The Mt. SAC Relays are an annual

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 events ...

festival held primarily at

Hilmer Lodge Stadium Hilmer Lodge Stadium on the Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) campus in Walnut, California, is the athletic stadium for the community college. Originally known as Mt. San Antonio College Stadium or Mt. Sac Stadium, the stadium was dedicated on O ...

on the

Mt. San Antonio College Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) is a public community college in southern California, located in Walnut in eastern Los Angeles County. It offers more than 260 degree and certificate programs, 25 support programs, and more than 50 studen ...

campus in

Walnut, California Walnut is a city in the eastern part of Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 29,172, and in 2019 the population was estimated at 29,685. The greater Walnut Valley is located betw ...

. 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.https://books.google.com/books?id=vvrwcB3DeEwC&pg=PA442&lpg=PA442&dq=Kinuko+Tsutsumi+high+jump&source=bl&ots=Mqt7HRgjgf&sig=9WM8Ng5-svS-E6cHjkq9NUkvrSs&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAGoVChMIhKGj24SFxwIVziyICh1c0wRU#v=onepage&q=Kinuko%20Tsutsumi%20high%20jump&f=false American Women's Track and Field: A History, 1895 Through 1980, Volume 1 By Louise Mead Tricard P438 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 Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

have competed here,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

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 ...

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 (sport), athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek language, Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ...

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 επτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hept ...

for women) is held at

Azusa Pacific University Azusa Pacific University (APU) is a private, evangelical Christian university in Azusa, California. The university was founded in 1899, with classes opening on March 3, 1900, in Whittier, California, and began offering degrees in 1939. The uni ...

Racewalking Racewalking, or race walking, 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. Referee, Race judges careful ...

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 educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior sec ...

, 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 Cerritos College is a public community college in Norwalk, California. It offers degrees and certificates in 87 areas of study in nine divisions. History The college was founded in 1955. It was named after Rancho Los Cerritos, a local r ...

in Norwalk and the 2017 and 2018 editions were held at

El Camino College El Camino College (Elco or ECC) is a two-year public community college located in the unincorporated area of Los Angeles County known as Alondra Park.Torrance.

Records

Over the course of its history, numerous

national records in athletics National records in athletics are the marks achieved by a nation's best athlete or athletes in a particular athletics event. These records are ratified by the respective national athletics governing body. A national record may also be the respectiv ...

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 organization ...

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 site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mt. Sac Relays Track and field competitions in the United States Recurring sporting events established in 1959 Sports competitions in Los Angeles 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