Talent will spill all over the Hughes Stadium facility this weekend, with at least
one national-class athlete (Top 10 ranking) in every event. In some cases, more
than one. In certain events, however, the top entries provide an extra-special clash.
Here are the top showdown matchups we feel are the best to watch!

1. Boys 4x400 Meter Relay
Long Beach Poly vs. JW North -- How would it feel to be a sub-46 second long relay dasher considered among the very best in the nation, yet seem almost helpless when pitted against a two-legged machine named Bryshon Nellum? Just ask J.W. North's Nevin Gutteriez. Assuming that Gutteriez (45.9 anchor split last weekend) runs the anchor, he'll have to find a way to match or at least come close to matching Nellum, the USC-bound thoroughbred who FINALLY gave a full effort and showed all what he was capable of.... an Olympian-like 44.6 anchor split! But Long Beach Poly needed all of that 44.6 sizzler to overcome the Huskies in a thrilling 3:11.17 to 3:11.73 decision at last weekend's Masters Meet. Can Nellum run another 44.6?  Will he split a 45.2 and that amazingly NOT be enough? Will JW North shuffle the deck and come back with the fast-improving hurdling recordsetter Reggie Wyatt on anchor? Will Poly have Isaiah Green (the Southern Section Division I 100m champ) back in the lineup after sitting out of relay duty due to injury last weekend? Can the state meet record (3:08.66) endure this showdown? Will Nellum stun us with something even more legendary? Now you know why we've ranked this showdown at the top of the list.

2. Boys Long Jump
Nelson Rosario vs. Terry Prentice -- Diamond Ranch's Terry Prentice has been exploding through airspace, a humming blur over hurdles, and a force on occasional relay duty in laying claim as the state's best all-around athlete. But someone else wants that title, and several think he's already earned it. Meet El Camino's Nelson Rosario, a 6-foot, 5-inch bohemoth of athletic talent that has been terrorizing opposing athletes in the San Diego area all year -- first as a nationally recruited wide receiver in football, then as a scoring star in basketball, and now as a bounding machine in track and field. Prentice will do the high hurdles and the long jump, while Rosario has the long jump, triple jump and high jump. So the title of best all-arounder athlete should be settled by these Adonis-like gifted athletes (Prentice is much smaller, but as powerful as a gymnast) in the long jump sand pit, where Rosario has spanned to a slightly wind-aided (+2.2 mps) 24-06.50 effort that ranks as the best all-conditions marks in the state for 2007. Prentice's best measured jump was a 24-04.75 flight pattern at the Southern Sectino Divisionals, but low sand levels in the Cerritos College pit that seemed deemed those marks as illegal for listing/record purposes. With sand levels being an issue at various venues around the state, the logical question here is: was Rosario's 24-06.50 achieved in a legal pit? Given the locale and meet director there, our guess is it was. Everyone in the deep southern end of the state has been raving about Rosario of late. Now the Northerners can have a glimpse. And we get treated to Prentice vs. Rosario.

3. Girls 3200 Meter Run
Jordan Hasay vs. Christine Babcock -- When she has only one race of the meet docket, Jordan Hasay is the most consistent high-end distance runner in the nation. The rate at which she churns out low 10-minute marks in uncanny, matched only by national 3200m recordholder Kim Mortensen (each with three sub-10:05 efforts in one season) during her shistoric 1996 campaign. Christine Babcock isn't consistent at all. Not unless you define consistency as following a conservative approach, adhering to a selective racing schedule, and showing the patience to wait until postseason to let it all loose. Hasay is the durable one; Babcock the deliberate one. Hasay wears others down; Babcock pounces on the weary. Hasay is muscle; Babcock is speed. Hasay is a metrognome; Babcock the sportscar with a 6-speed transmission. Strategically, this race should be a chess match. Hasay will go after the opponent's key pieces. Babcock will methodically knock off the pawns, knights, bishops, and castles before making her concerted strike. Who will call checkmate?
(Editor's note: This is all presuming Alex Kosinski does not race. Based on early reports, she may rest out. Time will tell).

4. Boys 300m Intermediate Hurdles
Jeshua Anderson vs. Reggie Wyatt -- Jeshua Anderson has been untouchable. Reggie Wyatt hasn't tried to make contact yet. That's why this initial showdown (Wyatt did not compete at Arcadia) between California's #3 intermediate hurdler in history (35.75) and the Golden State's sophomore recordholder (36.52) should be far better than the numbers tell. Wyatt has been needing a challenge all season and it will finally be here. Never before has California had two athletes break 36 seconds in the same race. This could be the first, with Anderson possessing the buffalo-like power to churn over the hurdles and Wyatt courting the gazelle-like stride to cover real estate at alarming fashion. If Wyatt steps up, the duel will be historic. If Anderson steps up, George Porter's national recod (35.32) could come under attack.

5. Girls 100 Meter Dash
Ashton Purvis vs. Jeneba Tarmoh -- Jeneba Tarmoh came on like a rocket at the very end of last season, so she was to become a household name in 2007. But then  injury put her on the sidelines, robbing statewide fans of seeing the state's next sensational talent, who starred on Team USA's international exploits by teens last summer. While back problems and such curtailed the start of her season, Purvis was a chiropractor's dream for a different reason. Her stunning 11.40 clocking at the Sacramento Meet of Champions snapped the necks of many sitting in the stands, with those witnessing the #2 frosh performance in state history, trailing only Angela Williams (11.24 as a 9th grader), who went on to set the national record as a senior. Tarmoh is lightning; Purvis is lights out. This one should be interesting.

6. Boys 200 Meter Dash
Bryshon Nellum vs. Jahvid Best -- Time to give some very well deserved kudos to Jahvid Best. Yes, Mr. Nellum is awesome, but can he rip 10.36 for 100 meters? Jahvid Best can, and he has... doing so on this very track five weeks ago. And just when it seemed Nellum locked up the 200m title with a stunning 20.58 effort (and Southern Section record) two weeks ago, Best then responded with a big lifetime-best 20.92 into a negative 2.7 meters-per-second breeze! Folks, empirical research on wind studies in the sport translate that effort to a 20.60's-like showing with a nice legal wind at one's back. We might have the fastest 200m duo in state history unfold!

7. Girls Pole Vault
Tori Anthony vs. Allison Stokke -- Anthony holds the junior and senior class state records. Stokke owns the sophomore and freshmen class state records. Anthony won her first state title last year, defeating Allison by six inches. Stokke won in 2004, before being sidelined late into the 2005 season and all of postseason. Anthony owns the national all-time record (14-00 indoors) and the all-time state outdoor best (13-10). Stokke recently achieved her lifetime best (13-07). Could the unheard of -- two 14 footers in the same meet -- have a chance to unfold?

8. Boys 200m/400m
Bryshon Nellum vs. The Clock vs. History -- Not to take anything away from super talents Jahvid Best and Nevin Gutteriez (among others), but if Bryshon Nellum can continue improving at his recent rate, the race will not be against two athletes, but against two times: 20.50 and 45.09. The former is the California state record at 200m, held by Olympian Quincy Watts. The latter is the California record set by Hawthorne's Henry "The Heat" Thomas. Ideally, these races would be in the mid-afternoon, with warm termperatures being conducive to fast sprint times. With both races slated to occur in the evening, the chances of Nellum being able to pull that off are as likely as him running a 44.6 split for 400 meters. Oh, wait a minute...

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