Jaden Rattay providing top competition for Dijon Stanley in City Section track

In a season where City Section athletes have stepped forward to gain attention, from Dijon Stanley of Granada Hills in football to Marcus Adams Jr. of Narbonne in basketball to Reign Redmond of Carson in track and field, it’s time to remind everyone to pay respect to one of the best athletes to come out of Los Angeles Lincoln, Jaden Rattay.

He has a 4.6 grade-point average, recently turned 17 and has committed to Claremont McKenna for football and track. He’s the runner who intends to push Stanley at next week’s City Section track championships in the 400 and 200. He finished second to Stanley last year and keeps getting faster, having run a personal record 47.31 in the 400 at the league finals.

“I’ve gotten a lot faster, but so has he,” Rattay said.

That was the message for Rattay at Thursday’s City Section prelims at Birmingham. He won his 400 heat in 47.96 but Stanley cruised to 46.57, faster than his championship time of 46.94 last year. Stanley also had the fastest 200 time at 21.32. Rattay ran 22.01.

Rattay is a fearless senior who has already finished second to Rodrick Pleasant of Gardena Serra in the 200 this season. “You got to do what you got to do,” he said of taking on the state’s fastest athletes.

If it were any other year, Rattay would be the athlete to watch. His speed keeps improving. And who knows how fast he’ll be able to run when he actually matures past his teenage years. To help, he’s going to take a gap year and not enroll in college until the spring of 2024. He’ll be playing Division III football and loves the academic environment he’ll be entering. After facing the likes of Stanley and Pleasant, nothing is going to faze him.

Granada Hills’ 4x100 relay team: Dijon Stanley (left), Jordan Coleman, Kanye Martin and Jayden Smith.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Stanley has his sights on the City Section record of 46.08 set by David Gettis of Dorsey in 2005. And with Rattay pushing him, it could happen at next Thursday’s finals at El Camino College.

Granada Hills’ 4x100 relay team continues to prepare for a state championship run. The team of Stanley, Jordan Coleman, Kanye Martin and Jayden Smith won its heat in 41.05. The Carson girls 4x100 relay team of Christiana Gray, TaAhjah Fann, Kaitlyn Williams and Redmond won in 46.17.

Coleman ran 10.61 to lead qualifiers in the 100. Baseball standout Amari Yolas of Palisades could be the competition with his time of 10.76. Coleman also will be a threat in the 200 after running 21.63 in the prelims.

Redmond had the fastest time in the girls’ 100 at 12.00. The Colts swept the top three finishers in the 100 with Gray at 12.09 and Fann at 12.23. Redmond ran the 200 in 24.95. There also could be a future star in the 200 in freshman DeAuna Louis of Girls Academy L.A. Her school has never had a City champion. She ran the 200 in 25.25.

In field events, Carson had the top two qualifiers in the boys long jump with Louis Chukwu at 22 feet, 1 1/2 inches and Jerald Evangelista at 21-8 3/4. Freshman Gray of Carson set a personal record in the girls’ long jump at 18-4 3/4.

Here are the complete prelim results.

Softball

Norco 8, Murrieta Mesa 1: Marley Goluskin threw a complete game and Alyssa Hovermale and Mya Perez hit home runs for No. 1-seeded Norco in the Division 1 semifinals.

Garden Grove Pacifica 6, Oaks Christian 3: Kayli Counts and Annika Sogsti hit home runs and Brynne Nally struck out eight with a complete game to send Pacifica to the Division 1 championship game.