Amidst a competitive track and field season, senior Lamont Mason and junior Jada Harper represented the Granite Bay High School track and field team at the Stanford invitational meet.

   Lamont Mason is a shot put and discus thrower and was selected to represent GBHS in the shot put event.  

  The invitational offers one of the best platforms for athletes to showcase their talents and compete against others that are similar in skill.

  “For the invitational I got invited to do shot put and it was really cool because everyone who got invited in high school were typically very good and they know what they are doing it was really fun to just be there and watch everyone else throw,” Mason said.

  The meet not only offers high school athletes fierce competition, but also exposure to some of the top collegiate division one track and field teams in the country.

  “All the big track teams were there,” Mason said. “It was cool seeing some of the top college throwers compete and knowing some of them could be Olympians one day.”

   The collegiate atmosphere makes the Stanford invitational special to high schoolers as the exposure to top tier athletes is a valuable experience.

  “As a high schooler, being on the Stanford track and shot put ring was pretty cool,” said Mason.

  Mason has aspirations to qualify for the state meet this year in shot put and discus.

  “My goal is definitely to go to state and try to place,” Mason said. “I definitely want to break the record for shot put and discus, because I’m really close.”

  However, Masons goals are not limited to statistics, as leaving his mark on the program is something important to him.

  “It’s my senior year and I want to have fun with my team,” Mason said.  “I want to influence my particular event team and be impactful, the throwing team feels like a family and I want all the kids to have the feeling of ‘wow I really love doing this and want to come back.’”   

  Mason also wants to encourage students to step out of their comfort zones and joining the track and field team because they might fall in love with the sport like he did.

  “You never know what certain things will appeal to you,” Mason said. “As a freshman I didn’t do track and field and I never imagined I would be doing shot put and discus and now I love it and am ranked nationally for it.”

  Junior Jada Harper is a distance runner and a long jumper on the team and was selected to jump and sprint the 100m at the invitational.

  “I got invited for the long jump and the 100,” Harper said. “I did pretty well in long jump, I made it to finals and got 8th overall but I didn’t do too well in the 100m.”

  Like Mason, Harper appreciated the competition and experience of being at Stanford.

  “I liked all the athletes that came because they were from all over Northern California and being at Stanford definitely was really cool,” Harper said. “It’s a tough school to get into and I saw some tennis players from USC walking in and it was like wow, it was a motivation to work harder.”

  Harper hopes to stem into a leadership position next season.

  “My goal is definitely to make it to state in long jump and the 4×100 relay, as well as be a captain next year,” Harper said. “And I do want to run in college so we’ll see how that goes.”