BOYS' TRACK AND FIELD: Rio Mesa drops anchor, ends Notre Dame's championship run

Oaks Christian's Vinnie Saucer, right, surges past Serra's Adoree Jackson on the anchor leg of the 4 x 100 relay Saturday in the Southern Section Div. IV final at Mount San Antonio College. Saucer added victories in the 100 and 200, but it wasn't enough to get past Serra, which captured its sixth straight team title by a 107-78 margin. (Keith Birmingham / Staff Photographer)

WALNUT -- A back-and-forth battle all day long between two of the state's elite boys' track and field programs finally came down to the anchor leg of the 4 x 400-meter relay Saturday at Mount San Antonio College.

Notre Dame, as it has so many times in recent years, was looking to junior Khalfani Muhammad to produce more magic after he had already captured the 100- and 200-meter titles in the Div. III championship meet.

Only this time, Muhammad shared the track with an equally dynamic and determined talent in Rio Mesa's Blake Selig, and after several near misses in his quest to deliver the Spartans' first team title -- including in the Div. II final in 2010 against Loyola -- the UCLA-bound senior wasn't going to be denied this time.

Selig, who had already helped Rio Mesa edge Notre Dame for the 4 x 100 relay title, produced a 48-second anchor-leg split to win the 4 x 400 in a state-leading 3:16.02, snapping Notre Dame's three-year reign as champion with a 63-59 victory over the Knights, with Hart taking third (47 points).

"It's been a long journey, but we finally got one," Selig said. "I don't even know what to say. It still hasn't hit me yet."

Notre Dame, needing a fourth-place finish in the 4x 400 to tie and a third-place effort to secure a ninth title in 11 seasons, wound up finishing eighth in 3:21.62, with Mission League rival Chaminade taking second in 3:16.43.

"It was a tough one to lose," Notre Dame coach Joe McNab said.

Rio Mesa's 4 x 100 victory in a division-record 41.05 over Notre Dame (41.23) and Chaminade (41.85) set an impressive tone that the Spartans were ready to make an impact in their Div. III debut.

Selig added a victory in the long jump with an effort of 22 feet, 3 3/4 inches, helping offset the combined eight shot put points produced by Notre Dame's Eric Davis, Josh Anderson and Dionne Dayoa.

Although Muhammad (10.45) and Eric McDaniel (10.60) outscored Selig (10.50) and Cameron Roach (10.79) in the 100, and the Knights produced a 12-point advantage with Muhammad (21.10) and McDaniel (21.46) taking first and second in the 200 ahead of third-place Roach (21.59), it wasn't enough for Notre Dame to extend its title run.

"Rio Mesa is a very good team with a lot of talented athletes," Muhammad said. "I couldn't have done it (in the 100 and 200) without their competition in the field. I almost slipped coming out of the blocks in the 100, but I shook it off and came on strong at the end of the race."

Roderick White and Anthony Teart provided crucial relay legs in substitute roles for the Spartans, who also had Darion Zimmerman take third in the 400 (48.18) and Christian McNair place fourth in the discus throw (151-4) to help offset the efforts of Notre Dame's Aiden Elias, who took runner-up in the high jump (6-5).

"It was a knock-down, drag-out battle all the way through," Spartans coach Brian Fitzgerald said. "I didn't think we could score 60 points and we did. I'm just really proud of how they all stepped up."

Hart's Tim White and Austin O'Neil combined for three Div. III titles to spark the Indians' third-place effort.

O'Neil captured Hart's third title in program history in the 1,600 by clocking 4:12.11, then White doubled in the high jump (6-7) and long jump (48-5 1/4), giving the Indians their first champions since 1994. Ryan Zielinski and Gabe Robinson both cleared 6-3 in the high jump and Sam Peckham was third in the 3,200 (9:18.69) for Hart.

Harvard-Westlake's David Manahan won the Div.III title in the 800 (1:54.15), with Garrett Robinson (48.75) taking fifth in the 400.

"I wanted to get out fast and set myself up for a big PR, so when I started off a little slower than I expected, I panicked a little bit," Manahan said. "I just decided that it's only one more lap and it doesn't matter how much it hurts, I was just going to give it my all, so it feels really good."

Oaks Christian took runner-up in Div. IV for the fourth year in a row, scoring 78 points to take second behind six-time champion Serra (107).

Vinnie Saucer doubled in the 100 (10.54) and 200 (21.42), along with leading the Lions to a title in the 4x 100 (41.35), with Zack Bornstein capturing the discus throw (159-1). Oaks Christian was second in the 4 x 400 (3:22.53), with Jordan Pitcher finishing runner-up in the 110 hurdles (14.47). Terry Johnson took third in the 100 (10.97) for the Lions.

Flintridge Prep freshmen twins Gareth and Barrett Weiss both cleared 12-9 to take first and second in the Div. IV pole vault.

Desert Christian's Adam Ruggiero won the Div. IV triple jump (45-9 1/4), was second in the high jump (6-5) and third in the long jump (22-5 1/2).

Crespi's Amir Ali Patterson placed second in the Div. III shot put (58-6 3/4) and eighth in the discus throw (141-2).

Glendale's Michael Davis was second in the Div. I 200 (21.40) and third in the 100 (10.76), with Knight's Bryan Guijarro taking second (9:13.90) in the 3,200, Quartz Hill's Malik Hayes finishing third in the 800 (1:51.98) and Highland's Cyntrell Smith taking third in the 200 (21.55).

Westlake's Luigi Colella was second in the Div. II pole vault (15-9), with Oak Park's Connor Stark taking fourth in Div. III (15-3), followed by Harvard-Westlake's Ben Gaylord (14-9). Valencia's Clint Gingrich qualified for Masters with a leap of 22-5 1/4 in the Div. I long jump, as did West Ranch's Nick Bultman following a fourth-place effort in the Div. I shot put (57-5).