ARCADIA - It's a time to see where everything stands.

The Arcadia Invitational stands at the midway point of the track and field season. In Saturday's day portion of the 42nd annual meet, area athletes found they still have a lot to work on.

"It's awesome," La Canada High School high jumper Jonathan Stark said of the event. "It gets your adrenaline flowing. You really push yourself. This is where (personal records) are set."

The junior did not get a personal best on Saturday, but he came close. His trailing leg just nipped the bar on his third and final attempt at 6-foot-7, which would have been a school record. He finished fourth at 6-5.

He is tied for the school record at 6-6, accomplished two weeks ago at the Pasadena Games.

The day portion of the meet did not feature athletes with the top marks in the nation. But they were close.

Numerous area athletes with excellent times and marks failed to even make the meet because there were better performances by others.

"It's really helped our program build up," Arcadia coach Chris Schultz said of the meet. "A lot of kids go, `What do I have to do to make the invitational?' It's a carrot out there for them. We try to explain that these kids are like anybody else. Maybe they are faster and stronger and work harder than everybody else. so this is what we need to do to reach that level."

Only one area athlete advanced from the day portion of the meet to the...