The Arcadia Invitational is a high school

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

meet in the United States. It is considered the most competitive meet in the country and has been billed as the "Home of

National Records National Records was a record label that was started in New York City by Albert Green in 1945 and lasted until early 1951. Big Joe Turner was signed at the beginning and remained until 1947. Billy Eckstine was also a big seller for the label as w ...

". The meet is held at Arcadia High School in

Arcadia, California Arcadia is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located about northeast of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. It contains a series of adjacent parks consisting of ...

, on either the first or second weekend in April each year. The Arcadia Invitational attracts the top prep athletes in the United States and internationally (Canada, Mexico, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Argentina, and Brazil have been represented in recent years). The Arcadia Invitational has played host to 32 national high school records and has helped to produce 179 U.S. Olympians.

History

In 1968, Arcadia High School track coach Doug Smith had an idea for an evening track and field meet for all the area schools. The first invitational was held more than 50 years ago, with 23 schools and six track clubs participating. Arcadia graduate Tracy Smith was the first of many future Olympic athletes to be a winner in the Arcadia Invitational. He went on to participate in the

1968 Mexico City Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

. 1970 is the year that Doug Smith felt was a giant step in the development of the meet into more of a "Southern California" event. Santa Ana Coach Earl Engman, who was the Meet Director of the CIF-Southern Section championship affairs, entered his championship squad from Orange County, enhancing the event with the members of his top program from the greater

San Gabriel Valley The San Gabriel Valley ( es, Valle de San Gabriel) is one of the principal valleys of Southern California, lying immediately to the east of the eastern city limits of the city of Los Angeles, and occupying the vast majority of the eastern part ...

. The invitational has since gone on to produce 32 U.S. high school records and 179 U.S. Olympians up to and including the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials. In 2002, the meet expanded from a single-day competition to a two-day affair as the newly formed Friday portion consisted of additional relays (sprint medleys, shuttle hurdles, 4x800, etc.) not common at most meets. In 2004, another (third) section of field events competition also was added to the Friday schedule. In 2008, the Arcadia Multis were added on the Thursday-Friday of meet week, allowing top decathletes and heptathletes the chance to compete. It has become the premier multi-events competition for high schoolers, with both national decathlon records (high school implements and international implements) for boys achieved there. In 2010, the deepest quality field of high school heptathletes was featured. The Arcadia Invitational is now among the largest outdoor high school meets in the United States, with more than 4,000 high school athletes competing. In terms of participation numbers, it is also the largest high school sporting event in the nation that is hosted on a high school campus.

3200 meters

Amongst all the high-quality performers featured annually, the boys' 3200-meter event has become a signature event for inspiring top performances. The competitive environment and ideal weather allows many elite male athletes to break the 9-minute barrier for the first time. At the 2017 meet, an unprecedented 27 athletes broke 9 minutes (25 in the invitational section and 2 in the seeded section).https://www.arcadiainvitational.org/eprofile.php?event_id=63&year=2017&do=info#Mens_3200_Meters

Notable athletes

Jordan Hasay Jordan Melissa Hasay (born September 21, 1991) is an American distance runner. She grew up in Arroyo Grande, California, and attended Mission College Preparatory High School in San Luis Obispo. She was unanimously selected 2008 Girls High Scho ...

Noah Lyles Noah Lyles (born July 18, 1997) is an American professional track and field sprinter competing in the 100 meters and 200 meters. He is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic 200 m bronze medalist and a two-time World champion, having won the event at the ...

Will Claye Will Claye (born June 13, 1991) is an American track and field athlete of Sierra Leonean descent who competes in the long jump and triple jump. He won a bronze medal in 2011 World Championships in Athletics and the gold medals at the 2012 IAAF ...

Curtis Beach Curtis Beach (born July 22, 1990) is an American decathlete who competed for Duke University. He formerly held high school records in the decathlon using three different implement standards: high school (7,909 points), international junior (7,599 ...

* Sondre Guttormsen * Jahvid Best * Alysia Montano *

Quincy Watts Quincy D. Watts (born June 19, 1970) is an American former athlete, and two time gold medallist at the 1992 Summer Olympics. Career Born in Detroit, Michigan, Quincy Watts attended the University of Southern California (USC) where he excelled a ...

* Chaunte Lowe * Steve Lewis * Stephanie Brown-Trafton *

Danny Everett Danny Everett (born November 1, 1966) is an American former track and field athlete who competed in sprinting events, specializing in the 400 metres. He won bronze medals in the 400m at the 1988 Olympic Games and at the 1991 World Championship ...

