Downey High School’s Vikings swept all divisional categories to win the third annual Preseason Suburban Valley Conference Preview Meet on March 1, 2025.
All ten Suburban Valley Conference teams were in attendance for the longest single-day meet of the season.
Warren, Gahr, Bellflower, Mayfair, Norwalk, Mayfair, Firebaugh, La Mirada, and Paramount were the other nine high schools that competed in the 64 scheduled events.
Each event was split into heats allowing athletes to have a level playing field with the results from the heat races were combined to determine the winner of each event.
During the 40 Track events, nine of the 10 schools managed to score at least one win, with Lynwood being the only team to go winless.
Downey won over a third of the races by securing 15 wins in both Boys and Girls Frosh/Soph and Varsity.
Gahr won the second most races with seven, while Norwalk won four races.
Paramount, Bellflower, La Mirada, Mayfair and Firebaugh all won multiple races while the defending winners of the meet, Warren scored one win.
During the field events, Downey secured the most wins again and took home nine of the 24 events.
Warren and Downey won the first eight field events with seven going to Warren and one to Downey.
By the end of field events Downey had secured the most wins with nine.
Warren scored eight, Lynwood and Bellflower both won two while Paramount, Norwalk and La Mirada won one event each.
Gahr, Mayfair and Firebaugh all failed to win a field event.
With 24 wins in total and several podium positions, Downey secured the win for both Frosh/Soph Boys and Girls and Boys and Girls Varsity.
Gahr and Bellflower finished second and third in final standing for Boys Frosh/Soph with Warren and Gahr taking silver and gold in Girls Frosh/Soph.
Bellflower and Mayfair tied for second in Boys Varsity and La Mirada and Warren finished second and third in Girls Varsity.
This meet holds no weight on the 2025 Suburban Valley Conference final standings; it does serve as the only official preseason race.
Many of the runners that participated were competing in their first meet, while some began their last season of High School competition.
In the past, the winner of this meet has gone on to either win the season title or finish second in the seasonal standings.
In the 2024 season after winning the preview meet Warren went on to sweep both of the Girl’s Championships, while in 2023 Downey won the preview meet and finished second in the standings.
Downey and Warren typically run the show, meaning Warren’s performance at the preview could raise concern for the defending champions.
Whether it’s home-field advantage or passing of the torch Downey’s performance places them as the favorite to win it all.
The next and only time all ten teams will compete together is the Suburban Valley Conference Championships, a two-day event held on April 8 and 9, 2025 at Downey High School.
In the 2024 Suburban Valley Conference Preview Meet Warren captured an impressive 22 wins in the track events alone.
Warren’s performance shift may raise concerns for the team as they try to cement themselves as contenders for the League title at the end of the season.
