Santa Cruz High senior Eli Fitchen-Young challenged for the lead over the final 400 meters but was passed by two runners down the stretch and finished in fourth place in the uber competitive boys’ 3,200 race at the 2025 CIF State Track and Field Championships at Buchanan High in Clovis on Saturday night.

Fitchen-Young, who is committed to Duke University, finished with a new personal best and improved his Cardinals’ school record by finishing in 8 minutes, 55.72 seconds. His previous best mark of 8:56.43 was run at the Dublin Distance Fiesta on March 22.

“At the end of the day, definitely a solid race and I had fun,” Fitchen-Young said. “I always want to go for the win in races and today was no exception, but I tried to give it my all. Was in a really solid position and just didn’t quite have it as much as I would have liked over the last 200 meters.”

Woodcrest Christian senior Eyan Turk, who led Fitchen-Young by less than a half second with one lap to go, held on for the win in 8:51.62.

Menlo senior Landon Pretre took second (8:54.25), and Paso Robles senior Tyler Daillak (8:55.02) took third.

Fitchen-Young ran the first 1,600 in 4:34.51, which had him in seventh out of 24 runners after four laps, less than two seconds behind then-leader Pretre.

Fitchen-Young moved into fifth with three laps to go, third with two laps to go, and second at the outset of the final lap.

“He ran a great race,” said Greg Brock, the Cardinals’ distance coach.

The temperature reached triple digits Saturday in Clovis, and it was still 91 when Fitchen-Young and other runners toed the start line in the evening.

“I did a solid job hydrating throughout the day and staying cool before the race,” he said, noting that he stayed indoors at the hotel with his family and saw “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” at the theater with his mom, Kim. “The heat definitely affected the race, but everyone had the same conditions.”

Though Fitchen-Young will compete in the mile at the Brooks PR Invitational in Seattle next weekend, Saturday marked his final day wearing a Santa Cruz singlet.

“Very bittersweet, as it was my last race in the SCHS uniform, which I have had since freshmen year,” he said. “I could not be more blessed and thankful for the support I have had these past four years and really want to thank my coach, family, and teammates who have helped me along this journey.”

Fitchen-Young entered the state final seeded fifth (8:57.83) behind Pretre (8:48.57) and Piedmont Hills senior Yosef Berhan (8:49.65) after taking third at the Central Coast Section Championships last week. Dana Hills senior Evan Noonan (8:49.65) was seeded fourth, and Daillak (8:56.45) was fifth.

Berhan finished 11th on Saturday in 9:12.38. Noonan was one of three runners who didn’t compete in the race.

Aptos senior Logan Brantley, who will compete for UC Davis next year, was seventh in the shot put after the prelims on Friday, but dropped to 12th in the final. He threw 51 feet, 10.5 inches on his first throw Saturday but fouled on his final two throws.

After three throws, the top nine throwers were given another three throws. Clovis North senior McKay Madsen, who is committed to play football at BYU, led the 12 finalists after three throws with a distance of 65-2.75 and bettered his mark twice on his final two throws. He scored 67-7.75 on his fifth throw and 69-11 on his final throw to repeat as state champion.

Madsen also repeated as discus champion (210-8).

Watsonville freshman Ricardo Lopez-Ramirez took ninth in the boys’ 100 dash para (16.76) and 11th in the 200 dash para (36.13).