The562’s cross country and track & field coverage is sponsored by Joe Carlson & Debbie Hughes.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly Athletics for the 2025-26 school year is sponsored by Former Jackrabbits Wendell “WoWo” Moe, Jr. & Tyson Ruffins.
In the midst of a long stretch leading up to the CIF State meet, the Long Beach Poly track and field team returned to the Arcadia Invitational with a full slate of athletes, and the Jackrabbits managed a pair of first-place finishes over the weekend as they continue to peak at the right time.
“We wanted to make sure that kids that were ready were put out into the fire, and the ones that were not, we know we have time,” said Poly coach Crystal Irving. “This meet is a great indicator to see what we need to work on, what we need to maintain, and what we need to get better at. We did some different combinations on the relays and it panned out to be good.”
The Jackrabbits kicked off the weekend with a win in the girls’ 800m sprint medley relay, running a 1:44.17 from seniors Faith Magee, Aniyah Brooks, Aliyah Stokes and freshman Laila Kirk. The mark sets the top time in the country, just a week after Poly ran the nation’s top time in the 1600m SMR at the Texas Relays.
Saturday’s invitational slate opened with the boys’ and girls’ 4x100m relays, where the Jackrabbits surprisingly scratched both events. Irving indicated that the Jackrabbits’ status in each race was treated as necessary, as they’re coming off the Texas Relays with the Mt. SAC this week before their dual with Wilson to close out the regular season.
Poly did, however, run in the 4x400m relay to close the night, with Isaiah Jones added to the lineup on the first leg. Jones, alongside Darieon Shufford, Jaylen McNeil and Noah Smith, ran a 3:12.53 to place second, finishing three seconds behind Bullis (Maryland), which featured Olympic gold medalist Quincy Wilson, who also won the 400m invitational.
“I think the boys’ 400 was an eye-opener not just for our young men but for all young men, because they really should’ve been leaning at the line and not watching the race from within. There’s no reason to get starstruck—everyone’s just a normal athlete,” Irving said. “But I’m glad to see everyone got it together in the mile relay, and they stepped up and came through.”
The Jackrabbits had one individual winner on Saturday in senior hurdler Lynnox Newton, who ran a 13.88 to win the seeded 110m hurdles. Newton also competed in the open 300m hurdles and emphasized his room for growth as he approaches the final stretch of his senior year.
“I just wanted to see what I could do because I had a bad race last week, and I was kind of angry because I didn’t make the invitational,” Newton admitted. “But to be able to come out here at Arcadia and win, whether it’s seeded or not, it’s an honor. Now I just gotta keep working hard and keep consistent times, and try and PR every race.”
Armon Bly also had a strong outing in the open hurdle events, setting personal bests in both the 110m and 300m hurdles. Bly ran a 14.31 to place fourth in the open 110m hurdles and a 38.65 to finish 11th in the open 300m hurdles.
On the girls’ side, Irving said she was pleased with the performance from senior sprinter Aniyah Brooks, who competed in the invitational 100m along with the seeded 200m. Brooks recorded a new personal best of 11.65 in the 100m to place seventh, while running a 24.73 in the 200m to finish sixth.
Saturday also provided an opportunity to see standout freshman Laila Kirk in the invitational events, where she ran a 2:15.06 in the 800m to place eighth. Kirk also anchored the girls’ 800m sprint medley relay win and ran the first leg on Poly’s 4x400m relay.
“I’m glad she’s getting the type of competition to keep her hungry,” Irving said of Kirk. “She’s always excited and she just brings our whole team together.”
The Jackrabbits will compete at the Mt. SAC Relays starting Thursday before closing out the regular season in a dual meet with Wilson on April 21. The Moore League Finals will be held April 30, followed by the CIF Finals on May 16.
“The next few weeks are most important because we have league at the end of this month,” Irving said. “By the end of this month, I’m expecting everything to come together that’s supposed to come together. At that time we’ll move forward with whatever God blesses us with.”
Long Beach Poly’s Full Results:
Friday:
Girls’ 4x800m Relay Seeded: 19th, 10:10.66, (S. Young, S. Hooks, E. Dupree, M. Landa)
Boys’ 4x800m Rated: 20th, 8:16.40, (D. Shufford, P. Weaver, J. Cruz, A. Requejo)
Girls’ 800 Sprint Medley Relay Invitational: 1st, 1:44.17, (F. Magee, A. Brooks, A. Stokes, L. Kirk)
Boys’ 800 Sprint Medley Relay Invitational: 4th, 1:30.65, (S. Hunter, M. Dawson, J. McNeil, I. Jones)
Saturday:
Boys’ 110 Hurdles Open: Armon Bly, 4th, 14.31
Girls’ 400m Open: Aliyah Stokes, 27th, 57.39
Girls’ 400m Open: Arianna Thomas, 40th, 58.33
Boys’ 400m Open: Jaylen McNeil, 11th, 48.63
Boys’ 400m Open: Isaiah Jones, 18th, 49.04
Boys’ 300m Hurdles Open: Armon Bly, 11th, 38.65
Boys’ 300m Hurdles Open: Lynnox Newton, 18th, 39.10
Boys’ Shot Put Open: Jephte Tchami, 13th, 52′ 4″
Boys’ 110m Hurdles Seeded: Lynnox Newton, 1st, 13.88
Girls’ 100m Hurdles Invitational: Kadence Bain, 8th, 14.28
Girls’ 100m Invitational: Aniyah Brooks, 7th, 11.65
Girls’ 800m Invitational: Laila Kirk, 8th, 2:15.06
Boys’ 400m Invitational: Noah Smith, 7th, 48.16
Girls’ 300m Hurdles Invitational: Kadence Bain, 7th, 43.35
Girls’ 200m Seeded: Aniyah Brooks, 6th, 24.73
Girls’ 4×400 Relay Invitational: 6th, 3:54.22, (L. Kirk, A. Stokes, A. Thomas, K. Bain)
Boys’ 4×400 Relay Invitational: 2nd, 3:12.53, (I. Jones, D. Shufford, J. McNeil, N. Smith)
