Sports
Sadie Engelhardt breaks another record en route to her third 1,600-meter state title
CLOVIS — Ventura’s Sadie Engelhardt punctuated her record-setting junior year doing what she does best Saturday night in Clovis: breaking another record and adding a couple more titles to her collection.
Even without the red cape, “Super Sadie” set a new standard for the 1,600 meters in the CIF state track and field championships at Buchanan High, finishing in a national-leading time of 4 minutes 32.06 seconds to shatter the state finals record of 4:33.45 she set last spring. She joined Irvine University’s Polly Plumer (1980-82), Vista’s Kira Jorgensen (1987-89) and Woodbridge’s Christine Babcock (2006-08) as the only girls to win three consecutive 1,600 titles. Engelhardt could become the first four-time state winner next year.
Setting the pace from the start, Engelhardt ran the first lap in 66 seconds, the second in 68 seconds, the third in 69 seconds and the last in 66 seconds to defeat runner-up Braelyn Combe from Corona Santiago by more than six seconds.
“I wanted to spread out and keep it an honest race,” Engelhardt said.
Ventura’s Sadie Engelhardt leads the field during the girls’ 1,600 meters on Saturday.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
It was Engelhart’s sixth first-place medal in an individual state event — she has won two in cross country and three in track (she won the 800 as a sophomore, making her the first female to accomplish that state meet “double” since Pleasant Hill’s Kathy Costello won the mile and 880-yard races 49 years ago).
“The first lap was almost like a time trial mentality,” Engelhardt said of her 1,600 effort Saturday. “I wanted to see how I felt on the first lap and go from there. I really wanted to get 4:26 but didn’t know if today was the day.”
Instead of defending her state title in the 800, she joined teammates Melanie True, Tiffany Sax and Aelo Curtis to win the 4×800 relay in 8:57.21 — a California girls’ record. The Cougars’ foursome entered as the top seed after winning the Southern Section Masters Meet in 9:02.57, but they needed a superhuman effort from Englehardt on the anchor leg to prevail Saturday. A dropped baton on the final exchange left her trailing by 100 meters in third place when she got the baton, but she steadily closed the gap on front-running Santiago and took the lead rounding the final turn to win by almost three seconds.
“Part of my thinking was you only have to do the 4×800 twice, but I also love running with my teammates,” said Engelhardt, who next season could try to go after the state 800 record of 2:02.04 set by Harvard-Westlake’s Amy Weissenbach in 2011.
Oaks Christian celebrates its state title in the girls’ 4X100-meter relay at the CIF state track and field championships on Saturday.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
In the boys’ 4×800 relay, San Clemente broke its own meet record from last year by 52-hundredths of a second in a winning in 7:38.07.
Defending his 1,600-meter crown was Santa Barbara’s Andreas Dybdahl, who clocked 4:08.23 to edge fellow seniors Anthony Fast Horse (4:09.32) of Ventura and Felix Ibzan (4:10.33) from Beckman.
Niya Clayton won the girls’ 100 meters at the state finals last year and showed her speed during the last leg of the 4×100 on Saturday to hold off Long Beach Poly’s Brooklyn Lee by 11-hundredths of a second and help Oaks Christian win in a state-leading time of 45.67 seconds. Later, Clayton placed sixth in the 100, which Canyon Country Canyon senior Mikaela Warr won by six-thousandths of a second over Gardena Serra’s Mia Flowers in 11.41.
“We watched the tape from yesterday and saw that our handoffs were a little off and I didn’t push all the way through the finish,” Clayton, a senior, said of the Lions’ 46.33 effort to take first place in their qualifying heat Friday. “After winning the 100 last year I was like ‘what’s next?’ But this is my last run out in high school, everyone was working together and I got to run with my sister [Imani] so what could be better?”
Birmingham’s Deshawn Banks competes in the high jump on his way to winning the state title in the event.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
After an exciting qualifying round Friday in which six boys posted personal records in the 100, San Diego Section winner Brandon Arrington Jr., a sophomore from Mt. Miguel, won the sprint in 10.33 to edge Granada Hills senior Jordan Coleman (10.43) and Bakersfield sophomore Jalen Ford (10.48). Coleman, the City Section 100 and 200 champion, also finished second in the 200 in 21.04 behind Arrington, who equaled his 20.55 time from Friday.
Upon clearing a personal record of 7 feet 0½ inches to win the boys’ high jump, Birmingham senior Deshawn Banks celebrated by doing a few celebratory flips for the crowd after a spirited duel with Sherman Oaks Notre Dame sophomore JJ Harel, who took second at 6-10.
