A few of the most nationally recognized track and field meets take place this weekend, as the Texas Relays, Florida Relays and Stanford Invitational headline the calendar. All three events are stacked with talent, however, a few other meets will be showcasing top talent as well. See which meets we'll be keeping a close eye on this weekend.
Weekend's Top Meets - Texas Relays (TX): Girls pole vault, boys shot put lead the way - Stanford Inv. (CA): Girls 100mH & triple jump, boys pole vault headline - Florida Relays (FL): Boys: Ferris (NC) v. Franklin (FL) in 1600m - Florida Relays (FL): Girls: E. Roosevelt (MD) v. Northwestern (FL) relays - Kearney Relays (NJ): Jersey's Nick Vena v. Mike Alleman in throws - Challenge of Champs. (AL): Starkville (MS) v. Cahokia (IL) boys relaysWeekend Preview (4/04 - 4/06)
Texas Relays (TX)
Texas Relays: Meet Page / Official Website / Live Coverage (TXRunning.com)
The 81st Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays take place this weekend at the University of Texas-Austin and the talent present should one again be top notch. Every year many of the top athletes in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and a handful of other state, converge on the UT campus to take part in this annual extravaganza. While a scheduling conflict left some great sprint talent off the roster in this year's version, the Texas Relays are still a site to see.
Leading the way in terms of head-to-head competition is the Rachel Laurent (Sr., Vanderbilt Catholic, LA) versus Shade Weygandt (Jr., Mansfield, TX) match-up in the girls pole vault. These two have been rivals since last year and are continually looking to one up the other. During the indoor season the two traded U.S. #1 ranking in the event numerous times, and while Laurent broke the 14-00 barrier and captured both indoor national titles (NIN/NSIC) in the past month, Weygandt powered over 13-09.5 last weekend to capture the Texas state record, as well as the junior national class record. With both athletes vaulting so well lately this event is perhaps the highlight of the weekend.
The top three individual events on the boys side are the pole vault, discus and shot put. Both events mix top out-of-state talent and in-state talent, while featuring deep fields. In the boys shot put no less than five athletes have already cleared the 60 foot barrier this season, led by the Tabor cousins, Geoffrey Tabor (Sr., Ardmore, OK) and Cameron Tabor (Jr., Norman, OK). The Stanford-bound Geoffrey is the number two outdoor retunree from 2007, while Cameron is the number three returnee and the top ranked junior. Three Texans follow closesly behind, as Michael Barbas (Sr., Jersey Village, TX), Alex Adams (Sr., Covenant Christian, TX) and Michael Carter (Sr., Red Oak, TX) have all throw 61-09 or farther this season. Between these five athletes, expect a new U.S. #1 to emerge.
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Stanford Invitational (CA)
Stanford Invitational: Meet Page / Stanford Track & Field Website
The Stanford Invitational takes place this weekend at Stanford University in sunny Palo Alto, California. With numerous top talent individuals throughout the state of California, a few of the events are loaded and should produce U.S. #1 rankings. Leading the way in top talent and depth are the girls triple jump and 100m hurdle events.
The girls triple jump is something truly special. Looking at last year's national performance lists, this event has the top four national returnees in the event. Vashti Thomas (Mt. Pleasant, CA), Briana Stewart (Logan, CA), Amanda Hunter (Marlborough, CA) and Alitta Boyd (Moreau Catholic, CA) are the four to watch and based off of their results last year, having someone leap over 42 feet would not be out of the question.
Both Thomas and Stewart take their talents to the 100m hurdles as well. While this event does not have the top four national returning individuals in it, Thomas is the top returnee, while Julian Purvis (St. Elizabeth, CA), Dahlys Marshall (Valley Christian, CA) and Golde Ibia (Evergreen Valley, CA) rank as the U.S. #3, #4 and #9 returnees in the event. With the addition of Stewart and Kori Carter (Claremont), this could be the best 100m hurdle race we'll see this outdoor season before Nike Outdoor Nationals. Carter is also in the girls 400m hurdles, and with a challenge from Lyndsay Pearson (San Marcos, CA) may produce a U.S. #1 in that event as well.
While Vashti Thomas is already apart of the two stacked events mentioned above, she has two more events on her schedule in the 100m dash and long jump. In the 100m dash she'll face competition from the Julian Purvis and Ashton Purvis (St. Elizabeth, CA). Ashton is only a sophomore, but is the top returnee in the event nationally. Thomas' competition in the long jump includes Ashtyn Baltimore (Marlborough, CA), Deja Edwards (Whitney, CA) and Alitta Boyd (Moreau Catholic, CA).
On the boys side, the pole vault and 1600m run stand out as marquee events. The pole vault hosts U.S. #1 Nico Weiler (Los Gatos, CA), who'll be looking to improve upon his 17 foot effort from early this outdoor season. David Slovenski (Brunswick, ME) is traveling all the way across the country from Maine to take part in the event. His 16-02 top indoor performance is a good indicator of what he should be able to do this weekend. Also in the field are 16+ vaulters in Blaire Wallingford (Roseville, CA) and Justin Miller (California, CA). This event could have all four clearing 16-06 on a good day.
