Preview - event by event
by John Dye
| BOYS |
GIRLS |
| 100 - This is a North Carolina show. The top three NC runners are the top three seeds here - Mt. Tabor sr J-Mee Samuels, West Brunswick sr Jerek Hewett, Shelby sr Travis Padgett. Hewett won the NC state meet, but Samuels was the fastest in the US last year (10.25) and is probably the fastest this year after his windy 10.07 at the Great Southwest. Padgett's biggest win came 2 years ago at the Golden South, when he handed Xavier Carter one of his only losses as a prep. |
100 - Super soph Ebony Collins, latest superstar of powerhouse Wilson Long Beach, leads the country after her 11.50 clocking at the California state meet. Second seed is Alexandria (Alex the Great) Anderson, the repeat 4-gold winner at the Illinois state meet. She had a windy 11.38 in the prelims and legal 11.65 in the finals. |
| 200 - If J-Mee Samuels is vulnerable in the 100, he seems unbeatable in the 200. His 20.32 at the Great Southwest leads the US this season by a bunch and ranks him US#5 all time. He also ranks US#5 all time Indoors with his Nike Indoor Nationals win in 21.22, fastest non-banked time ever. Second seeded is friendly rival Justin Oliver, a Redan GA senior, second to Samuels on several occasions. |
200 - Morgan Park Chicago IL sr Alexandria Anderson is US#1 after her 23.23 win at the Great Southwest Classic 2 weeks ago, but several worthy contenders lurk if she is less than her best -- Rancho Cucamonga CA sr Sade Williams 23.38, Arcadia champion and sometime US leader in the 200 and 400; Deerfield Beach FL soph Brittany Jones 23.46, Golden South champ; Bethel jr Francena McCorory 23.53, champion of Mobile and the Southern Classic; Ridgeland MS soph Bianca Knight 23.55, already a veteran of many elite meets; and Ebony Collins 23.64. |
| 400 - Redan GA sr Justin Oliver 46.50, headed for Texas A&M next year, is undefeated this year indoors and out at this distance, ranking US#2 to David Gettis and winner of the Nike Indoor Nationals, Simplot Games, Golden West, Taco Bell, and Mobile. If anyone beats Oliver, it could be Texas 5A champion LaJerald Betters, a senior from Waco TX, who was an impressive winner at the Great Southwest in 46.52. Visually, it will be a contrast between the spindly Oliver and the tall, long striding Betters. |
400 - Super showdown between the best two one lappers in the country, both sophomores -- California champion Sade Williams 52.35 of Rancho Cucamonga and Texas 5A champion Brandi Cross 52.46 of Marshall Fort Bend. Two more sophomores with big reputations are also in the field -- Bianca Knight of Ridgeland MS and Devon Williams of Baltimore MD. |
| 800 - St. Augustine LA soph Karjuan Williams, 1:50.33 US#1 winner of the Louisiana 5A state meet, was Nike Indoor National champion and he may be the best here, but this is a balanced field with four more runners under 1:51 and three others under 1:52. Pace and tactics should sort out Williams and Bordentown NJ sr Rob Novak 1:50.36, Prosser WA soph Nectaly Barbosa 1:50.70, Albuquerque Academy NM sr Cody Harper 1:50.71, Kenmore East Tonawanda NY sr Justin Craddock 1:50.85, St. Benedict's NJ sr Bryan Scotland 1:51.66, Cullman AL sr E.C. Gibbs 1:51.83 and Marion IL jr Stephen Williams 1:51.84. |
800 - With defending champ and 2-year US leader Sarah Bowman opting for the mile, this race opens up for an intriguing cast of stellar runners. West Catholic Philadelphia PA jr Latavia Thomas won Arcadia in 2:06.76 US#3 and has vast big race experience. Grand Blanc MI sr Geena Gall won the Midwest Meet of Champions last Saturday in 2:07.45 US#4 and won the Nike Indoor Nationals over Sarah Bowman as Bowman was attempting to double back after winning the mile. Queen of Peace NJ sr Janine Davis is a sub-2:08 runner. Two top milers are choosing the 800m -- Plano West TX sr Erin Bedell 2:08.16 Texas 5A champ, who won the Golden West mile in 4:44.17 US#1, and Bellport NY soph Brittany Sheffey 2:09.99, who ran 4:29.62 US#4 at 1500m. Westerly RI jr Samantha (Good Sam) Gawrych 2:08.84 is always reliable. |
| Mile - Matchup of Douglas AZ sr Ken Cormier and Middletown OH sr Jeff See is one of the highlights of the meet. Cormier has been all over the country since his breakthrough triumph in the Foot Locker cross country championships last December.
