“Oh. My. God.”
Those were the words shouted by a student helper as he viewed the time on the clock when Mount Miguel High School junior Brandon Arrington crossed the finish line of the 100-meter dash at Saturday’s 44th Mt. Carmel Invitational.
It read 10.24 seconds. The only question about the time’s legality was the wind, which cooperated perfectly at 2.0 meters per second.
Oh. My. God. Indeed.
But it was just half the story as Arrington came back to crush the section 200-meter dash record, running 20.37, again with a friendly 2.0 mph breeze.
He now sets his sights on the state record of 20.14 by Murrieta Valley’s Michael Norman.
The 20.37 bettered the 20.55 section best Arrington (2024) and Madison’s Kenan Christon (2019) had posted.
In the 65 years that there has been a San Diego Section, no one had broken 10.30 seconds, the time run first by Southwest’s Riley Washington in 1992 and then equaled by Christon — both en route to capturing the state title.
Arrington was the buzz early in the meet but Carlsbad’s Morgan Herbst more than matched that when she scorched a section record in the 300 hurdles, lowering her own best time of 41.26 run a year ago when she clocked the eighth-fastest time in state history at 40.51 seconds.
But then Arrington came back to reclaim the crowd’s heart when he shattered the 200-meter record, in an invitational in March, leaving the question just how much better he can get the rest of this year and next.
“I want to run the fastest times in state history before I’m finished,” said the 6-foot-3 two-sport standout (football and track), knowing full-well he’ll need to post wind-legal times of 10.14 in the 100 (by Gardena Serra’s Roderick Pleasant) and 20.14 (by Norman).
Making it even more amazing, it’s just his first outdoor invitational after clocking a 20.49 in an indoor 200, only to be disqualified for stepping on the lane line three times. Still ahead is Arcadia in two weeks, Mt. SAC in three and then the section and state meets in May.
Arrington got a good start in the 100, but pulled away over the final 50 meters.
“This was a good time to set the record,” said Arrington. “I really didn’t come in with any goals, but I started working two weeks after football and knew I was ready.
“(Indoors) they were playing me. I’m used to running outdoors (it was his first indoor race) and I didn’t know those rules. It just told me I was ready.”
About the 200?
“My mindset is anything is possible,” said Arrington. “I did it with God’s help. I’m thinking ‘drive, drive, drive.’ I’m better in the 200, so I’m more impressed with that mark. My only thoughts were to just finish it.”
He ran so fast, he took his right shoe off to find a blister on his foot.
As for Morgan Herbst, she appeared to chop her steps ever so slightly in the middle of her race but blazed home after Otay Ranch’s Zamaria Mack (42.84) pushed her early.
“I trained with her,” she said of Mack, whose previous best was 44.17.
“Going 40.51 is a dream come true. I go hard for five hurdles but by Arcadia, I hope to be going hard for all of the hurdles. We’re taking one hurdle at a time. Now I need my speed to progress, which will make me a half-step faster. I improved my meet record here (42.29) by two seconds, so I’m hoping maybe I can improve my Arcadia time (41.45) by two seconds.”
Herbst and her twin sister Makenna were also part of the 4×400 relay team that won at 3:48.12, No. 2 all-time in section history.
Elsewhere, Mission Bay’s Jayden Bailey took the section lead in the 300 hurdles with 38.27, No. 6 in the state; Scripps Ranch’s boys moved into the section lead in the 4×800 at 7:54.90; and RBV’s Jacob Sheridan improved the section long jump lead to 22-2 ½.
Del Norte’s Paige Echsner cleared a state-leading mark of 13-2 to win the pole vault; Makenna Herbst set a meet record of 2:06.05 in the 800 and Oceanside’s Malia Jones triple jumped 39-10¾, the No. 2 mark in the state.
