CLOVIS — The oohs and ahhs from the crowd pretty much confirmed what Alyssa Alumbres had sensed mid-flight.
And the scoreboard told the final story.
Alumbres, a senior from Vista Murrieta, registered a wind-legal mark of 40 feet, 11 inches on her second attempt in the girls triple jump final at the CIF State Track and Field Championships on Saturday at Buchanan High School’s Veteran’s Memorial Stadium.
The mark stood until the very end, and Alumbres became the first girls track and field athlete in school history to win a state title.
Alumbres, who eclipsed her previous best by seven inches and also broke Michelle Norman’s school record of 40-6 set in 2014, is the third girl from the Inland area to win the state triple jump title in as many years following Elsinore’s Daj’Eauna Williams (2023), and King’s Alyssa Hope (2022).
“Sometimes I tend to overthink things and that doesn’t always work well in my favor,” Alumbres said. “When you can reduce it to something simpler, it’s a lot easier to execute. And that was biggest thing for today: execution.
“You can definitely feel it (a great jump) in that moment… And I knew I was going further than my previous jump.”
Saturday’s victory by Alumbres extended the Inland Empire’s streak in the girls triple jump to three years. King’s Alyssa Hope captured the title in 2022, and Elsinore’s Daj’Eauna Williams was victorious last season. The Inland area had not produced a state champ in the girls triple until those back-to-back-to-back wins.
Alumbres has long looked up to her older brother CJ, who was a standout jumper for Vista Murrieta a decade ago and now helps coach his sister. CJ had a great prep career himself but managed only a pair of fifth-place finishes at the state meet. Alyssa also was the runner-up in Saturday’s long jump final, posting a mark of 19-5 1/2 to claim the silver medal.
“Growing up watching him, he was my biggest idol. I loved watching him compete and wanted to do what he was doing,” Alyssa said about her brother. “We support each other endlessly. Having things come full circle now and me winning a state title. I know my family is proud, and he is proud … but this is something I’m going to hold against him.”
Ventura’s Sadie Engelhardt also wowed the crowd Saturday, as she broke her state meet record in the 1,600 meters with a time of 4 minutes, 32.06 seconds. Engelhardt’s fast pace had a trickle-down effect on the three Inland runners in the race.
Santiago’s Braelyn Combe was the runner-up in a time of 4:39.73, nearly six seconds faster than her previous best. Murrieta Valley’s Sofia Lieberman placed fourth (4:44.54), while Temescal Canyon’s Megan Crum finished sixth (4:49.89). Both of those times also were personal bests. Once Engelhardt broke away from the pack, Combe changed her strategy.
“I was trying to stay as close as I could for the first two laps,” Combe said. “She (Engelhardt) came through in a 2:15, and I was around 2:18. … I knew I probably wouldn’t be able to keep that pace, so I just focused on holding on to second place. … I couldn’t be happier with that time. I did not expect to be going under 4:40 this season.”
Combe later teamed with Kinsley Whitecavage, Jaela Jaffe and Taylor Davis for second place in the 4×800 relay (9:00.13).
Su’Riah Williams of Redlands closed out her junior season on a high note, as she placed third in the girls discus (147-4) and fifth in the shot put (42-0). There is a good reason why Williams’ best marks came late in the season.
“I started off the season without a coach, so it was very rough at the beginning,” Williams said. “I was teaching myself until I got a coach late in the year. … I took a lot of mental growth, but it helped me get to this point.”
Santiago’s Rylee Blade was looking to win a second consecutive state title in the girls 3,200 meters, but she was unable to keep pace with Eastlake’s Jaelyn Williams, who posted a winning time of 9:57.11. Blade finished third in a time of 10:06.26 — four seconds off her PR — but there was not a sense of total disappointment on Blade’s part.
“A few weeks ago, I didn’t even know if I’d be here because of injuries,” Blade said. “So, I was just happy to be back here in this atmosphere and have the chance to run. … I felt I was able to compete to the best of my ability today.”
Ayala’s Kayla McBride capper her high school career in strong fashion. She placed fifth in the girls 200 meters in a time of 23.88. McBride also teamed with Emily Prescott, Sophia Dinh and Obioma Emechete for a fifth-place finish in the 4×100 relay (46.47). McBride, Dihn, Emechete and Isabelle Salazar placed sixth in the 4×400 relay (3:50.86).
Jurupa Valley’s AB Hernandez experienced disappointment in the long jump at the start of the meet (fouling on all three attempts) but bounced back to finish third in the triple jump (39-5 1/2).
Vista Murrieta’s Aspen Fears had the best state showing of her career, placing fourth in the pole vault (12-9).
Claremont’s L’Mio Edwards took fifth in the 800 meters (2:09.06). She also teamed with Isla Bulmer, Kaitlyn Smith and Jie Yi Denise Chen for a fourth-place finish in the 4×800 relay (9:08.76).
Long Beach Wilson won the girls team championship with 36 points, and Ventura took home the runner-up trophy with 30 points. Vista Murrieta and Santiago finished third (23 points) and fourth (22 points), respectively.