He won the Nike Indoor National 2-mile, the Arcadia mile, and the Boston High Performance Series 1500, with his Boston 1500 time of
3:48.97 the best in the country. Cormier has been tapering down from 80 miles a week to 40 with this event in mind. See's elite stamp came two years ago at this meet when he ran a mile in 4;06.07 for a new national sophomore class record, a record that was held before by Alan Webb and Jim Ryun. After an injury-plagued junior year, the Ohio State recruit has come on strong this year. He won the Foot Locker Midwest regional, the Dayton Roosevelt Memorial mile (4:08.27 US#2), and a 1600-800 double in the Ohio State Meet 50 minutes apart (
4:11.20
and 1:51.18). Both Cormier and See are closers, so tactics may be an issue. Not to be overlooked are North Carolina 4A champ Jack Bolas 4:08.23 1600m Penn Relays champion Andrew Jesien MD 4:10.80, and Pennsylvania champ Craig Miller 4:11.98 1600m, 3rd here last year in 4:06.76, just off Jeff See's national sophomore class record. |
Mile - An epic showdown of elite runners that could bring a rare sub-4:40 clocking. Only three HS girls have ever done that -- Polly Plumer CA 4:35.24 in 1982, Kim Gallagher PA 4:36.94 in 1982, and Ari Lambie MA 4:37.23 in 2003. For starters this year, we have the two fastest girls of the year in Bellarmine Tacoma WA sr Brie Felnagle 4:40.9 1600m and Fauquier Warrenton VA sr Sarah Bowman 4:41.17 1600m. The purists don't like it, but these metric times are inherently faster even after conversion than the fastest mile of the year (4:44.17 by Erin Bedell, who is not entered in this race anyway). Add six more girls who have run under 4:50 and you have the makings of a super race. Contrasting styles make it all the more interesting. Two-time Penn Relays champion Bowman is a blazing front runner who wins without being pressed. Felnagle is a blazing stretch runner who hangs with the leaders and then kills them in the end -- at Arcadia, she broke open a close race with a 31-second last 200 meters, winning by 5 seconds. Meet managers called last year's girls mile the best field ever, and the winner was Nicole Blood in 4:42.40, a national sophomore class record. Blood is back, but she has been a bit under the radar since leaving the Saratoga NY team to train on her own. Running in open races, Blood has posted solid times including a 9:29.44 3000m US#1 and a 4:26.34 1500m US#2. Blood can run either way, front runner or kicker, so she could be plenty dangerous in this one. Crestwood Mantua OH jr Bridget Franek was third in the Penn Relays and won the Ohio state meet in 4:45.68 1600m US#5. Nike Team National individual champion and Foot Locker Midwest champion Ramsay Kavan won the South Dakota AA title in 4:46.84 1600m US#6. Two more state champions round out the favorites list -- Elizabeth Yetzer MN 4:47.12 1600m and Danielle Tauro NJ 4:47.55 1600m. |
| 2 Mile - Newton North MA sr Chris Barnicle, one of Arkansas' prize recruits along with J-Mee Samuels and Ken Cormier, stands out. He is a runaway national leader indoors (9:01.45, 10 seconds better than #2) and outdoors (8:56.20, 5 seconds better than #2). The loyal opposition consists of Benson Portland OR sr Zuber Ahmed 8:20.50 3000m US#1, double winner in the Oregon state meet; Dexter MI jr Lex Williams, 8:57.16 3200m US#3 winner in the Midwest Meet of Champions last week; Loyola Los Angeles CA sr Mark Matusak, second to Barnicle at Arcadia in 9:01.40 US#2 and a 4:10.72 1600m winner in the California state meet; New London WI sr Chris Rombough, 8:57.73 3200m US#4 breaking Chris Solinsky's state meet record, and winner of the Gerry Lindgren Invitational; and New England Championship record setters Eric Giddings and Sintayehu Taye, both of Maine. |
