WATCH LIVE: THE EASTERN RELAYS
EVENT BEGINS ON FRIDAY AT 4:00 P.M. CST ON APRIL 22
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Nearly 2,000 athletes and over 100 teams will descend on the University of Louisville track this weekend for the Eastern Relays.
Get ready for some big-time action.
Below, we've highlighted seven athletes to watch heading into the festivities. For more, visit the links below.
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7. Camden Bentley, Gahanna Lincoln (OH)
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Grade: Senior
Events: 100mH, 300mH
Bio: Talk about being in form. Bentley, the defending Ohio outdoor champion in the 300mH and the runner-up in the 100mH, is coming off an indoor season where she set career best marks in the 60m (7.94), 200m (25.42) and the 60mH (8.49), the latter mark being a U.S. No. 7 time.
But that was last season. Bentley is already turning the corner outdoors, with performances of 13.70w in the 100mH and 45.28 in the 300mH.
The Ohio hurdler still has a ways to go until she meets her career best marks of 2021, which include times of 13.66 in the 100mH and 43.18 in the 300mH, but the Eastern Relays will be a good start.
6. Brady Masters, Madison Central (KY)
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Grade: Senior
Events: Mile, 3,200m
Bio: Masters will have his work cut out for him in both the mile and 3,200m, where is set to face off against freshman phenom Keegan Smith.
But what just can we expect? The bar seems to be even, with both Masters, a University of Illinois signee with PRs of 1:59.84 in the 800m and 4:16.13 in the 1,600m, nearly dead-even with Smith, who's run 4:14.63 in the mile and 9:09.93 in the 3,200m.
But perhaps that's why we race. The score will be settled on Saturday.
5. Trae Burns, Louisville St. Xavier (KY)
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Grade: Senior
Events: 400m, LJ
Bio: Burns has two contrasting objectives this weekend as he looks to tally big-time marks. So what can we expect from the two-way Kentucky standout?
First up is the 400m, where his odds are shade slightly lower. With a personal best time of 50.77 from 2021, he'll enter as the 14th-best seed.
But looks might be deceiving. That's because he'll be opening up at the distance. There's reason to believe he could chop off time, if only because of another reason: He's the top seed in the long jump.
He enters the event with a career best mark of 24-1.5, which currently stands at U.S. No. 18 for all-conditions marks. We'll take the over on his stock at the Eastern Relays.
4. Brandon White, Moeller (OH)
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Grade: Senior
Events: 100m, 200m
Bio: The defending 100m state runner-up in Ohio has some work to do. Through three meets this year, he's produced times of 10.77 in the 100m and 23.54 in the 200m.
Those marks are perfectly fine right now. But White's potential says there's much more to give. He ran 10.46w a year ago in the state prelims, which later led to a time of 10.64 in the finals.
Here, White will face off against Jaylen Cole (10.50) and Ryan Wingo (10.64), so he'll need more than just a brilliant drive phase to win. The same can be said about the 200m, where he has yet to break 23 seconds.
But there's no time like the present, and White will have ample opportunity this weekend.
3. Ciara O'Shea, Madison Central (KY)
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Grade: Junior
Events: Mile, 3,200m
Bio: One of the best matchups of the weekend will take place in the girls mile and 3,200m.
O'Shea will feature in both.
The Kentucky native opened her season in the mile on April 9 at the All-American Classic in South Carolina, clocking a time of 4:57.41. Then she followed seven days later at the Tyson & Trinity Gay Invitational with a nearly identical display, going 4:56.76 in the 1,600m.
She also posted a time of 10:25.05 at the adidas Raleigh Relays on March 26. What's that all mean?
Both her mile and 3,200m performances are among the nation's top 50 performances. Here, she'll face off against talented foe like Jessica Secor and Jaydon Cirincione. Chances are, O'Shea will drop even more time on Saturday.
2. Sarah Ferguson, Lafayette (KY)
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Grade: Senior
Events: Pole Vault
Bio: Fourteen feet is calling.
Ferguson, a national champion in the pole vault over the indoor season with a clearance of 13-9.25, can build upon that momentum here.
This past weekend she skied over 13 feet for the first time outdoors in 2022, and that largely backed up her five clearances over 13 this indoor season, and her three more from the 2021 campaign.
The only question: Is she ready for 14 feet?
Perhaps with the right runs, the right execution and a confident belief that she's on path for that success, it will all fall into place.
1. Ramiah Elliott, North Central (IN)
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Grade: Senior
Events: 100m, 200m, 400m
Bio: One of the country's premier sprinters is setting herself up for some speed endurance training over the weekend.
Entered in three events -- which means a handful of preliminary races leading to race finals -- Elliott will certainly have her work cut out for her.
But consider just who we're dealing with here: The seven-time Indiana state outdoor champion is back to firing on all cylinders after an indoor season that saw her drive home for a national 200m title in 23.34.
Elliott hasn't gone under 24 seconds in the 200m since 2019 and hasn't been under 54 in the 400m during that stretch, either.
Whether it comes or not this weekend, it's happening in 2022.
You can bet on it.