He may only be a freshman in high school, but Jasir Fontenot runs much faster than his years.
With a hint of wind pushing him along, Fontenot bolted to a time of 13.40 seconds in the boys 110-meter hurdles Saturday at the CIF San Diego Section Track and Field Championships at Mt. Carmel High School.
The San Diego High speedster’s time would be a personal best and section record except it was wind-aided due to the 2.7-mph reading. It won’t count legally.
“My starts have really been improving,” said Fontenot, who as an eighth-grader established the under-15 world record of 13.65. “I’ve been working hard on the blocks, and I’m super excited to be able to run this well against great competition in San Diego.”
Despite his young age, the 14-year-old is a veteran on the track.
“I’ve been running track since the second grade and running the hurdles since 2021,” said Fontenot, whose previous best was 13.47, also a wind-aided mark set earlier this season in Texas and also doesn’t count.
“The wind in Texas was 4.0, so I was able to run faster today with less wind.”
Fontenot’s new time would be the fourth-fastest in the United States, if it counted.
Mission Bay senior Jayden Bailey lowered his personal best in the 300 hurdles to 37.41 to claim the victory in the longer hurdle race by more than a second.
Also, establishing a personal best and qualifying for next weekend’s state championships at Buchanan High School in Clovis was Mission Bay high jumper Alijah Cheeks, who became the second member of his family to claim a CIF championship when he cleared 6 feet, 8 inches. Older brother Brandon also cleared 6-8 three years ago to win his first of two Division 3 championships for Mission Bay.
Alijah Cheeks cleared the winning height on his third attempt at 6-8, and he tried three attempts at 6-10 without success.
“My first attempt at 6-10 was my closest,” said the Mission Bay sophomore. “My heel clipped the bar. I just need more practice and more reps to push a little higher.”
Cheeks also placed sixth in the long jump, which was won by Mekhi Oluwa of Mater Dei Catholic by less than an inch at 23-3. Section leader Steven Evans-Glynn of Cathedral Catholic was second at 23-2¼ after leaping a best of 24-3 earlier this season.
Triple jump champion ZeShaun Daley of El Camino saved his best jump for his last attempt, with the senior soaring 47-9¼ to lengthen his section-leading mark. Oluwa placed third to qualify for state in both horizontal events.
Oceanside junior Jayden Gibbs won the shot put at 52-6 and the discus with a throw of 159-7.Mission Bay also had a section champion in the boys’ 100-meter dash, where senior Elliot Getz leaned into the tape in 10.37 seconds, a personal best and the seventh-fastest 100 time in the state this year. The time was wind-aided at 2.4 mph and won’t officially count.
State leader Josiah Bowman of Sage Creek led the 800 meters from start to finish and won easily in 1:51.87. The junior has a season-best of 1:50.39 and will be one of the favorites in the event at the state meet.
In the 1,600 meters, Del Norte junior Cameron Yarbrough took the lead at the end of three laps and ran a 59.96 final lap to outsprint Poway junior Cooper Castleberry with a personal-best time of 4:12.71. Castleberry was second in 4:16.62.
San Dieguito Academy junior Dylan Yarbrough and University City senior Kai Anderson each cleared 16-2 in the pole vault, with Yarbrough winning the section title based on fewer misses at the winning height. Each vaulter missed three attempts at 16-8.
Helix was edged by Mt. Carmel in the 4×400 relay, but the Highlanders led the way in the team scoring with 171 points.