“For me, getting a PR was a bigger deal because I’ve been trying to clear 7 feet all year,” said Banks, who was fifth at the state meet last year and took first in the event at Arcadia and Mt. SAC in April. “I was excited to jump against the sophomore. I stayed focused at the end, did my claps and went through my routine.”
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame’s Aja Johnson won the state title in girls’ discus Saturday.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
Culver City senior Morgan Maddox, who had posted the leading qualifying times in the 200 and 400, finished second to Amirah Shaheed of San Diego Madison in the 200 and was third in the 400. Canyon’s Jordehn Gammage won the boys’ 300 hurdles in 37.35.
Ventura senior Valentina Fakrogha cleared 5-8 to win the girls’ high jump and Vista Murrieta senior Alyssa Alumbres won the triple jump in 40-11. Leaping 20-5¼ to win the long jump was Long Beach Wilson’s Loren Webster.
After winning the shotput with a throw of 44¾ to win state last year, Notre Dame junior Aja Johnson settled for second Saturday with an effort of 46-8¾, much better than the 44-2¼ she threw for second in Friday’s qualifying. Earlier Saturday, Johnson won the discus with a personal record of 158-10 on her fourth throw.
Dana Hills junior Evan Noonan ran the last lap in 57.12 seconds to win the boys’ 3,200 in 8:43.12 in a fast race in which 17 runners broke nine minutes. Defending champion Rylee Blade of Santiago was third in the girls’ race in 10:06.26. Jaelyn Williams of Eastlake won in 9:57.11.
Evan Noonan of Dana Hills wins the state title in the boys’ 3,200 meters at Buchanan High School in Clovis on May 25, 2024.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
Long Beach Poly’s Xai Ricks celebrates after winning the state title in the boys’ 400 meters Saturday.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
Wilson took first in the last event, the 4×400 relay, in 3:41.40 to wrap up the girls’ team title with 36 points. Ventura finished second with 30 points and Vista Murrieta was third with 23.
Poly senior Xai Ricks won the 400 in 46.79 and ran the anchor leg on the 4×400 in 46.6 to secure second and clinch a boys-record 11th team title for the Jackrabbits. Poly scored 33 points in claiming its first title since 2011, with Clovis North (28) finishing second and Wilson (27) third.
The Cleveland Browns, rumored to be willing to trade down from their No. 6 overall selection in the 2026 NFL draft, did just that Thursday evening when the traded the pick to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Cleveland traded the sixth overall pick in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft to the Chiefs, in exchange for the ninth overall pick, as well as pick No. 74 in the third round and No. 148 in the fifth round.
The Browns now hold the No. 9 and No. 24 picks in the first round of the draft. They have a total of 11 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Quarterbacks Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns watch from the sidelines during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sept. 7, 2025. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)
So the Chiefs gave up three picks in making the first trade of the first round.
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And we know what the fan bases of both clubs were thinking prior to the selection:
Chiefs fans were thinking we know something they don’t. And then the Chiefs selected cornerback Mansoor Delane from LSU — a move no doubt forced by the club’s trade of Pro Bowl cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams earlier in the offseason.
So, the Chiefs fill a major need, assuming Delane is indeed the quality corner they believe.
LSU Tigers CB Mansoor Delane celebrates a defensive stop against the Clemson Tigers at Memorial Stadium in South Carolina. (Ken Ruinard/USA TODAY Network)
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ESPN’s Mel Kiper didn’t like the pick, by the way. He had Delane as the 14th best player in the draft.
“It was a necessity,” ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, a former NFL defensive back, responded.
Browns fans weren’t thinking that way.
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They were probably thinking something akin to “We screwed up.”
This is understandable because they’re Browns fans and this could have been the Browns Browning.
Well, the Browns, moving down three slots, gave up a shot to draft linebacker Sonny Styles of Ohio State to the Washington Commanders, receiver Jordyn Tyson to the New Orleans Saints and then the Browns got their chance with the newly acquired No. 9 pick:
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Offensive tackle Spencer Fano of Utah.
Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry speaks at the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Ind., on Feb. 24, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
Fano is good. And he makes the Browns offensive line instantly better because he’s going to likely start at left tackle for them.
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So what will Browns fans think of this pick?
They’ll probably wonder why the Browns didn’t pick Miami’s Francis Mauigoa, who went with the No. 10 pick to the New York Giants and promised “to die for” Jaxson Dart if necessary. They’ll wonder this because Browns fans expect the worst.
