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1. If you're going to lose a game, you might as well do so in epic fashion. That's what happened to Anaheim Canyon in its first Southern Section Softball Championship. The Comanches, who were a third-place team from their league, took a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning on the strength of Cheyanne Tarango's pitching and a home run by Taylor Swearingen. But three walks brought up Corona Santiago's best hitter with the bases loaded and two outs; Lauren Sweet hit a grand slam to win the game. It has to rank as one of the best finals ever.

2. Cypress Oxford Academy was vying for its third consecutive title, but the Patriots were beaten by Pasadena Poly, 10-0. It was a stark contrast to the softball final. Given the choice, we're guessing Oxford Academy -- which finished 26-3 -- would have preferred to go down in epic fashion, too. They weren't the only losers in the finals. Esperanza, which had earlier in the playoffs beaten second-seeded Mater Dei, scored in the first inning but did no damage afterward in a 7-1 loss to Riverside North in the Division 1 championship.

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He has routinely been among the fastest schoolboy runners in the nation, and Jantzen Oshier made a determination before running the 1,600 meters at the CIF State Track and Field Championships Saturday that he wouldn't leave anything in the tank.

Putting to use every bit in his reserves, the Trabuco Hills senior ran the fastest time of his life and the second-fastest in state history as he crossed the finish in 4 minutes 0.83 seconds at Buchanan High in Clovis. His 57.4-second final lap blitzed his rival from Loyola, defending state champion Elias Gedyon, who finished in 4:04.04.

"I was thinking that I had to give this everything I got," Oshier told the Orange County Register, praising Gedyon as a competitor who forced Oshier to perform his absolute best.

Gedyon went on to win the 3,200 in 8:50.03.

Oshier wasn't the only Orange County athlete to win a state title. A pair of juniors also won championships. Ethan Cochran of Newport Harbor won the discus at 185 feet 9 inches, a winning margin of more than seven feet, and Anaheim Canyon's Cody Crampton won the high jump by two inches at 6-11.

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The CIF-State boys’ track and field track championships Friday and Saturday at Clovis Buchanan High School should provide some memorable moments. Jonathan Cabral of Agoura and Remontay McClain of Covina are each defending champions in two events and both could take down some long-standing records. As far the distance races, they might be as close at the finish line as the sprints. Here’s a rundown of the 16 events.

400 RELAY

• The story of this race isn’t so much who’s in, but who’s out. Long Beach Poly, the defending state champion and a regular state finalist in the one-lap relay over the years, was disqualified at the Masters Meet last weekend, and 2009 winner Gardena Serra dropped the baton a week earlier at the section finals. That leaves top qualifier Eastvale Roosevelt as the team to beat, with Westlake Village Oaks Christian a distant second.

1,600 METERS

• It will be difficult to top the excitement as this race unfolded at the Masters Meet. Jantzen Oshier of Mission Viejo Trabuco Hills and Elias Gedyon of Los Angeles Loyola locked up in a dead sprint to the finish line with Oshier holding on to win in 4:09.06, one one-hundredth of a second faster than Gedyon. Oshier has run about five seconds faster this season at the Orange County Championships but Gedyon is the defending state champion

110 HURDLES

• Buckle your seat belts for this one. Cabral comes in with a blazing qualifying time of 13.27. Though it was wind aided, Cabral proved at the Masters Meet that he has a legitimate shot of breaking the national high school record of 13.30, set 21 years ago by Chris Nelloms of Dunbar High in Dayton, Ohio. It’s likely he’ll be racing against the clock as the next-fastest qualifier, Jacob Hare of San Diego Scripps Ranch (13.99), will likely be a hurdle behind.

400 METERS

• This event could go a long way toward determining the team title. Shaquille Howard of Long Beach Poly was the top qualifier out of Masters (47.15) but six others qualified in under 48 seconds. Bernard Quinn of Vista Murrieta will need a top finish to give the Broncos a shot at the team title, so will the Serra pair of Pete Lauderdale (47.74) and Francisco Olliquii (47.98).

100 METERS

• McClain is a no-namer no more. A year after a surprising sweep in the sprint events, the Covina senior is not only a favorite to defend his titles, but he has a decent shot at toppling the state meet record in the 100. McClain is coming off a victory in the 100 in 10.34, but has gone as low as a wind-aided 10.28 and a wind-legal 10.31. The state meet record is 10.30, set in 1992 by Riley Washington of San Diego Southwest.

800 METERS

• Immanuel Hutchinson has already established himself as the all-time best 800 runner in Riverside County history, now he can add to his collections by winning a state championship. Hutchinson is the No. 1 qualifier in the two-lap event, winning in 1:50.50 last weekend, the fastest time in the state this season. Myles Andrews of Long Beach Poly, fourth in this event last season, is the No. 2 qualifier at 1:51.33.

• 300 HURDLES
• If all goes as planned, Cabral will try to become the first multi-event champion at the meet. He toyed with the competition at the Masters Meet, hanging with the pack until midway through the turn and then blowing them away to win by 10 meters. None of the other qualifiers are within a second of Cabral’s nation-leading time of 36.19, so barring any stumbles he should defend his title with ease.

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Savannah King, Orange Lutheran, Sr.
Despite being an underdog in both games, King led her team to a week most only dream about. The Pittsburgh-bound pitcher hurled her team to victories over Santa Margarita and Mater Dei. King pitched a three-hitter and drove in two runs in a 4-1 win over Santa Margarita, which was ranked No. 7 in the state, and pitched three perfect innings of relief to get a save in a 5-4 victory over Mater Dei.

Jantzen Oshier, Trabuco Hills, Sr.
The senior standout won the 800 and 1,600 meters in a dual meet against El Toro to lead the Mustangs to a 77-59 victory in a battle of top county teams. At the Arcadia Invitational, he ran a 4:06.81 in the mile, lowering his national-leading time, and won the event for a second consecutive year.

Stephanie Lapidus, Tesoro, So.

Tesoro had four runners in the top 10 in Division I competition at the 37th annual Dana Hills Invitational. Lapidus clocked a grade-level best of 17:12 on the three-mile track, the meet's second-fastest time, and led a 1-2 finish in the sophomore field with teammate Emily Scharmann (17:22).

Jantzen Oshier, Trabuco Hills, Sr.

Oshier took second place overall and all five runners from Trabuco Hills finished within the top 24 positions as the Mustangs won the team championship at the Nike Pre Nationals at Portland (Ore.) Meadows Race Track. Oshier clocked 15:19.21 but was beaten to the line by San Diego Henry's Patrick Urie (15:18.54).