The Mt. SAC Relays are an annual

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

festival held primarily at Hilmer Lodge Stadium on the Mt. San Antonio College campus in

Walnut, California Walnut is a city in the eastern part of Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. According to the 2020 census, the city had a population of 28,430. The greater Walnut Valley is located between the steep San Jose Hills to the nort ...

. The Relays are held in mid-April each year since the first edition held on April 24–25, 1959. The meet was started by Mt. San Antonio College track coach Hilmer Lodge, and flourished under his direction until his retirement in 1963. The meet attracts all levels and disciplines of the sport of Track and Field. They claim to have had as many as 9,000 competitors participate in a single year. Because of the stature of the meet, the stadium and most meet literature contains the phrase "Where the world's best athletes compete".

Divisions

While the relays are most famous for the elite division, where many notable athletes have used this event as an early season test of their fitness (before the championships that start in late May and June), there are races for small children from the community, Youth teams, and Masters athletes. A full day is largely devoted to High School events, attracting the top Southern California talent as well as others from out of town. International High School athletes from as far away as

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

have competed here,

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

is represented regularly. There is a "Distance Carnival" which provides a rare (American) opportunity to run in a highly competitive track

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship-level events. The ...

race. The meet is a popular gathering for many elite throwers. Seven world records in throwing events alone, including four in the Discus have been set at the Mt. SAC Relays. A full multiple event competition associated with the meet (

Decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of 10 track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or ἄ ...

for men and now

Heptathlon A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek ἑπτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hep ...

for women) is held at

Azusa Pacific University Azusa Pacific University (APU) is a private evangelical research university in Azusa, California, United States. The university was founded in 1899 in Whittier, California, with classes first held on March 3, 1900, and degrees offered in 193 ...

Racewalking Race walking, or racewalking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Race judges carefully asses ...

events are held earlier in the month, with occasional elite races held on the day of the elite competition. And with this meet being held at a

Community College A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enr ...

, there is a full competition for that level. While the relays started in 1959, the first women weren't allowed to participate until 1961, with one race, a 440-yard dash, out of a 113 event schedule. Past Directors of the Mt. Sac Relays include Hilmer Lodge, Don Ruh, John Norton, Scott Davis and current director, Doug Todd. Due to construction of a new Hilmer Lodge Stadium at Mt. San Antonio College, the 2016 edition was held at Cerritos College in Norwalk and the 2017 and 2018 editions were held at El Camino College in Torrance.

Records

Over the course of its history, numerous national records in athletics and

world records A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

have been set at the Mt. SAC Relays including the world record in the 4×200m relay that lasted over 20 years (1994–2015).

World records

Meet records

Men

Women

High school meet records

Boys

Girls

References

External links

Mt. SAC Relays official siteMt. SAC Relays RecordsMt. SAC Relays High School Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mt. Sac Relays Track and field competitions in the United States Recurring sporting events established in 1959 Sports competitions in Los Angeles County, California Annual track and field meetings High school track and field competitions in the United States High school sports in California Track and field in California 1959 establishments in California World Athletics Combined Events Tour April in sports