One more week until Nike Indoor Nationals and the National Scholastic Indoor Championships means few national caliber competitions this week. Friday night is a bit silent, while Saturday hosts a few bigger meets that should create some national news. On the east coast, the New York State Championships leads the way, while the K-Bell Invitational (CA) has the most top talent out west.
**TV Alert: WCSN is airing the IAAF World Indoor Championships for FREE this weekend online. Click Here for more information.
Weekend Preview (3/07 - 3/09)
New York State Championships (NY)
New York State Championships Meet Page
ArmoryTrack.com's Christopher Hunt and Tim Fulton took some time earlier this week to compose a few meet previews of the New York State Championships. On the boys side, Kyle Merber (Half Hollow Hills West) will be competing in the 1600m run. Merber had one of the most impressive indoor campaigns of any distance runner nationally this season, and is the heavy favorite. In the field events, Steve Crouse (Colonie) will once again try to push the magical 50 foot mark in the triple jump. Crouse has been close a few times before this season. In the relays, Newburgh Free Academy is seeded in the top three in the 4x200m relay and is seeded number one in the 4x400m relay.
On the girls side, Nadonnia Rodriques (Boys & Girls) will be competing in the 300m dash. Rodriques is one of the strongest sprinters in the country so far this season, earning U.S. top ten performances in a few events. In the relays, Rodriques' Boys & Girls teammates will be looking to tune-up for the NSIC, having squads compete in the 4x200m and 4x400m relays. On the field event side of things, Monique Roberts (Cicero-NS) will try to improve her seed of 5-08 in the high jump, which if she does, could rank her U.S. #1 in the event by the end of the weekend.
Girls Championships Preview
K-Bell Invitational (CA)
While the indoor season finishes up, the track season gets going outdoors in California. On Saturday at Bellarmine Prep, many of the top California athletes will be participating at the K-Bell Invitational. Two stars in particular headline the meet, with pole vault star Nico Weiler and distance star Jordan Hasay participating in their best events.
Weiler is currently ranked U.S. #1 in the boys pole vault, with his 17-02 indoor effort earlier in the year. Weiler will be using K-Bell to tune-up for the NSIC next weekend in New York. Weiler tends to be very consistent, so expect a 17+ effort this weekend. Hasay meanwhile competes in the 1600m run. Hasay will be looking to kick-off her season on the right note, and with a big win over some stiff competition. Multi-time Foot Locker qualifier Kauren Tarver is also in the field and should give Hasay a nice challenge early.