UCLA women’s basketball team has added some star power as its revamped roster begins to take shape.
Former Iowa State forward Addy Brown announced Thursday she is committing to UCLA, giving the Bruins one of the top players in the portal.
Brown averaged 11.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 43.1% from the floor and 33.8% from three-point distance with the Cyclones last season. She played just 21 games due to injury, but she is one of the better two-way players in the nation on the transfer market.
The 6-foot-2 forward co-starred with Audi Crooks for Iowa State the past few seasons and was a part of the mass exodus from the Cyclones’ program.
The Bruins reeled in former North Carolina junior guard Elina Aarnisalo and former Texas Christian senior guard Donovyn Hunter a few weeks ago, adding two more experienced players to the depleted starting lineup after a record six UCLA players were selected in the WNBA draft.
UCLA also signed Arkansas sophomore guard Bonnie Deas earlier this month. She is likely to start at point guard for the Bruins and is one of the best rebounding guards in the nation.
Along with returner Timea Gardiner, the Bruins are starting to form somewhat of a core to defend their national championship. Gardiner was a starter during UCLA’s 2024-25 Final Four run, but missed all of this past season with injury and has one season of eligibility left.
A lineup with Deas and Aarnisalo in the backcourt, Hunter at the three and Gardiner or Brown at the four and adding another big or Sienna Betts at the five would be a competitive lineup in the Big Ten.
Before going to TCU, Hunter played two seasons at Oregon State where she earned All-Pac-12 Defensive Team honorable mention and All-Pac-12 Freshman team honors. This past season with a Horned Frogs team that went to the Sweet 16, she was third in scoring with 10.2 points per game and averaged 3.2 rebounds per contest. She also shot 45.7% from the field and was 33.7% from beyond the arc.
Aarnisalo played her freshman year in Westwood after she originally committed to UCLA in 2025. Due to injuries from point guard Kiki Rice at the start of the 2024-25 season, she was forced into action early her freshman season and finished the year averaging 5.1 points per game.
The Helsinki, Finland, native averaged 10.2 points per game for the Tar Heels as a sophomore last season while shooting 47.3% from the field and 40.3% from the arc. The Bruins will desperately need to replace the three-point production lost with the departure of Rice, Gianna Kneepkens and Charlisse Leger-Walker.
UCLA coach Cori Close said she wanted to sign five players from the portal. She probably needs one more guard and a little more forward depth coming off the bench following the departures of Gabriela Jaquez and Angela Dugalic.
Lena Bilic and Amanda Muse are returners coming off the bench who got a little bit of playing time in the tournament and should have much larger roles, but they are still relatively unproven in late-game situations. They will get a chance to develop as backups with some more Power Four experienced starters now in the fold.
Trump says there’s ‘no time frame’ to secure Iran deal
Republican Minnesota Senate candidate Tom Weiler joins ‘Fox & Friends’ to discuss President Donald Trump’s blockade in the Strait of Hormuz as the U.S.-Iranian conflict continues and react to Gov. Tim Walz’s, D-Minn., criticism of the president.
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Saudi Arabia was among the countries seeing missiles fly into their airspace as a conflict broke out in the Middle East between the U.S. and Iran.
The prospect of Iran targeting its Middle Eastern neighbors like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates put some sporting events on hold and questioned others. Formula 1 races in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain were canceled and rumors swirled around whether future WWE events could be held in the kingdom.
Roman Reigns celebrates his win during WWE’s Royal Rumble at Riyadh Season Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Jan. 31, 2026. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
As the Trump administration brokered a ceasefire with Iran, WWE announced on Thursday that its Night of Champions premium live event will be held in Riyadh on June 27.
“We are proud to welcome Night of Champions back to Riyadh and look forward to delivering another unforgettable night of WWE action for fans in the Kingdom and around the world,” General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki Al-Sheikh said in a news release.
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Sami Zayn makes his entrance during Night of Champions at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 28, 2025. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
The release touted that WrestleMania 43 will still be held in Riyadh in 2027. It will be the first time that WrestleMania is held outside the U.S.
WWE president Nick Khan was adamant before WrestleMania 42 that the event will still take place in Saudi Arabia despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
“We’re doing WrestleMania next year in Saudi,” he said at a Sports Business Journal event, via The Sporting Tribune. “First time ever, WrestleMania will be outside the United States or Canada. And we’ve had a big, fruitful partnership with them.”
John Cena wrestles CM Punk during Night of Champions at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 28, 2025. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
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He added that those complaining about WrestleMania being held in Saudi Arabia were a “vocal minority.”
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