By Joe Snyder
The Serra High sprinters swept the Daily Breeze Boys’ and Girls’ Track and Field Athletes of the Year as Brazil Neal was named the top female athlete.
Roderick Pleasant, one of the top boys’ sprinters in the United States, was the boys’ athlete and Neal took the top spot for the girls.
Neal recorded personal best times of 11.53 and 23.36 seconds, in order, in the 100-and 200-meter dashes and anchored the Lady Cavaliers’ 4×100 relay to a second-place finish in the CIF-State Track and Field Championships with a time of 46.15 seconds on May 27 at Buchanan High in Clovis.
Her performances helped Serra finish in a tie for third place in the California State Championships with Castaic High. Long Beach Wilson ended up winning the state crown in the 400 relay and as a team. Culver City, behind its outstanding sprinters (especially in the 200 and 400) ended up second. Serra won the state girls’ team title last year. Neal also led the Lady Cavaliers to a second-place finish, behind Westlake Village Oaks Christian, in the CIF-Southern Section Division IV Championships on May 13 at Moorpark High. She won the 200 and took second in the 100 in that meet.
Neal finished third in the 100 at 11.55 and was second in the 200 clocking 23.75 at the CIF-State Finals. She ran both of her personal bests at the state prelims on May 26. At the Nike National Track and Field Championships on June 18 at the University of Oregon in Eugene, where Neal and Pleasant will attend (Pleasant already moved to the campus shortly before the beginning of the national championships a few weeks ago.), Neal finished third in the 100 in 11.59 and was fifth in the 200 timing 23.79.
Serra and Carson dominated the 100 and 200 for the all-South Bay team. Along with Neal, the Lady Cavaliers included junior Mia Flowers and senior Zakijah Wilson in the 100. The Lady Colts, who won their sixth consecutive CIF-Los Angeles City Section championship on May 18 at El Camino College, had senior Reign Redmond, freshman Christina Gray and senior Ta Ahjah Fann land in the 100. In the 200 for Serra included Neal, Flowers, Sadia Green and Wilson. Redmond and Ahjah-Fann represented Carson.
Sienna Claiborne made all-area on the 400. Also on all-South Bay at the event was North Torrance’s Kaiann Kotero.
Jaiya Fletcher made all-South Bay in the 100 hurdles and Carson’s Jaja Westby made the cut in the 300 hurdles.
The Cavaliers and Colts were both all-area on the 4×100 and 4×400 relays.
Other Serra athletes on all-area were senior Jordyn Brooks (long jump) and freshman Lo’ani Atofau (discus and shot put).
Other Carson athletes who made All-South Bay included junior Eva Walker (800), senior Kajlah Hyatt (long jump), senior Mia Jefferson (long jump and triple jump), junior Camrynn Williams (triple jump), junior Zazznina Cannon (shot put), senior Muah McNeal-Mollette (shot put) and junior Lauryn Williams (shot put and discus).
Other local all-area track and field athletes were junior Chloe Esponda (800 and 1,600, South Torrance), sophomore Alexis Wolfinger (3,200, West Torrance) and junior Mackenzie Monson (shot put and discus, South Torrance).
Cav sprinters close was top GVN athletes
Serra High’s top track and field sprinters Roderick Pleasant and Brazil Neal swept the Gardena Valley News Prep Athletes of the Year for the 2022-23 school year.
Pleasant and Neal, both seniors who are bound for PAC-12 University of Oregon, enjoyed not only a spectacular year in dominating the sprinting events but were always dominating sprinters since their freshman seasons, unfortunately shortened due to the Great COVID-19 Pandemic, in 2020.
Pleasant concluded his 2023 track and field season with his best times of 10.14 seconds in the 100-meter dash and 20.53 in the 200. He was seeking goals to become the first high school sprinter ever to break 20 seconds in the 200 and the second to get under 10 in the 100, but was not quite able to make those feats.
He will seek those when he runs with the Ducks next spring, but he received the football scholarship to Oregon, in which he is already there to prepare for the 2023 season. Pleasant could be one of the fastest football players in the NCAA. Pleasant ran as fast as 10.09 in winning the CIF-Southern Section Division IV 100 title at Moorpark High on May 13 but the time was wind-aided. His wind-aided and wind legal times were both the best ever in California.
