What a great weekend high school track and field fans have ahead of them. Much of the national focus leads out west, as the historic Arcadia Invitational (CA) brings together most of the top talent in California and numerous surrounding states. Back east, the Taco Bell Invitational (SC) provides a creative display of national-class athletes, matching the talent seen at Arcadia. MileSplit will be on-site at both locations, as well as many other invitationals across the nation.
Weekend Preview Highlights - MileSplit On-Site Locations: 8 meets and counting - Hurdle match-ups headline Taco Bell Invitational (SC) - The West's best take to the Arcadia Invitational (CA)Weekend Preview (4/11 - 4/13)
MileSplit On-Site Locations
We'll be on-site at a variety of invitationals this weekend, including the big two!
AL - Smiths Station Panther Invitational AZ - Sun Angel Invitational CA - Arcadia Inivtational CO - Mullen Runner Roost Invitational NY - 5th Annual Knight Time Invitational NY - Green Dragon Relays SC - Taco Bell Invitational VA - Gus Lacy Track ClassicTaco Bell Invitational (SC)
Taco Bell Invitational: Meet Page / Official Website / Boys Start List / Girls Start List
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With much of the national attention focused westward this weekend on the Arcadia Invitational (CA), the Taco Bell Invitational in South Carolina has assembled so strong events that rival Arcadia, if not beat them. Incredibly strong fields exist in the boys and girls hurdle events, the girls sprints and the boys 3200m run. With so much talent collected in these respective fields, new U.S. #1's coming out of South Carolina this weekend shouldn't surprise anyone.
With so many great match-ups on the table, perhaps the best one of the weekend comes in the head-to-head battle between Georgia in-state rivals Chalonda Goodman (Jr., Neenan, GA) and Brittney Long (Sr., Therrell, GA). Both these athletes have been ranked U.S. #1 at least once this season thus far, and the crowd in attendance will not just get to witness them in one event but rather two as they square off in the 100m and 200m dash events. Following closely behind these two is Briana Nelson (So., J.L. Mann, SC), who ranks just a few strides behind each in the 200m dash, and is the top ranked 400m athlete in that field.
Two other premier female events are the 100m and 400m hurdles. A trifecta of talent that includes Jacquelyn Coward (Sr., West, TN), Ryann Krais (Sr., Methacton, PA) and Jasmine Stowers (So., Pendleton, SC), means very fast times are on the horizon. Coward and Stowers have battled a few times this season, with Stowers claiming one victory over Coward before Coward went on a tear that included major wins at the Simplot Games (indoor national 60m hurdle record) and Nike Indoor Nationals. All three athletes will be in contention for national titles at the end of the year, which means this mid-season match-up could be just the beginning of seeing these three matching up.
On the boys side, William Wynne (Sr., McEachern, GA) and Spencer Adams (Sr., Butler, NC) take their talents to the hurdles, pitting themselves against one another in both the 110m and 400m hurdles. Wynne and Spencer rank in the U.S. top five returnees from '07 in both hurdle events, and both are much improved over their junior campaigns. Joining them in the 400m hurdles are Jermaine Lowery (Sr., Father Judge, PA) and Amaechi Morton (Sr., Riverwood, GA), both of whom rank just a few steps behind Wynne and Adams. Much like the girls hurdles, do not be surprised if one or two U.S. #1 marks are achieved.
The best event among the distance races comes in the boys fast section of the 3200m run. Three Foot Locker finalists are entered in the field, with Luke Lovelace (Sr., Chapin, SC), Ryan Hill (Sr., Hickory, NC) and Patrick Campbell (Sr., Moorestown, NC) all have the potential to break nine minutes in this race if the pace goes out quick enough. It's a rare occassion for three Foot Locker finalists to be in one field, so expect something big here, although Campbell is also entered in the 3200m run at the Arcadia Invitational (CA), so it will be interesting to see where he runs. Meanwhile, mid-distance stare Dylan Ferris (Sr., East Forsyth, NC) is entered in the 800m dash and 1600m run where he will be looking for a little redemption after his loss to Florida's Joseph Franklin in the 1600m run last weekend at the Florida Relays.
The action should be hot Friday night and Saturday as all these top athletes look to earn their fastest marks of the season. Over the past 17 years the Taco Bell Invitational has become one of the benchmark invitationals nation wide and this year the competition is looking as encouraging as ever. MileSplit will be on-site providing live results and photos.
Arcadia Invitational (CA)
Arcadia Invitational: Meet Page / Official Website
Warm temperatures, sunny skies and a fast track...no wonder so many of the nation's best track and field athletes want to travel to the Arcadia Invitational in California every year. With numerous states, and even a few countries, represented this weekend, Arcadia is looking strong once again.
