Arcadia Invitational: Moussa Wins Invitational 3,200

Arcadia senior Ammar Moussa felt he needed to prove a point Saturday night.

And Moussa did just that as he won the Arcadia Invitational boys 3,200 meters in a national leading 8 minutes, 49.59 seconds.

“I thought I’m running on my home track,” Moussa said. “I’ve got show everyone up there (in the stands) that Arcadia isn’t just a school that puts on a good meet, but one that has good competitors, too.”

The race was billed up as a battle of two of the greatest distance runners in the history of the San Gabriel Valley in Moussa and South Pasadena senior Sam Pons.

Pons was amongst the top runners for much of the race, but faded at the end to finish 13^th in 9:03.25.

“I didn’t want it as much as he did,” Pons joked after the race. “I just didn’t have it. Sometimes you feel it in the end and sometimes my mind was just like ‘not today.’ ”

Moussa was amongst the leaders throughout the race and began to take control in the second half of the race.

The leaders came through in 4:29.6 at the halfway point, and Moussa ran a faster second half.

Although Moussa was the only Apache in the ‘invitational’ race, teammate Sergio Gonzalez ran in the ‘seeded’ 3,200-meter race and finished 14^th in 9:16.13.

South Pasadena’s Mayan Schexnayder finished 12^th in the invitational triple jump with a best of 44 feet, 10 inches.

“It really is a mid-season meet,” Schexnayder said of the Arcadia Invitational. “It is a good check mark to see where everyone is at.”

San Marino’s Omhunique Brown was a late addition to the invitational girls’ 100-meter race. She finished ninth in 12.13.

In action earlier in the day, Arcadia won the ‘open’ boys’ distance medley in 10:26.39 with Tony Mosley, Zachary Charles Marriott, Allen Leung and Gonzalez making up the team.

Flintridge Sacred Heart’s Stephanie Vargas set a personal best in the 400 by winning her heat in 56.89 seconds.

St. Francis junior James Knowles finished fourth in his heat of the ‘seeded’ 110-meter high hurdles in 15.14 seconds. He finished third in his heat of the 300 hurdles in 39.07.

Crescenta Valley’s Andrew Roide was eighth in the open high jump with a best of 6 feet, 1 inch.

San Marino’s Brown had the 10^th fastest time in the ‘seeded’ girls of the open 100 in 12.37 seconds.

Monrovia’s Skylar Buchanan had the 17^th fastest time in the same event in 12.46 seconds.

Arcadia freshman Miranda Stiver took second in her heat of the 800 in 2:16.79. She had the 10^th fastest time in the open portion of the meet.

Arcadia triple jumper Ismail Naeem finished seventh with a best of 44 feet, 1 3-4 inches.

Crescenta Valley’s distance medley relay team of Cali King, Tiernan Hebron, Diane Lombardi and Anneke Kakabeen finished 12^th in 12:46.68.

Flintridge Sacred Heart’s 4 x 400 relay team of Vargas, Daelyn Moon, Drew Washington and Noelle Niederhaus third in its heat in 4:00.58.

Arcadia’s team of Michelle Fry, Irma Nugroho, Glindyll Mancia and Stiver finished fourth in its heat in 4:05.12.