Oaks Christian ready for tough Arcadia Invitational competition

The Arcadia Invitational will bring together some of the best high school track and field talent from around the country this weekend.

Oaks Christian will have 14 individual entries and eight relay teams competing at Arcadia High School today and Saturday.

“It’s a check mark for us,” Lions coach Wes Smith said. “We’re checking where we are, try ourselves against other folks and, hopefully, come out of it moving in a better direction for the postseason.”

A record-high 793 high schools registered for the meet and 362 are coming from out of state. That gives Oaks Christian, as well as other schools, the opportunity to see how it stacks up against the competition as it strives for a CIF Southern Section Division 3 championship.

“It’s probably the best high school event in the country,” Smith said. “Any time you have the opportunity to run against that caliber of talent, even if you’re lost in the crowd, you’re going to be testing yourself and using that as a tool.”

Niyah Clayton comes into the meet as the defending state champion in the 100 meters. She’s ranked No. 7 in the state in the event this season with a PR of 11.76 seconds. Her biggest competition could be Canyon’s Mikaela Warr, whose 11.56 time is the best in the state.

Chase Hansen is the top 400 runner in the state at 47.37 seconds. Chaminande’s Seth Shigg, who is ranked No. 6 (48.27), and Calabasas’ Kingston Celifie, who is No. 7 (48.36), will also compete at Arcadia.

Oaks Christian also has confidence in multiple relay teams, especially the boys 4×100 team and the girls 4×400 group, but the outcome this weekend is not necessarily an indicator of how the team will do in the postseason.

“I joke with kids all the time that we’ve won two state titles in the 4×1 and neither year did we have a relay team at Arcadia,” Smith said. “It’s an opportunity for us to hone our skills against the best and certainly if you can handle the pressure in that setting, then you have experience going into the state meet.”

The following area schools will be sending athletes to the Arcadia Invitational this weekend:

Chaminade

Golden Valley Granada Hills Harvard-Westlake Louisville Moorpark Newbury Park Notre Dame

Oaks Christian Royal

Saugus

Sierra Canyon Simi Valley

St. Francis Thousand Oaks Valencia

Westlake