Boys Preview
The past few year's this meet has grown to even greater proportions. One of the main reasons, if not the main reason, is the annual assembling of national class 3200m fields. While the additon of a 5k race may cause the depth of the event to lessen just a bit, the field is still stacked with talent. Leading the way are Foot Locker top-five finishers Luke Puskedra (Judge Memorial, UT) and German Fernandez (Riverbank, CA). Both athletes are at the top of their game currently, with Puskedra winning the two-mile run at Nike Indoor Nationals in 8:49, while Fernandez ran 8:53 a few weeks back in a league meet. Both athletes are frontrunners, which means the pace should get out incredibly fast.
Following Puskedra and Fernandez is relatively unknown Dominc Channon (New Zealand). Channon is the #2 returnee from '07, where he nearly broke nine-minutes. Another year of experience and an impressive 8:09.61 3k to his name from earlier in the year, make Channon a full-fledge challenger to the big two. Others in contention to break the nine-minute barrier are up-and-comer Wes Rickman (Falcon, CO) and Foot Locker finalists Evan Appel (Dakota Ridge, CO), Patrick Campbell (Mooresville, NC), Riley Sullivan (Trabuco Hills, CA) and Chris Schwartz (Foothill, CA). The Arcadia 3200m run annually ranks as the nation's first or second fastest and deepest race of its kind and this year should be no exception.
With so much talent in the 3200m field it would be easy to overlook the 5,000m race. In it's first year of existence, three big names lead the field. For starters, Chris Derrick (Neuqua Valley, IL) leads the NTN championship squad to southern California, where he is looking to blaze early. An insider in the Neuqua Valley camp states that Chris is near 14 minute shape currently. Some of his chief competition will be the New Jersey duo of Brandon Jarrett (St. Benedict's, NJ) and Doug Smith (Gill-St. Bernard's, NJ), both of whom will be looking to challenge Derrick throughout much of the race.
The top sprint event comes in the 400m dash. Led by Dominick Roberts (Denver East, CO) and Allante Battle (Desert Vista, AZ), this event could easly bring forth the fastest 400m performance of the season. Roberts is also entered in the 200m dash, where he will be looking to earn the win. In the 800m dash sub-1:50 athlete Blake Shaw (Cypress Creek, TX) will be looking to put his stamp once again on being the nation's best middle distance talent. He currently leads the U.S. rankings, but will receive a challenge from Arizona rivals James Eichelberger (Catalina, AZ) and John Kline (Desert Vista, AZ).
The best field event results should be seen in the pole vault and shot put. Leading the way in the vault is U.S. #1 Nico Weiler (Los Gatos, CA). Weiler has been soaring consistently over 16-06, but hopes to clear much higher than that this weekend. With the German exchange-student already clearing 17-02 this season, one can be certain he is looking to better that mark. In the boys shot put, Dayshan Ragans (Foothill, CA) looks to further his 63+ throw from earlier this season while also capturing the discus title. He'll have competition however in the shot, which sees notable 60+ throwers including the likes of Bryce Hall (Davis, UT) and Blake Poole (Esperanza, CA).
Girls Preview
The national class track and field athletes from California swarm the top spots on the pre-meet performance lists, which means the homestate crowd will truly understand some of the greatness that should occur in a handful of events.
Leading the charge in this year's field are loaded line-ups in the girls 100m hurdles, 400m dash and 3200m run. Perhaps the best event of the weekend is the 100m hurdles, with Julian Purvis (St. Elizabeth's, CA), Bianca Stewart (Logan, CA) and Dahlys Marshall (Valley Christian, CA) up front. Last weekend all three of these athletes met at the Trabuco Hills/ASICS Invitational, where Marshall pulled off the big win. However, this is a new week and all three athletes, plus a handful of other contenders, will be shooting to win.
One notable athlete that might be missing from the 100m hurdles, long jump and triple jump is Vashti Thomas (Mt. Pleasant, CA). Last weekend Thomas was entered in the 100m hurdles as well, but had to withdraw after sustaining an injury. While it is uncertain whether she'll compete or not, the sprint events are still stacked with talent.
In the 400m dash, Long Beach Poly (CA) teammates, Jasmine Joseph and Akawkaw Ndipagbor, lead a strong field of competitors that should see a few U.S. top ten marks set. The 100m and 200m dashes have their own deep lists of contestants with Ashton Purvis (St. Elizabeth's, CA) and Yasmin Woodruff (St. Mary's, CA) leading the way.
The top distance event of the weekend is easily the 3200m run. Led by Foot Locker champions Jordan Hasay (Mission Prep, CA) and Ashley Brasovan (Wellington, FL), this race promises to be incredibly fast right from the gun. Both athletes are front runners and will be pushed by no less than three other Foot Locker finalists. One wildcard entered in the field is Christine Babock (Woodbridge, CA), who is also entered in the one mile. If Babcock chooses to run the 3200m, that makes the event even more intriguing seeing that Babcock has incredible speed and was running equally as impressive as Hasay for much of the cross country season. However, it is more likely Babcock will run the mile meaning she'll be going after a U.S. #1 in the event.