2 Mile - Possible renewal of the rivalry between New York juniors Aislinn Ryan and Nicole Blood, depending on whether Blood tries to double in the 2-mile Friday night and Mile Saturday night. She is entered in both as of Tuesday night. Ryan came into her own last fall in cross country when she won the Foot Locker cross country national championship. She beat Blood again at the Boston Indoor and Millrose Games, but Blood beat Ryan in a thriller 3000m at the New York indoor state meet, leaving Ryan a national champion without a state championship. With Blood leaving the Saratoga team this season, Ryan won the 3000 meters at the New York state meet for her first state title. But Blood still tops Ryan in the national 3000m rankings, 9:29.44 to 9:39.50. Both Blood and Ryan could be upstaged by Lakeville MN jr Elizabeth Yetzer, whose double at the Minnesota State Meet last Saturday included a 10:16.59 3200m, a state record and US#2 this season (behind 10:16.03 by Sarah Bowman, who is not entered in this race). Other contenders include Vanguard Ocala FL jr Kelly Parrish, 10:27.65 2-mile US#1 at Arcadia; Nicole Blood's training partner Caitlin Lane NY 9:49.10 3000m US#7; Nike Indoor National 2-mile champ Kate Niehaus SC; Clarkston MI jr Jenny Morgan, 1600/3200 doubler in Michigan state meet and mile winner at the Midwest Distance Gala; and Leeds ND sr Krista Anderson, runnerup to Niehaus at the Nike Indoor Nationals. |
| 110m Hurdles - Highland Park Topeka KS sr Jared Huske is a slight favorite. He won the Nike Indoor Nationals, the Kansas Relays and the Kansas state 5A titles. He will get strong competition from soph Johnny Dutch, the North Carolina 3A champion, and North Central IN sr Jordan Seabrook 13.86 US#5. |
100m Hurdles - Wide open event with seven girls who have run between 13.78 and 14.01. Slightly favored are Florida rivals Kettiany Clarke (Palm Beach Lakes sr) and Pavielle James (Northwestern Miami sr), who were 1-2 in the Florida 4A state meet in the same time, 13.82. James has a season best of 13.76 and Clarke 13.79. Western Baltimore jr Theresa Lewis set a Maryland record of 13.64 nwi while winning a hurdle double in the state meet. Lewis was 2nd in the Nike Indoor Nationals 60m hurdles. |
| 400m hurdles - Penn Relays champion Justin Gaymon, a senior at Phillipsburg NJ, is favored. He leads the US with his 51.55 win in the New Jersey Meet of Champions. Charles City IA sr Greg Offerman won the Drake Relays and the Iowa 3A title. |
400m hurdles - West Catholic Philadelphia PA sr Nicole Leach has ruled this event for 2 years and there is nothing to suggest she will not continue here. She won the last two Penn Relays in record time, with this year's 57.44 the best in the US this season. Second seed is Krystal Cantey 58.88, third to Leach at Penn. |
| HJ - With 7-5 super star Scott Sellers sidelined by injury, three "ordinary" 7-footers top the list, all seniors -- Ryan Fritz PA, Pennsylvania 2A champ, James Blocker NY, and Trevor Heiner UT, Utah 5A and Great Southwest champion. |
HJ - McDowell Erie PA sr Nicole Smith comes here off a jumps triple at the Pennsylvania state meet, and her season best HJ of 5-10 makes her co-top seed along with Bartlett TN soph Jessica Merriweather. Ten more girls have gone 5-8 or better. |
| LJ - Top seeds are Bellevue NE sr Robert Rands 24-11.25 US#3 and Thomas Dale VA sr Dennis Boone, Taco Bell Classic winner this year and Penn Relays winner last year. |
LJ - Nicole Smith is top seed in a second event, with her 20-3 +3.2 effort in the PA state meet. Six 19-footers are also entered. |
| TJ - Two North Carolina boys head up this event. Salisbury NC sr Brandon Cathcart hit 50-0w in his conference meet, and Harding sr Nigel Orr won the Taco Bell Classic at 49-2.5 US#7. Six more boys have bettered 48 feet. |
TJ - National record holder Brittany Daniels is not entered, so "ordinary" jumpers have a chance at gold. Just as in her state meet, Nicole Smith PA is in the thick of another event, but she is second seeded here to Florida 3A champ Tiara Swanagan 42-8.75 US#2. |