The 1600m run is the top distance event on the boys side. Foot Locker qualifiers Miles Unterreiner (Gig Harbor, WA) and James Attarian (Dublin, CA) are in the field. Both these athletes have taken their running abilities to another level since last spring and should be looking to make a run at sub-4:10. Eric Fitzpatrick (Boise, ID) is another athlete to keep an eye on. As the top distance runner in Idaho, Fitzpatrick has produced some great results over the past year and should look to contend for the win as well. The only factor that may play into slowing down the race is that Unterreiner is entered in the 3k Friday night and will have to run to his limits in order to win. Doubling back Saturday for the shorter race might be a bit too much this early on against some strong competition.
Many of the top California and west coast athletes will be traveling down to the Arcadia Invitational next weekend, which is the premier track and field meet on the west coast during the outdoor season, however, Stanford should provide a great tune-up for that meet and some amazing performances may be turned in.
Florida Relays (FL)
Florida Relays: Meet Page / Official Website / Meet Coverage (FLRunners.com)
This year's editon of the Florida Relays brings together many of the top in-state athletes, and a few out of state individuals and relay teams, to go head-to-head on the fast track in Gainesville. Leading the charge this year is the stellar relay match-ups between Eleanor Roosevelt (MD) and Miami Northwestern (FL) in the girls 4x100m relay, 4x400m relay and 4x800m relay. While Northwestern has the edge in the 4x1 and Eleanor Roosevelt has the edge in the 4x8, both squads are equally matched in the 4x4. Last year, these two teams ranked U.S. #1 and U.S. #2 at the end of the season in the 4x4, so expect some fireworks in this event.
The headliner on the boys side comes in the 1600m run. Dylan Ferris (East Forsyth, NC) and Joseph Franklin (Godby, FL) will meet for the first time this year and the end result could be a new U.S. #1 in the event. Ferris enters the meet as the top returnee in the event from 2007, where he ran 4:08.10 for the mile. Meanwhile, Franklin may be the hottest distance runner in the nation after his big NIN 800m championship victory and his 9:15 3200m win last weekend. These two both have the talent and conditioning to take this race under 4:10.
The girls 1600m run and 3200m run should be events to watch as well. Foot Locker finalists Kayla Hale (Holy Trinity, FL) and Brittany Koziara (Boone, FL) are on the start lists for both events and hopefully they'll face each other in at least one of the races. In the boys high jump, two 6-10 jumpers return from '07. Ronnie Balder (Crystal River, FL) and Frankie Hammond Jr. (Hallandale, FL) will both be looking for the win and could show the crowd in attendance quite a show. Hopefully these two athletes will push the seven foot barrier.
A few individuals who should dominate their individual events are South Lake, FL athletes Monica Carney and Jeff Demps. Carney is one of the top returnees nationally in the high jump at 5-09.25 and will be looking to leap to similar heights this weekend. Demps is the U.S. #2 returnee for 100m and wil be competing in the same event this weekend, where he should win the event by at least two-tenths of a second. If the wind is just right, Demps could push for a 10.4 or under finish.
Kearney Relays (NJ)
Kearney Relays: Meet Page
One of the best indoor rivalries this season came from the state of New Jersey where senior Mike Alleman (Scotch Plains-Fanwood) and freshman Nick Vena (Morristown, NJ) traded victories over each other in the shot put all season long. Well, these two get their first chance outdoor to square off at the Kearny Relays (NJ) this weekend. This also marks the debut of Vena in the discus throw, which should be something to watch.
Mobile Challenge of Champions (AL)
Mobile Challenge of Champs.: Meet Page / Heat Sheets
While much of the focus in the south and southeast will be on the Texas Relays and Florida Relays, a meet right in between the two hosts a special amount of top talent. The Mobile Challenge of Champions (AL) takes place Saturday, where many of the top stars in the Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee area will take part. Sprint powerhouse Cahokia (IL) will travel to the meet as well, looking to get their first outdoor experience of the season.
Perhaps the best all-around race of the day, featuring a deep field with top flight talent, is the girls 1600m run. Led by World XC Championship qualifier Emily Reese (Chamblee, GA) and Foot Locker finalists Cory McGee (Pass Christian, MS) and Virginia Hine (White State, TN), this field is loaded and could produce a sub-4:50 effort if the race gets out fast enough. One name missing from the field is NTN Individual Champion Madeline Morgan (Mountain Brook, AL). While Morgan's teammate Catherine Diethelm will be in the 1600, Morgan will run the two mile.
Another great girls match-up takes place in the 100m and 200m dashes. Chalonda Goodman (Newnan, GA) faces in-state rival Breanna Hubbard (Mundy's Mill, GA). These two have battled many times before and while Goodman might have a slight edge heading into Saturday's competition based off her indoor season, both races should be extremely close and incredibly exciting.
On the boys side it is all about the Starkville (MS) versus Cahokia (IL) match-up. Last weekend Starkville put up some of the best relay results in the country in the sprint relays. Last year Cahokia was one of the strongest, if not the strongest, sprint relays squad outside the state of Texas. These two squads will face-off against one another in the 4x100m relay and 4x400m relay.
Meanwhile, individual battles between Tavarius Tate (Starkville, MS) and Ernest Winters (Cahokia, IL) and Darien Donald (Cahokia, IL) will further the day's rivalry. Tate and Winters will go head-to-head in the 200m dash, while Tate matches up with Donald at 400m. The most interesting match-up will be Tate v. Donald due to the fact that both are juniors. Tate already broke the 47 second barrier this season with his 46.91 effort at last weekend's Mississippi State Bulldog Invitational, while Donald ran 47.00 last year as a sophomore. These two may very well be the best two 400m juniors in the country this season.