• Chelsey Sveinsson TX – With two NON and one NXN title under her belt, and leading the US in both the mile and 2-mile, the Greenhill TX soph is the most decorated athlete who will toe the line in Ypsi.  As a freshman, she showed obvious talent, but also a penchant for fast starts, and saw her season curtailed by injury.  But the 2008-09 school year has been filled with triumph after triumph.  With her 4:18.13 1500 entry mark leading the field by more than 10 seconds, Sveinsson can win as she chooses and prepare for Italy. 

It’s also worth noting that Sveinsson’s participation in this event will invite continued comparisons with Jordan Hasay, with Hasay’s having taken the silver at the 2007 World Youth Champs.  Sveinsson’s current ranking among global youth?  You guessed it: #2.

• Ebony Eutsey FL – The Miami Southridge senior belongs in two categories in this analysis; while her event, the 400, has probably the best and deepest field of the entire meet, Eutsey is also unquestionably its dominant performer.  Although she was pushed at NON, she still was a solid winner in a US#1 52.07 – which also happens to be the current world leader among youth.  Having been among the nation’s top three each of the last three years, Eutsey has definitely reached a new level this year and has extended herself to test the nation’s best in a way she hadn’t done in the past.  In a few weeks, she’ll take the next step.

• Ryan Crouser OR – It could be viewed as a bit of a misfortune for Crouser to be competing in the Nick Vena era, where shot standards at every level have been dramatically redefined.  But last week the Barlow OR 10th-grader pulled even with Vena in one category: number of soph class throwing records taken – taken, in fact, specifically from Kevin Bookout.  Crouser’s 202-06 exceeded by more than a foot Bookout’s mark from 2000.  And while Crouser’s 67-07 SP best is well behind Vena, it’s still one of the best soph marks ever.  Vena will not be in Ypsilanti, so the spotlight is all on the Oregonian.  Both the youth shot and disc are lighter than the prep standards, so it will be interesting to see how much further Crouser can throw.  The world leading Youth marks right now are 66-08 and 211-09 – with the lighter implements.

• Ciarra Brewer CA – Since she hasn’t yet competed in an outdoor post-season meet and because her best competitions are always close battles with older preps like Alitta Boyd, the spotlight hasn’t been quite as bright for the James Logan CA soph.  That changes this week, though, as Brewer will likely show just how dominant she is in a field of her true peers.  If she finds the cooler Michigan weather tolerable, perhaps she’ll finally break through to the 43-foot barrier – a door she’s been knocking on all spring.  Brewer is ranked 7th in the world, but just eight inches away from #2.  With all of the close battles she’s had all year, she should be well prepared for the competition in Italy.

• Kori Carter CA – Early in the season, Carter seemed to be on top of the world in the hurdles, leading the nation at 100H, 300H and 400H.  She hit 13.67 and 41.09 in the 300H at Arcadia, both US#1s.  She’s had a few rough spots since, mixed in with the highlights – including finishing 8th at Penn in the 400H and running just 13.88 for 2nd in the NON 100H.  On the other hand, she swept the CA state meet with US#1 13.59 and 41.26.  US girls swept the hurdles at the last World Champs and while Carter can’t put the cart before the horse, if she can regain and keep her best form, she could sweep in Ypsi and pick up at least one medal in Italy.

• Alec Faldermeyer NY – While he hasn’t quite achieved their record-setting distances, the Minisink Valley jr is definitely follow in the big footsteps of recent hammer gods Walter Henning and Conor McCullough.  Though McCullough is also a high school junior, he’s outside the Youth age range, so Faldermeyer is the man to beat.  He also has experience with the lighter hammer used here (11 lbs./5.0 kg vs. 12 lbs.), where he is currently is #3 in the world at 240-11.  Faldermeyer has plateaued a bit in the high 220s this year; look for him to be rejuvenated with the 5 kg ball and chain.

