Sprinters rule CIF track finals

Moorpark, CA (News4usOnline) – The CIF Southern Section Track and Field Finals can be summed up in one word: exciting. High school student-athletes competed in four divisions at Moorpark High School for the right to move on to the state’s semifinals at the CIF Southern Section Master’s Meet.

 If the CIF-SS track meet was what is to come at the state track and field finals in Clovis, California, then there is going to be a lot of record-breaking performances. There were a lot of individual and team standouts that distinguished themselves from the rest of the pack at the meet. 

The girls from Long Beach Wilson High School dominated. The Bruins ran away from second-place Long Beach Poly and the rest of the field to win the title in the CIF-SS Division I team race. 

For St. Mary’s Academy, a Catholic, all-girls high school in Inglewood, California, the CIF-SS Division 4 crown would come down to the day’s final race to decide their fate. 

In their case, it turned out to be good as St. Mary’s Academy’s 4×400 relay team was pushed to run 3:47.69 to win. St. Mary’s Academy’s time was enough to finish ahead of Rosary, which came in second with a time of 3:48.92. Why does this matter? 

By winning the 4×400, St. Mary’s Academy ended up forging a tie in the team category with Rosary. Rosary and St. Mary’s Academy wound up fit to be tied with both schools scoring 73 points apiece. The Wilson girls did not run into this issue. 

The Bruins, led by star hurdler Kaylin Edwards, used their superior depth to win the CIF-SS Division 1 trophy. The Bruins earned 107 points to win the team championship. Wilson’s Moore League rival Poly finished the day with 75 points.

Canyon (Division 2) and J Serra Catholic (Division 3) were the other schools to lay claim to victory in their respective divisions. Edwards stood out in the hurdle races for Willson. In the 100-meter hurdle race, Edwards had to beat back the Poly duo of Kylani Gaines (14.39) and Kadence Bain (14.51) to win (13.9).   

Edwards kept up her winning ways by taking the 300 hurdles as well, coming in first place with a time of 41.24. Bain finished second with a time of 42.9. Wilson’s Saniah Varnado gave the Bruins some more first-place points when she crossed the finish line in first place in the 400 with a time of 54.88. 

Poly didn’t sit back and let the Bruins have their way. Wilson got pushed by the Jackrabbits all the way down to the wire. Poly upset the Bruins in the 4×100 relay race, coming in first with a swift time of 46.05 to nip Wilson (46.99). 

While Wilson took the 4×400 race, Poly was right in the midst of things, finishing with a strong 3:52.25 time to come in second. St. Mary’s Academy would not have been able to get its share of the title if not for the herculean effort put forth by sprinter Madison Mosby.      

Mosby won the 400 (53.90) and finished second in the 200 (23.86). 

The team races in all four divisions for the boys were all decided by single digits. Long Beach Poly (44 points) edged out Rancho Cucamonga (40) in the CIF-SS Division I team race. 

Culver City (51 points) had to stave off Murrieta Valley (42 points). Sherman Oaks Notre Dame High School got the best of Servite by winning in the narrowest margin, 106.5 to 104. 

Viewpoint and Serra were both knotted up at 49-49 to share the Division 4 crown. 

There were some stellar performances on the track on the boys’ side of things. Servite’s Benjamin Harris did not come to play. The sophomore sprinter clocked a double in the short sprints, winning the 100 in 10.32. He then smoked the field in the 200, blazing to the finish line in a time of 20.96. 

The outcome of the Division 1 and Division 3 team races came down to the tiniest of margins. In the Division 1 race, three teams (Poly, Long Beach Wilson, and Rancho Cucamonga) were separated by milliseconds. The Jackrabbits crossed the tape in 3:13.20 with Rancho Cucamonga nipping at their heels with a time of 3:13.56. 

The Bruins timed 3:13.63 to finish third in the race.  

Featured Image: Moorpark, CA – Long Beach Wilson hurdler Kaylin Edwards runs away from the field to win the CIF Southern Section Division 1 race in the 400 hurdles at Moorpark High School on May 17, 2025. Edwards won her race with a time of 13.90. Photo credit: Dennis J. Freeman/News4usOnline