The official United States national record is 9.98 set in 2019 by Matthew Boling from Houston (Texas) Jesuit High and he recently completed his track and field stent at University of Georgia and will be in some professional track and field club to seek a spot for the U.S. Olympic team in quest for the 2024 Olympics in Paris, France.
Pleasant’s goal is the same. Pleasant also won the 100 at the Nike National Championships at University of Oregon in Eugene at 10.21 and was third in the 200 despite a subpar time of 21.17. In the CIF-State Champi- onships on May 27 at Buchanan High in Clovis, Pleasant, for the second consecutive season, swept the 100 and 200 that included a California State Meet record of 10.2, breaking his own previous record of 10.3 he set a year earlier at the same place, and 20.67 in the 200.
Pleasant’s overall top 200 time was 20.4 he did in the 2022 Southern Section Division IV Championships at Moorpark High. That is not a state record. That is 20.3 set in 2015 by 2021 Olympic Gold Medalist (4×400 relay in Tokyo, Japan) Michael Norman from Vista Murrieta High.
Pleasant’s 100 and 200 personal best times were second in the nation behind Issan Assinga from Monteverde Academy of Florida. He already recorded a national record of 20.11 in the 200 he did at the Florida State Championships and had an unofficial national record wind-aided time of 9.83 100 at a prep meet in Orlando, Fla. His top wind-legal best time was 10.10 he did at the Florida State Finals. Ass- inga did not compete in the Nike Nationals.
Pleasant received a football scholarship to Oregon but will compete on the Ducks’ track and field squad.
Pleasant will be a big plus for Oregon’s PAC-12 Conference power football squad as a defensive back, where he signed as a four-star recruit.
In the 2023 season, he scored seven touchdowns as a wide receiver, defensive back and special teams. Two of those were re- ceiving, two rushing, two kickoff returns and one interception. As a defensive back, Pleasant recorded four interceptions.
He was first-team all-CIF Southern Section Division II, the Mission League’s Most Valuable Player and first-team Daily Breeze all-South Bay. He also competed in the Under Armour All-Star Classic in January in Orlando, Fla.
Pleasant helped Serra to an 8-4 overall record that included finishing second, behind champion and eventual Southern Section Division II champion Chatsworth Sierra Canyon, in Mission play and the quarterfinals of the Division II playoffs where the Cavaliers lost to the Trailblazers 42-16 at Serra. Sierra Canyon lost to eventual CIF-State Division IAA champion San Diego Lincoln Prep in the Southern California Regional Bowl.
Pleasant was also selected as the Daily Breeze South Bay Ath- lete of the Year for 2022-23.
Other top prep male athletes included Trevor Lagarde (foot- ball quarterback, North Torrance), Dylan Williams (football, North Torrance), Kai Honda (football, Serra), Chase Williams (basketball, Gardena), Hunter Backstrom (baseball, Serra) and junior Kai Bradley (basketball, North Torrance).
Neal was a big lift to the Lady Cavaliers’ track and field squad, head coached by first-year Christopher Mack.
She recorded top personal times of 11.53 in the 100 she did on May 26 at the California State Prelims at Buchanan High and 23.36 on the same day. A day later in the state finals, she finished third in the 100 (11.55) and second in the 200 (23.75). Neal also anchored Serra’s 4×100 relay team to second in state, behind the Reign Redmond-led Carson, at 46.15 but the Cavaliers’ ran as fast as 45.58 in the Arcadia Invitational on April 8, where they were also second behind the Colts. A week later, Neal had outstanding performances that helped Serra capture the Mt. San Antonio College team title.
As a junior last year, Neal was a big spark as she aided the Lady Cavaliers to the CIF-State championship but this year, due to key injuries that included the loss of other star sprinter Jordan Washington, and a few mishaps, Serra settled for a third-place tie with Castaic as a team. Southern Section Division I champion Long Beach Wilson ended up winning the state crown as Division II champion Culver City, behind premiere sophomore 200 and 400 runner Joelle Trepagnier, placed second. Neal was second behind Trepagnier (23.62) in the 200 in the state championships.
Other top female athletes included Anyassa Saa (flag football, Serra), Melanie Ramos (soccer, Gardena), Mia Flowers (track and field, Serra) and Zakiah Wilson (track and field, Serra).
