The Mt. SAC Relays are an annual track and field festival held primarily at Hilmer Lodge Stadium on the Mt. San Antonio College campus in Walnut, California. The Relays are held in mid-April each year [1] 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.[2] 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.[3] 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 and New Zealand have competed here, Mexico is represented regularly. There is a "Distance Carnival" which provides a rare (American) opportunity to run in a highly competitive track 10,000 metres 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 for men and now Heptathlon for women) is held at Azusa Pacific University. Racewalking 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, 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.[2]
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 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
^"Mt. SAC History". Retrieved 2018-12-27.
^ a bTricard, Louise Mead (1996-01-01). American Women's Track and Field: A History, 1895 Through 1980. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-0219-9.
^Karen Rosen (17 April 2022). "Kerley flies to 200m victory in close clash with Norman at Mt SAC". World Athletics. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
^Jon Mulkeen (21 April 2019). "Norman blazes 43.45 400m at Mt SAC Relays, Crouser blasts 22.74m shot put at Long Beach". IAAF. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
^"600m Results". flashwest.com. 18 April 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
^"800m Results". rtspt.com. 15 April 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
^Kirby Lee (2011-04-17). "Meet records for Williams and Brown, Jeter dashes 10.99 at Mt. SAC Relays". IAAF. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
^"Mile Run Results". www.flashwest.com. 20 April 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
^ a b cKirby Lee (22 April 2012). "World leads by Reese and Aarrass highlight Mt Sac Relays". IAAF. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
^"400m Hurdles Results". finishedresults.trackscoreboard.com. 14 April 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
^"Evan Jager's Steeple Debut at Mt. Sac Relays a Very Successful 8:26.14". www.letsrun.com. 20 April 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
^"High Jump Results". flashwest.com. 18 April 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
