High School

Arcadia Invitational: 5-star football recruit atop California's athletes to watch

California's best high school track and field athletes will showcase their talents at the 2025 Arcadia Invitational at Arcadia High this weekend.

Roland Padilla

Five-star athlete Brandon Arrington
Five-star athlete Brandon Arrington / Courtesy of Brandon Arrington

The 2025 Arcadia Invitational is set to showcase some of the top high school track and field athletes from across the nation, and California’s elite are coming in hot. Known as the most prestigious high school meet in the country, Arcadia is where records beaten and future stars are made. This year, several California athletes enter the meet as state leaders — not just by a fraction, but by massive margins.

The event will be held Friday and Saturday (April 11-12) at Arcadia High School. The event is the home of 36 national records and where 203 Olympians once competed.

From 5-star football recruit Brandon Arrington blazing through the sprints to twin sisters Makenna and Morgan Herbst dominating the middle distance and hurdle events, the Golden State will be well represented in every event category. Field events like the shot put and discus also feature national-level standouts such as McKay Madsen and Jaslene Massey, who are rewriting the record books in their events.

Whether you're tracking college recruits, chasing PRs, or just love elite high school competition, these are the California athletes you need to watch at the Arcadia Invitational.

Arcadia Invitational Preview: Top CA Athletes to Watch

(Please note: all marks referenced are from athletic.net)

100M
Brandon Arrington, Mount Miguel, Jr. (10.24)
The top sprinter in California this season has already run a 10.24-second race and leads California by a healthy margin. He’ll be tested by national competition under the Arcadia lights, but don’t be shocked if we see something sub-10.20.

200M
Brandon Arrington, Mount Miguel, Jr. (20.37)
Arrington also shows extreme promise in the 200 as that is his stronger event. The second-best time in California this outdoor season is nearly a full second slower, at 21.10. Arrington holds the second fastest time in state history, second only to the olympic gold medalist and Vista Murrieta great Michael Norman. Norman's PR in high school was 20.06 so Arrington has some ground to cover. Below is a look at his PR this seaon.

400M
Jack Stadlman, Temecula Valley, Sr. (45.69)
In the 400 we have two state leaders who are far above the pack. Stadlman finds himself almost a full second above the second fastest time in the state as he ranks third nationally heading into Arcadia.
Below is a clip of his state leading performance back on March 1.

Makenna Herbst, Carlsbad, Sr. (53.82)
This Arkansas commit is also almost a full second faster than second place in the state for the 400-meter and is a top runner in the nation for the 800-meter race and will be one to watch this weekend.

800M
Makenna Herbst, Carlsbad, Sr. (2 minutes, 4.72 seconds)
This is the event where Herbst really shines, and has a more elite time. She is currently more than three seconds faster than the closest runner in California and second in the nation, per athletic.net.

1600M
Kinga Czajkowska, Palo Alto, Sr. (4:46.34)
This Cornell commit has nearly a 3.5-second lead for the best time in California. Will be great to see how she fares against national competition as she is currently ranked fifth in the nation. She recently set her PR at the Stanford Invitational on April 5.

110M Hurdles/100M Hurdles
Jasir Fontenot, San Diego, Fr. (13.47) and Anisa Bowen-Fontenot, San Diego, Sr. (12.99)
These freshman-senior combo of siblings each get to a claim of the crown as the fastest short hurdler in the state in each respective gender. There is some controversy for the freshman brother, Jasir, none of his fastest marks are wind-legal, though his best legal mark would still lead the state. And don't forget to mention, his sister Anisa is the nation's leader in the 100-meter hurdles and is headed to USC in the fall.

300M Hurdles
Morgan Herbst, Carlsbad, Sr. (40.51) (1.33)
The twin sister of the state leader in the 400 and 800, has a sizable gap between her and second place in the state and was the 2024 state champion in the event as well as winning gold at Nike Outdoor Nationals in 2024.

Shot Put
McKay Madsen, Clovis North, Sr. (65'8)
This four star BYU RB/LB commit has almost a five foot lead in the state and will be a top competitor to watch and a potential watch for a contender for field athlete MVP honors.

Jaslene Massey, Aliso Niguel, Jr, (50'7")
Massey has more than a four foot lead on the second closest mark in the state. She is also the first girl to break 50 since 2016

Discus
McKay Madsen, Clovis North, Sr. (211'6)
The top thrower in the state has a commanding lead on both throws events as he is in first by just under 20 feet. He just hit this new PR on April 9th and puts him on a nice wave to ride out heading into the weekend.

Su'Riah Williams, Redlands Jr, (173'3")
Williams’ mark is even more dominant than Madsen’s, as she leads by more than 17 feet to the next closest mark in the state and has the number one mark in the nation by just over seven feet. If she can get anywhere close to her best performance there is a good chance she leaves with a first-place medal.

Pole Vault
Paige Echsner, Del Norte, Sr, (13'2")
The UCLA commit has a half foot lead over the state's next closest vaulter. She will be one to keep an eye on in the vault pit, as she looks to improve on her PR.

Triple Jump
Camren Smith, Quartz Hill, Sr. (48'11.25")
Smith has an almost 9 inch lead on the next closest triple jumper in the state. The Senior from Quartz Hill will look to improve on his ninth-place finish from last year. As a junior he finished 4th at the 2024 CIF State Championship meet.

AB Hernandez, Jurupa Valley, Jr. (41'3")
Hernandez finished 3rd in last year's State Championship and is looking to make a spalsh in her first appearance at Arcadia as she has more than a foot lead on the state's next closest triple jumper.

Relays
There is one school that stands head and shoulders above the others and it is Long Beach Wilson's team who has a combined 5 state leading times between the girls and boys. The girls lead CA in the 4x400 meter, 4x800 meter and the sprint medley relay. The boys are first in the 4x800 meter and the sprint medley relay while being third in the 4x400 meter relay.

The boys rank 1st in the nation in the sprint medley relay with a time of 3:22.69, which was the fastest time in 40 years and 3rd all-time in CA. The girls rank top 3 in the nation in all of the relays mentioned and are first in the 4x800 meter relay. Long Beach Wilson should be one of the big focal points of the race with how their elite talent on both sides.

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Published
Roland Padilla
ROLAND PADILLA

Roland Padilla is a high school sports journalist, NIL specialist, and analytics strategist covering primarily West Coast track and field, basketball, and football for High School On SI. He began his career in 2015 reporting on Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook’s Thunder era for ClutchPoints before moving into full NBA coverage. He later worked directly with the founder/CEO of Ballervisions, shortly leading programming and cross-platform social strategy during its viral 2016 rise covering the Ball brothers—a run that helped propel the brand toward its eventual ESPN acquisition and evolution into SportsCenter NEXT. A three-sport alumnus and current throwing coach at Damien High School, and a former NCAA track athlete at UC San Diego, Roland blends athlete-development knowledge with advanced analytics in his role as a Senior Analyst at DAZN and Team Whistle. He has supported content strategy for major global and U.S. sports properties including World Rugby, FIFA Club World Cup, the New York Mets, MLS, X Games, the Premier League, the NFL, and the Downs2Business podcast. With a strong background in NIL rules, athlete branding, and recruiting, Roland helps families, athletes, and readers navigate the rapidly changing high school sports landscape—bringing national-level storytelling and clarity to the next generation of athletes.

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