• Anna Collatz CA – Anna Jelmini, the just-crowned double throws champ at the USATF Juniors, may be the present of the discus, but Collatz has established herself as the future.  At the CIF prelims, she leapt from being one of a number of good throwers in the 160 range to the best soph in US history (and #16 all-time for preps) with a 177-00 that beat Jelmini’s qualifier.  Jelmini won the final handily, but Collatz has since gone on to win Nike Outdoor (sans Jelmini) and is the heavy favorite here.  If she can get back to that 177 level again, she has a good chance to win in Italy; that big toss in Clovis is #1 in the world for Youth right now.

• Girls 400 – Until someone can beat her, Eutsey is the unquestioned best in the USA at 400.  But this is the best field of the meet.  Five of the top six girls in the country are eligible for this meet and it appears all will be in Ypsi.  Behind Eutsey’s 52.07 in Greensboro, NIN champ Briana Nelson SC ran a super PR 52.38, while Michelle Brown NJ also got under 53 with 52.91.  Then there’s super soph Akawkaw Ndipagbor, who did not run NON, but was 2nd at CIF with 53.12.  It might take under 54 seconds just to make the final.  After a best of 6th place in the 2007 Worlds, this group is looking to eventually come home with at least two medals.

• Boys 400 – While there isn’t really a boys’ event that has the same depth of top national class preps as the best girls events (boys tending to peak later), the 400 has emerged as one of the best on the slate in Ypsi.  While most of the nation’s best boys 400 runners were in Greensboro, St. Thomas Aquinas FL soph Dedric Dukes was running a super US#5 46.38 at his USATF District meet.  That should mean that previous favorite Josh Mance CA, a junior who was runner-up at CIF in 46.41, will have a real race on his hands.  Behind them is a good, young group of 47-point runners.

• Girls Short Sprints – It’s hard to consider the 100 field without considering the 200, since so many of the same girls are racing both.  Californians Ashton Purvis and Jessica Davis are likely to fill spots in one or maybe both events.  Purvis was on the 2007 Youth team, making it after her 9th-grade year; she has the top legal times in both fields.  But Davis just beat Purvis at USATF Juniors this past weekend in the 100 and was 3/1000 of a second behind her in the 200 at Golden West.  Ashley Collier TX has come back from injury at NIN for a solid set of runs at the Texas State meet in early June and, if she’s come back further, will be a factor in both races.  In the 100, look also for Tiffany Hines TX, Dominque Weathers NC and others, while in the 200, Whitney Fountain NY is the next best contender.

• Boys Hurdles – Again, it’s useful to consider the 110H and 400H as a group, with some of the same key players.  These events were huge for the Team USA boys two years ago in the Czech Republic as Wayne Davis II and William Wynne claimed gold medals.  The current generation of 17-and-unders isn’t quite at their level yet, but have been closing quick.  On June 5, Kendall Hayes TX got his time down to 13.71 at the TX 4A State meet; the next day, Dale Morgan CA took his best down to 13.76.  Morgan would also get his 300H time down to 36.98 at state, to go with his 52.43 400H PR.  Also look for strong contention from Demetrius Lindo MD in the 110H (13.90 for 2nd at NON) – and remember that the hurdles are 36” for Youth, meaning faster times should be in store.  Same deal with 400H (33” vs. 36”), where Jaron Roberson GA (54.24) and Malcolm Nunley (54.29) are other top contenders.  Nunley is the younger brother of last year’s USATF Junior champ, Booker.

• Girls PV – Outside of US#1 Shade Weygandt, most of the top preps this year are Youth-eligible.  One of the top revelations has been Ellie McCardwell IN, who has improved from 12-03 to US#2 13-06.50 this year, and was 2nd at NON.  She’s #3 on the World Youth lists right now, but far from a lock as there are four other 13-footers in the field of  contenders to make the team.  Kortney Ross CA hit a PR 13-04 in her state meet, while Wren Bonner TX’s best also came at state with 13-00.  Morgann LeLeux LA has struggled a bit outdoors, but indoors she hit 13-02.50 and was top three at both NSIC and NIN.  Another Californian, Mackenzie Landry, also has hit 13-01.  The group represents more than half of the total prep 13-footers outdoors this year.