Amy Acuff Amelia Lyn "Amy" Acuff (born July 14, 1975) is a track and field athlete from the United States. A high jump specialist, she competed in the 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games as a member of USA Track and Field. Her best Olympic perform ...

Carmelita Jeter Carmelita Jeter ( , born November 24, 1979) is a retired American sprinter, who competed in the 60 metres, 100 m and 200 m. For over a decade, between 2009 and 2021, Jeter held the title as "Fastest woman alive" after running a 100 m personal ...

Ashton Eaton Ashton James Eaton (born January 21, 1988) is a retired American decathlete and two-time Olympic champion, who holds the world record in the indoor heptathlon event. Eaton was the second decathlete (after Roman Šebrle) to break the 9,000-poi ...

* Valerie Brisco-Hooks * Gail Devers * Bryshon Nellum *

Jillian Camarena-Williams Jillian Mary "Jill" Camarena-Williams (born March 2, 1982) is an American retired track and field athlete who competes in the shot put. She competed at the 2012 and 2008 Beijing Olympics and has represented the United States both indoor and out ...

Mike Powell Michael Anthony Powell (born November 10, 1963) is an American former track and field athlete, and the holder of the long jump world record. He is a two-time world champion and two-time Olympic silver medalist in this event. His world record of ...

* Shannon Rowbury * Michael Marsh *

Marion Jones Marion Lois Jones (born October 12, 1975), also known as Marion Jones-Thompson, is an American former world champion track and field athlete and former professional basketball player. She won three gold medals and two bronze medals at the 2000 ...

Meb Keflezighi Mebrahtom "Meb" Keflezighi (; Ge'ez: መብራህቶም ክፍልእዝጊ, ''Mebrāhtōm Kifl'izgī''; born May 5, 1975) is a retired Eritrean-born American long distance runner. He is the 2004 Olympic silver medalist in the marathon and fin ...

Allyson Felix Allyson Michelle Felix (born November 18, 1985) is a retired American track and field athlete who competed in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 400 meters. She specialized in the 200 meters from 2003 to 2013, then gradually shifted to the 400 me ...

Monique Henderson Monique Marie Henderson (born February 18, 1983 in San Diego, California) is an American track and field athlete, who specializes in the 400-meter dash. Henderson was a gold medalist in both the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece and the 20 ...

* Ryan Hall *

Lashinda Demus Lashinda Demus (born March 10, 1983 in Inglewood, California) is a retired American hurdler who specialized in the 400 meter hurdles, an event in which she was the 2011 world champion and 2012 Olympic gold medalist, becoming the first woman from ...

* Kyle Alcorn * Sydney McLaughlin * Deena Kastor *

Jamie Nieto Jamie Earl "James" Nieto (born November 2, 1976 in Seattle, Washington) is an American high jumper and actor. His personal best jump is 2.34 (7' 8"), achieved at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. He was the 2004 and 2012 USA Olympic Trials Cha ...

Michelle Perry Michelle Perry (born May 1, 1979 in Los Angeles, California) is an American athlete. At the 2004 Summer Olympics she placed 14th overall in the heptathlon competition. Later, at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics, she earned a gold ...

Alan Webb Alan Webb may refer to: * Alan Webb (actor) (1906–1982), English actor * Alan Webb (runner) (born 1983), American track athlete * Alan Webb (footballer) (born 1963), retired English association football player See also

* Allan Webb (disambigu ...

* Cathy Freeman, Australia * Steve Smith * Jessica Cosby *

Aretha Thurmond Aretha Thurmond, née Hill (born August 14, 1976) is an American discus thrower. Her personal best distance is , achieved in March 2004 in Marietta. Thurmond is a 1994 graduate of Renton High School and in 1998 she graduated from the Universit ...

Sharon Day Sharon Day is the former United States Ambassador to Costa Rica. She previously served as the co-chairwoman of the Republican National Committee. She resigned on January 20, 2021. Career Day owned an insurance company in Indianapolis with he ...

* Chris Derrick

Meet records

Boys

Girls

References

External links

Arcadia Invitational Website

after 2017 edition
DyeStat Feature Page

RunnerSpace Arcadia Media Page, See all Races
{{US track and field competitions College track and field competitions in the United States High school track and field competitions in the United States Track and field in California Annual track and field meetings High school sports in California Arcadia, California