Track: The best high school track meet in the country is at the 44th annual Arcadia Invitational

Reigning state champions Remontay McClain of Covina and Sam Pons of South Pasadena and state cross country champion Ammar Moussa of Arcadia will be competing in the invitational portion of the meet.

McClain and Bishop Amat's Kylie Price will be among the favorites in the 100 and 200 meters, and Pons and Moussa are among the favorites in the 3,200. Moussa will also likely anchor the Apaches' 4xMile relay team that's taking aim at the 35-year-old national record of 17 minutes, 6.6 seconds, set by South Eugene, Ore., in 1976.

Valley athletes have shots at winning in three other events, too.

Pasadena Poly's Zibby Boyer, the state co-leader in the high jump at 5 feet 8 inches, will challenge in her specialty. Price and San Dimas' Katherine Salcido are among the favorites in the long jump. Price was second in the event at the state meet last year.

Five national leaders and almost every California state leader will be taking part in the meet, which features nearly 3,900 athletes from 540 schools.

"We can't get bigger," meet director Rich Gonzalez said. "The only way to do it is to expand more days."

Gonzalez's staff, though, is made up of volunteers, including all the meet officials. He said event organizers had to turn away 7,000 potential competitors.

Competitors from 26 states, including schools from nearly every CIF section, and from New Zealand and Canada are scheduled to compete in 245 events.

Today's field events begin at 4:30 p.m. and the running events at 5. Saturday's open running events begin at 9:30 a.m., and the field events start at 10:30 a.m. The field invitational events start at 3:45 p.m., with running events beginning at 5:25.

The sprints and distance events are the meet's most compelling, especially for Valley track and field aficionados.

McClain won the state's 100 and 200 titles last year. He's run a 10.62 in the 100 this season, tied for the fastest time in the state. He'll face eight other highly ranked runners, including George Farmer of Serra and Devin Le of New York. McClain has run a 21.88 in the 200 and faces five in California who have gone faster, along with Washington, D.C.'s Demetrius Lindo, Arizona's Devon Allen and Maryland's Ronald Darby, who's No. 1 in his state in the 100.

In last year's state meet, Price finished sixth in the 100. She'll face nearly all of the top competitors in the 100, including Valencia's Jasmin Hall, Long Beach Poly's Akawkaw Ndipagbor and Serra's Alexis Faulknor. Price has the third-best long-jump mark in the state, a wind-aided 19-8 1/2. San Dimas' Salcido has jumped 18-10. Price will also compete in the 200 and lead off the Lancers' 400 relay team.

Sixteen runners went faster than 9 minutes in last year's 3,200, and the chances are that magic number will be broken repeatedly Saturday.

Pons finished fifth in the race last year, the highest-placing junior. Moussa finished 11th.

Boyer, who finished 17th in the state high jump, went 5-8 last week.

San Dimas' Salcido will also compete. She's jumped 5-6.

Also participating in the invitational portion of the meet is Glendora's Lauren Justus in the 3,200, Alhambra's James Martin in the 300 hurdles, Damien's Jarrett Gonzales in the 300 hurdles, Glendora's Anthony Castro and Arcadia's Sergio Gonzalez in the seeded 3,200, Temple City's Phillippe Ueng in the pole vault, Diamond Ranch's Marquise Cherry in the long jump and South Pasadena's Mayan Schexnayder in the triple jump.

keith.lair@sgvn.com 626-962-8811, ext. 2242