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The562’s cross country and track & field coverage is sponsored by Joe Carlson & Debbie Hughes.
It’s the sign of a historically dominant program when even your bad days end in gold. The Jackrabbits fought through a handful of setbacks at the CIF-SS Track Finals last month, but still won their second consecutive CIF-SS Division 1 championship, earning the No. 5 spot on our Top 10 Long Beach Sports Moments of the Year.
It was the 19th CIF-SS title for Poly boys’ track & field and the program’s first time going back-to-back since 2007.
Poly started the day with a DNF in the 4x100m and was already without its top sprinter, and the combination of setbacks left the Jackrabbits trailing heading into the final race. Gus Armstrong, Jarrius Hill, Darieon Shufford, and Noah Smith closed out the meet in the 4x400m with a 3:13.20 and first place finish to claim the championship.
“We’re just excited to see this team have this type of success after so many adverse situations happening,” said Poly coach Crystal Irving after the meet. “Adversity makes you stronger, so I’m glad that we’re able to come out on top and move on to next week. We’re very blessed and pleased with the outcome.”
Smith also placed second in the 400m with a time of 47.79. The Jackrabbits added another second-place finish in the 110m hurdles, where Lynnox Newton ran a personal-best 13.96.
Poly picked up another nine points in the 200m, where they had three different runners score. Malachi Dawson finished fourth in 21.72, Hill placed sixth with a 21.86, and Jaylen McNeil, running as an alternate for Juju Johnson, took eighth in 21.98.
