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World, U.S. season leaders and crash jolt Mt. SAC Relays

April 19, 2026

WALNUT — As Arizona State half-miler Dayton Carlson headed into the final 200 meters of the Mt. SAC Relays invitational 800 meters Saturday afternoon, he looked over his shoulder to find nothing but an empty backstretch behind him.

Carlson gazed up into Hilmer Lodge Stadium’s main grandstand as he came off the turn onto the final straight stretch and gave the crowd a bewildered shrug.

Mt. SAC, in its 66 editions, has produced a dozen world records, numerous U.S., collegiate and high school standards and authored countless chapters in the histories of American and international track and field.

“We’ve seen a lot of things,” Mt. SAC meet director Brian Yokoyama said, “but we’ve never seen anything like that.”

That was the nine-runner pile-up in the 800 that derailed what was developing into a world-class race at the end of an afternoon full of them.

Ghana’s Alex Amanhwah led the field through the 400 in a quick 51.05 with seven others right behind him, less than eight-tenths of a second back. Then, 15 meters later, a clueless cameraman stepped onto lane 1 from the infield, oblivious to the approaching pack.

“He just walked out onto the track,” Iowa State’s Sam Austin said.One of the runners ran into the individual. Others were scrambled into the second and third lanes or the infield to avoid crashing. All had to come to a stop except Carlson, who sidestepped some of his rivals on the infield before stepping back into lane 1 and continuing around the turn and then jogging through the final 200 to win the heat in 1 minute, 57.14 seconds.

“You can’t make this up,” Isaiah Jewett, a 2021 Olympian, said, shaking his head.

The debacle provided a strange twist to an afternoon in which Mt. SAC delivered its usual menu of world, national and collegiate season bests.

Arizona State’s Jayden Davis held off New Balance’s Vernon Norwood, a four-time Olympic medalist, to win the 400 in a world-leading 44.29 seconds. Norwood (44.58), Washington’s Alexander Rhode (44.94) and William Jones (44.96) joined Davis in breaking 45 seconds in the season’s deepest race.

The women’s 400 was even tighter and just as thrilling, USC’s Madison Whyte edging Arkansas’s Sanaria Butler – 49.64 to 49.86 – and just missing disgraced former Olympic champion sprinter Marion Jones’ meet record of 49.59.

Washington’s Hana Moll, the world leader during the indoor season, cleared 15 feet, 9 inches (4.80 meters) to claim the outdoor U.S. and collegiate lead and move within a centimeter of the world outdoor best held by New Zealand’s Eliza McCartney, the Olympic silver medalist.

Arkansas’ Jelani Watkins reinforced the notion that he’s the fastest man in college football, coming back from a victory in the collegiate 200 Friday to take the invitational 100 Saturday afternoon. In fact, Watkins’ 9.82 victory, aided by a 2.8 meters per second, .80 over the allowable limit, but impressive, suggests his real future is on the track, not the gridiron.

Watkins, a wide receiver, transferred to Arkansas from LSU in January.

After missing the 2024 season at LSU with a foot injury, he played in just three games for the Tigers last fall, catching two passes for 21 yards. Watkins had a much greater significance for the Razorbacks this past indoor season, finishing second in the NCAA Championships 60.

Torrance High School’s Nicolas Obimgba set a meet record in the prep 200 with a 20.66 clocking. While Obimgba is a rising star, the women’s invitational 200 was won by a familiar face at Mt. SAC.

Jenna Prandini, a two-time U.S. champion at 200 and two-time Olympian now competing for ON, won the race in a wind-aided 22.43. Prandini, 33, first competed at the Mt. SAC Relays as a Clovis High School freshman in 2008.

Orange County Register

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World, U.S. season leaders and crash jolt Mt. SAC Relays

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