• Girls LJ – Three of the top seven (all-conditions) jumpers in the country will be here, with Jen Clayton NY, A’Lexus Brannon TX, and Whitney Fountain NY all having bettered 20 feet – either windy or nwi.  Adenike Pedro MD, 3rd at NON, has the top legal mark of the entries at 19-11.  Le’Tristan Pledger KS is right behind at 19-10.75.  This should ensure an unpredictable battle that could be as good as any prep girls LJ competition this year.  Clayton has jumped in the mid-20s several times, but usually not with a wind gauge present.  Brannon has a wind-aided mark from last year at 21 feet.

• Boys 800 – With five of the eight eligible preps who have run 1:53.60 or better in the field, this is a good showcase of some of the better young talent in this event.  At 1:51.97, Ruben Danielsen is the 3rd fastest out of California this year, while Keith Griffith and Kevin Byrne were 4th and 6th in the NJ MOC.  Byrne was one of the top middle-distance sophs in the country this year.  New Mexico state champ Bronson Duran (1:52.61 best) and Ohio youngster Quincy Downing (1:53.60) are also top contenders.

• Devin Bogert – The Tomball TX soph looks like anything but a “thrower,” but he’s quickly built a national reputation by surpassing 200 feet, then getting all the way up to 216-08 at Great Southwest.  Then, in less than favorable conditions at NON, he took home the title at 208-03, beating favored Justin Shirk PA.  Turns out Bogert had been injured his freshman year, but set a Youth Boys Junior Olympic record back in 2007.  He’s the top seed here, though he’ll be zipping across the country after competing at USATF Juniors.

• Claudia and Phyllis Francis – Claudia, a Benjamin Cardozo NY junior, had a big breakthrough at NON with a winning 2:05.47.  Her sister Phyllis, a McAuley soph, was just 7th, but was the NSIC champ this past winter and has the best time in the field: a 2:04.83 from last year.  Which of the sisters will have the best day in Ypsi?  Or will fellow sub-2:08 talents like Marielle Hall NJ or Shelby Houlihan IA take it?

• Dedric Dukes – It’s supposed to take you a few races to come back to top form after a long layoff, but last year’s top US 200/400 freshman really opened eyes around the country when he returned to major action at the USATF District IV meet.  The Miami Washington FL soph improved his 21.19 200 from 2008 down to wind-legal US#3 20.94 (+0.0), and his 47.49 400 by more than a second, down to US#7 46.38 – making him the top non-senior (legal times) in the country and the man to beat here.  His times rank him #1 and #2 right now in the Youth world.

• Zach Wills – Its pretty rare for top distance runners, especially on the boys side, to compete deep into the summer.  Usually they’re more inclined to back off and prepare for cross-country.  But after running an 8:55.18 2M at NON as a soph, Wills is signed up for the Youth Trials and – thanks to the timer at 3k at NON – has a World Youth-eligible 3k mark.  While Wills may not be ready to race the Kenyans, he will be favored to prevail over Eric Olson CA here and has a good chance to place in the top eight at Worlds if he can run to his current potential in Italy.

• Shanay Briscoe – Last year, Briscoe had a string of meets from Great Southwest through the World Junior Championships that established her as the preeminent young high jumper in the country, with her best being 6-01.25.  Not too many preps have a chance to compete in a World Junior meet, then still be young enough for a World Youth meet the next year.  But Briscoe has barely competed this year, with a 6-0 at the Texas TAPPS meet being her best.  She was a no-show at NON.  If she’s in Ypsi and she’s on, she could dominate and be a contender for gold at Worlds..