ARCADIA — Temecula Valley track and field standout Jack Stadlman has a love-hate relationship with the 400-meter dash.
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Jack Stadlman of Temecula Valley is introduced prior to the boys 400 meter Invitational race during the 2025 Arcadia Invitational at Arcadia High School in Arcadia on Saturday, April 12, 2025. (Photo by Libby Cline-Birmingham, Contributing Photographer)
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Jack Stadlman of Temecula Valley is introduced prior to the boys 400 meter Invitational race during the 2025 Arcadia Invitational at Arcadia High School in Arcadia on Saturday, April 12, 2025. (Photo by Libby Cline-Birmingham, Contributing Photographer)
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“I’m not going to lie, I really don’t like running the 400,” said Stadlman, a former basketball player who turned to track and field as a junior last season.
What makes this a complicated relationship is Stadlman is exceptional in the event.
Stadlman ran the 400 only once last season, as he focused on the sprints. He opened eyes earlier this season at Vista Murrieta’s Saddle-up Invitational as he circled the track in 45.69 seconds, breaking the stadium record held by Olympian Michael Norman while posting the eighth-fastest time in state history.
Saturday afternoon at the prestigious Arcadia Invitational, Stadlman showed why he is current favorite to capture the state title in this event.
Stadlman bounced up and down when introduced for the boys invitational 400-meter dash at Arcadia High School. And he had plenty of spring in his step when the starter’s pistol fired. Stadlman won in a time of 45.92 seconds, 0.64 seconds faster than second-place finisher Noah Smith of Long Beach Poly.
“I’ve had a injury I’ve been dealing with, so I was in the pool all week getting ready,” Stadlman said. “The goals today were to win and to get another 45.”
Stadlman said he might not run the 400 again until the Southwestern League finals, which is a requirement to qualify for CIF postseason competitions.
“I’m starting to develop a little more love for it,” said Stadlman, who is the only athlete in the state to go sub-46 seconds in the 400 meters this season.
Etiwanda sophomore Brandon Andrade is another athlete having a breakthrough season. Andrade qualified for the boys 300-meter invitational hurdles, and he placed fourth with a time of 37.09. That time was 1.02 seconds fastest than his previous personal best, set earlier in the week at a league event.
“It had been about a month since I PR’d, so it felt good… especially to do it by a whole second,” Andrade said. “I felt good right from the start of the race.”
Elsinore’s Nicolas Alexis shined in the boys horizontal jumps, placing second in the triple jump (48 feet, 11 inches) and fifth in the long jump (22-10 1/2).
Chaparral’s Keelan Wright swept the girls invitational sprints at last season’s Arcadia Invitational. The field was loaded in both events Saturday evening, and Wright finished third in the 200 meters with a time of 23.68 and fourth in the 100 meters in 11.53. Both times were a fraction off her personal bests.
Norco’s Kaylee Best had a career day, as she was fourth in the triple jump with a personal best 39-2 1/2 and fifth in the long jump with a PR of 19 feet.
The Rancho Cucamonga boys team had third-place finishes in three of the invitational relay events. John Campbell, Rodney Sermons, Tahj Crutchfield and Cameron Sermons combined forces to run a school-record 40.42 in the 400 relay. The Sermons bothers, Jayden Saldana and Daniel Wimbush went 1:25.81 in the 800 relay. Rodney Sermons, Saldana, Isaiah Joyner and Griffin Fittante posted a time of 3:14.80 in the 1600 relay.
Santiago’s quartet of Rylee Blade, Taylor Davis, Nicole Samson and Braelyn Combe placed third in the girls invitational 3200 relay (9:04.20). King’s Mason Colwell, Maximo Zavaleta, Brayden Lunetta and Logan Carlson were fourth in the boys invitational 3200 relay (7:47.23).
Redlands had a pair of athletes excel in invitational field events Saturday evening. Michael Cullen finished fourth in the boys pole vault with a personal-best mark of 16-2. Su’Riah Williams placed fifth in the girls discus (150-7) and eighth in the shot put (40-11 1/4).
Yucaipa’s Benjamin Lingenfelter placed fourth in the boys invitational discus with a throw of 192-2.
Murrieta Valley’s Jordin Lieberman ran a personal-best 4:44.87 to finish eight in the girls invitational mile. Riverside Poly’s Kylani Gaines was seventh in the girls invitational 100 hurdles (14.09).
Great Oak’s Jack Paradise (1:52.46) and Liberty’s Juan Juarez (1:52.72) finished seventh and eighth, respectively, in the boys invitational 800 meters.
Five Inland athletes won titles in seeded or open races Saturday, and each did so with personal-best times..
Murrieta Valley’s Taylor Anyansi won the girls open 100 meters in a time of 11.72. Damien’s Jaxson Gates won the boys open 100 in 10.60. Summit’s Amirah Whitehead won the girls open 400 in 54.66. Claremont’s Grace Smith won the girls seeded 800 in 2:08.55. Temescal Canyon’s Megan Crum won the girls seeded mile in 4:54.87.
There were several standout performers at this year’s Arcadia Invitational, but the unquestioned star was Jane Hedengren of Timpview (Provo, Utah).
Hedengren won the girls invitational two-mile event in a jaw-dropping time of 9:34.12, breaking the national high school girls record in that event by about 7 seconds. Hedengren, who won the Nike Cross National (NXN) girls championship in the fall, was also timed for 3,000 and 3,200 meters, and she broke the national records at those distances, as well.
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