Jasmyne Graham hoping for big homecoming at NIKE Chandler Rotary Invitational

By Erik Boal, DyeStatCAL Editor

Jasmyne Graham is returning home to Arizona this weekend and she'll be joining one of the most impressive groups of athletes in the 75-year history of the NIKE Chandler Rotary Invitational.

Graham (above left), a Roosevelt High senior who grew up in Phoenix, is coming off an exceptional performance Saturday at the Redondo/NIKE Invitational, where she won four gold medals, sweeping the 100- and 300-meter hurdles and securing two more victories on relays.

She is part of a strong California contingent in the sprints, hurdles and relays, which includes Long Beach Poly and Serra, teams that contributed to a total of 13 meet records last year.

"I'm just looking forward to running at home," said Graham, who moved to California in 2008. "I love going back to Arizona and competing and it's great to be around family and friends. I'm just really excited to get out there on the track and wave in the stands and see my grandma and my cousins."

There is also no shortage of distance talent scheduled to compete Friday and Saturday at Chandler High, with athletes representing Colorado, Montana and Utah joining Arizona prep stars Dani Jones of Desert Vista and Carlos Villarreal of Rio Rico.

Jones, who placed third Saturday in the mile at the New Balance National Indoor Championships in New York, is among 17 athletes entered Saturday night in perhaps the deepest girls 1,600-meter race in meet history, with the slowest entry time at 5:05.70.

"I'm honored to be part of probably the best field Chandler Rotary has ever had," Jones said. "I feel great in terms of my fitness. I'm satisfied with my times so far, despite the lack of speed work we've incorporated into my training."

The 1,600 field also includes Katie Rainsberger, a junior from Air Academy in Colorado who clocked a meet-record 4:51.20 last season.

Rainsberger is scheduled to represent the U.S. at the IAAF Junior World Cross Country Championships on March 28 in Guiyang, China.

Rainsberger, who finished third in the junior women's 6-kilometer race Feb. 7 at the USATF Cross Country Championships in Boulder and fifth at the APA Pan Am race Feb. 22 in Colombia, has structured her travel schedule to leave from Arizona to fly to China.

"I've been traveling a lot lately, but it's all worth it," said Rainsberger, who is also entered in the 800.

Jones is the national outdoor leader in the 800 at 2:09.94, but hasn't decided if she will race the two-lap event in addition to the 1,600, which also includes her younger sister Baylee Jones as well as Lucy Biles of Herriman, Utah, and Montana stars Annie Hill of Glacier High and sisters Bryn and Makena Morley from Bigfork.

"I'm excited to see what I can do with some competition," Jones said. "I'm also grateful that my track season, for the first time ever, has gone uninterrupted by injuries or anemia. At this time last year, I was watching from the sidelines and two years ago, I was struggling to finish my race. Just being able to compete at Chandler Rotary is going to mean a lot to me."

Villarreal and Hunter Davila of Kelly Walsh in Wyoming are the top entries in the boys 1,600. Davila is also the favorite in the 800.

Along with Rainsberger, Shayna Yon of Cherokee Trail is another Colorado star who will challenge an accomplished field of California sprinters in the 100 and 200 -- including Roosevelt's Courtne Davis -- after excelling indoors at Simplot Games and New Balance Nationals.

Long Beach Poly, led by Kaelin Roberts, Autumn Wright, Maya Perkins and Kennedi Atkins, is also making the transition from The Armory to the outdoor oval after competing at New Balance Nationals. Serra's Jaela Williams, a transfer from Roosevelt, will compete against her former teammate Graham in the 100-meter hurdles.

Other Arizona stars scheduled to compete are: North Canyon's Jasmine Stauffacher-Gray, Mountain Pointe's Paul Lucas, Brophy Prep's Isaiah Oliver, Campo Verde's Lucky Schreiner, Shadow Ridge's Michael Williams and Corona del Sol's Sam Shoultz.