Kingston “Jax” Penny at Palm Desert High and Malia Strange at Shadow Hills High have been record-breaking superstars in track and field in the desert in recent years with almost every possible accolade coming their way, but on Saturday they both reached even higher heights.
Penny and Strange can both now call themselves Masters Meet champions, a rare feat for a desert track and field athlete.
Penny re-set his Palm Desert record time in the 300 hurdles with a blazing speed of 36.86 seconds to capture a CIF-SS Masters Meet title, edging top-ranked runner Brandon Andrade of Etiwanda by 0.15 seconds. He is the first-ever Masters Meet champion in Palm Desert history.
Meanwhile Strange was the top finisher in the girls’ triple jump with a leap of 39 feet, 4.25 inches. Like Penny at Palm Desert, Strange became the first-ever Masters champion in Shadow Hills High School history.
In both cases, Penny and Strange had won CIF-SS Division titles in the same events the previous week and will now advance to the state meet and vie for a coveted state title.
The state meet is Friday and Saturday at Buchanan High School in Clovis, but they won’t be alone.
Two more desert athletes, both from Palm Desert, also qualified for the state meet.
Jonah Toland finished tied for fifth in the high jump and also met the qualifying mark with a leap of 6 feet, 6 inches.
Palm Desert senior Nick Dangleis qualified for the state meet in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.35 seconds which landed him in sixth place in the top heat, and the top six make it to the state meet.
More from the Masters Meet
The other eight desert track stars that made the Masters Meet did not make the State meet by finishing in the top six in their event or making the qualifying mark. Here is how they finished.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Desert track stars Jax Penny, Malia Strange make history at Masters Meet
Reporting by Shad Powers, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
