record fifth-straight title, but their disqualification from the 4x400 relay on Friday has opened the door for teams such as Gardena Serra and Oceanside El Camino to end the Jackrabbits’ reign.

Based on Friday’ qualifying results, Serra and Sherman Oak Notre Dame are the frontrunners for the boys title, but Oxnard Rio Mesa, Vista Murrieta and Carlsbad La Costa Canyon are all in contention.

Can Amy Weissenbach of Studio City Harvard-Westlake win her third 800 state title? Will teammate Cami Chapus beat Aptos’ Nikki Hiltz for the second straight year in a matchup of two of the nation’s top 1,600 runners? Does anyone have a chance to dethrone Simi Valley’s Sarah Baxter in the 3,200? What’s the likelihood of Santa Margarita freshman phenom Kaitlyn Merritt taking the gold medal in the pole vault?

And for the boys, will Khalfani Muhammad of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame achieve a sprint trifecta by winning the 100 and 200 meter dashes and 4x100 relay? Who suvives the 1,600 showdown between Rancho Cucamonga’s Luis Gutierrez and La Costa Canyon’s Darren Fahy? Can L.A. Dorsey’s Rashard Clark power past Beverly Hills’ Alex Rohani in the 400? Does Newport Harbor’s Ethan Cochran have enough strength and stamina to double in the shot put and discus?

These questions and more will be answered in several hours. Field events are scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. and running events start at 6 p.m. with the 4x100 relays. Keep checking back for updates.

-- Steve Galluzzo