| PV - There are three undergrads who have scaled 17 feet this year, and all are here. Granite Bay CA jr Scott Roth 17-2 has the three leading vaults in the US this season. Two others come in with 17-0 clearances -- Bryant AR soph Spencer McCorkel and Oconee County GA jr Jordan Scott, winner of the Golden South Classic. |
PV - The record book says Lancaster NY sr Mary Saxer, who will attend Notre Dame next year, is the greatest prep pole vaulter ever, and no one would argue. She has broken the national record seven times in 100 days, now holding the indoor record at 14-2 and the outdoor record at 13-9. Her indoor record, set at Nike Indoor Nationals, was better than the NCAA women's winning mark the same weekend. Two of Saxer's training mates with coach Rick Suhr, Tiffany Maskulinski 13-5.5 and Jenn O'Niell 13-1.5, were 1-2 here last year and are back. The 13-footers are rounded out by Easton PA jr Lindsey Regan 13-6 and Madison WI sr Jenny Soceka 13-0. |
| SP - Central Dauphin PA sr Ryan Whiting 70-0 US#1 is in a class by himself this year, winning the Nike Indoor Nationals, Arcadia and leading the country both indoors and out. Wisconsin champ Steve Marcelle 67-6 is coming on strong, and Nike Indoor runner-up John Hickey NY 64-11.75 is a definite contender. |
SP - Ohio champ Ashley Muffet 50-10 US#2 is favorite, but a strong group is nipping at her heels -- Harding NC soph Kamorean Hayes 49-4 US#5, champion of the Taco Bell Classic and Nike Indoor Nationals; Penncrest PA freshman Karen Shump 48-0.25, PA 3A champ; and defending champ Michaela Wallerstedt, who has been off form this year. |
| DT - The top five discus throwers in the country are here, and all spin the disk beyond the 200-foot mark -- Valders WI sr Sean Pruitt 215-7; South Brunswick NJ sr Yemi Ayeni 204-8; Arroyo Grande CA sr Danny Rohr 202-0; Central Dauphin PA sr Ryan Whiting 201-9, Arcadia and PA AAA champ; and Catholic New Iberia LA sr Tommy Killen 201-1. |
DT - Texas 4A throws doubler D'Andra Carter, "little sister" of national shot put record holder Michelle Carter, took US#1 ranking at 167-2 with her Great Southwest win. She is five feet ahead of the field. Definite contenders are Ashley Muffet OH 162-4 US#2, Antonian Prep San Antonio TX sr Christina Mueller 160-10 US#6, and defending champ and Penn Relays champ Amy Bilmanis 159-3 US#7. |
| JT - National leader Matthew Malone RI 231-5 has an edge on past performance, but the next two national ranking throwers are also here -- Billings MT sr Chris Reno 222-4 and Covington LA jr Preston Chatham 217-5, the Great Southwest champ. |
JT - Eisenhower PA soph Elisha Jones 143-10, the Penn Relays champ, and Palmyra PA jr Meghan Briggs 141-4 lead a field that is missing the top five US ranked girls. |
| HT - Seven of the top 11 on Gourley's List are here, headed by St. Anthony's NY soph Walter Henning 226-6 US#1 and Bishop Hendricken RI sr John Freeman 224-11 US#2. |
HT - Four of the top five on Gourley's List are here, headed by Alexander Douglasville GA jr Kim Williams 173-0 US#1, Lasalle Academy RI sr Megan Maloney 169-10 US#2, and Lassiter Marietta GA jr Emily Bernhardt 163-11 US#3. |
| 4x800 - Two New York teams renew their rivalry, with some top notch company. Syosset shaded Shaker indoors, 7:42.22 to 7:43.86, at the Armory Collegiate Games when Syosset set a new national record and Shaker ran US#3 all time. Syosset won again at the Penn Relays when Shaker ran its anchor, Joe Belokopitsky, as leadoff and got a big lead, but were run down and caught by Syosset anchor Sean Tully. Last Saturday, Shaker ran a superlative 7:38.97 US#1 outdoors in winning the high school 4x800 at the reebok Grand Prix in New York City. These two will be challenged by Dynizzle TC (North Penn PA) 7:41.04 US#4 this season and Lincoln North Star NE 7:44.13 US#6. |
4x800 - Looks like a two-team race between Bay Shore NY 9:03.53 US#2 and Minnetonka MN 9:03.80. |
| |
|
| |
|
Nike Outdoor Nationals index page
|
