100 meters: Two sub-10.4 performers highlight this year's field. Sophomore Harry Adams (Dillard, Ft. Lauderdale, FL) comes in with a 2006 best of 10.33 while junior Brandon Saine (Piqua, OH) checks in at 10.37. Saine, an outstanding running back in football, has already committed to Ohio State for the fall of 2007.
Others to watch include Charles Clark (Bayside, Virginia Beach, VA), a 10.47 performer this year, and Baylor-bound Trey Harts (Barbe, Lake Charles, LA), whose season best is 10.49.
200 meters: Charles Clark (Bayside, Virginia Beach, VA), last year's fourth-placer, is back. Clark has a wind-aided 20.91 this year. He'll contend with junior Brandon Saine (Piqua, OH), Trey Harts (Barbe, Lake Charles, LA), Jeffrey Smith (Silver Lake, Kingston, MA) and Darrin Conley (Middletown, OH).
Saine's got a wind-aided 20.74 this seaspn. Harts comes in at 20.82. Smith, who is headed to Boston College on a football scholarship, is a 20.89 performer. Conley's best is 20.94.
400 meters: Last year's second-place finisher, LaJerald Betters (Waco, TX), returns. Betters, this year's Texas 5A champ, has a season best of 46.94. The top seed time, 46.23, belongs to J.T. Scheuerman (Littleton, CO). Scheuerman, runnerup at the April 8 Arcadia (Calif.) Invitational, won three sprint titles (100, 200, 400) and anchored the winning 4x2 at the Colorado state meet. Betters and Scheuerman will be teammates next year at Baylor.
Others in the mix are junior Brandon Saine, Piqua, OH) at 46.69, junior Nevin Gutierrez (J.W. North, Riverside, CA) at 46.79, Virgin Island native Tabarie Henry (Hallandale, FL) at 47.11, and junior Charles Cox (Monmouth Regional, Tinton Falls, NJ) at 47.10.
800 meters: The field includes the top two performers on the current prep list. California state champ Cory Primm (Westlake, Westlake Village, CA), a junior, leads the nation at 1:50.53. Oregon recruit Ryan Waite (St. Helen's, OR) has a best of 1:50.67.
Don't count out Karjuan Williams (New Bern, NC), last year's runnerup in this event when he ran for St. Augustine in New Orleans. The Texas Tech-bound Williams is this year's Nike indoor 800m champ. Bothered by injuries outdoors, Williams' season best is 1:51.75. UNC-Charlotte signee Aaron Kauffman (Red Land HS, Etters, Pa) could be a factor.
Mile: California recruit Michael Coe (Cabrillo, Lompoc, CA), the Nike Indoor two-mile champ, is a solid contender. His 1600m best this year converts to 4:06.27. Coe won the Arcadia mile with a time of 4:08.13 and took second at the California state meet in Sacramento earlier this month.
Coe's no shoo-in. NIN mile winner Ayalew Taye (Cushing Academy, Ashburnham, MA), a junior, has a 2006 1500m best of 3:53.01. Oregon signee Kenny Klotz (Central Catholic, Portland, OR) is even faster with time of 3:49.99 for 1500m. Four more juniors – Evan Jager (Jacobs, Algonquin, IL), Craig Forys (Colts Neck, Howell, NJ), Ben Hubers (McEachern, Powder Springs, GA) and Andy Weatherford (Greencastle, IN) – should be in the hunt.
2-mile: A.J. Acosta (El Camino, Oceanside, CA), sixth in the mile a year ago, comes in as the favorite this year in longer distance. Acosta's converted 3200 best (8:55.30) tops the current 2-mile prep charts. A future Oregon Duck, Acosta won this year's Arcadia 3200 title and finished first in the 1600 at the California state meet.
He'll have his hands full in Greensboro. Junior Mike Cybulski (Royal, Simi Valley, CA) bested Acosta in the 3200m at the California state meet. Cybulski and another junior, Matt Tebo (Eldorado, Albuquerque, NM), are in the 8:56 range this year. Illinois recruit Jeremy Stevens (Winnebago, IL) and juniors Mark Mirault (Xaverian, Westwood, MA), Evan Jager (Jacobs, Algonquin, IL) and Matthew Centrowitz (Broadneck, Arnold, MD) could surprise. Matt Centrowitz, Matthew's father, was a 1976 Olympian (1500m) and won a gold medal at the 1979 Pan American Games in the 5000m.
110m hurdles: National high school leader Johnny Dutch (Clayton, NC) has a 2006 best of 13.55. Dutch, a junior, is the North Carolina 4A champ. Another junior, Texas 5A winner Oscar Spurlock (Carter, Dallas, TX), comes in at 13.62. There's also
Daryl Reynolds (New Bern, NC), a 13.72 performer this season, and Cordera Jenkins (Dickinson, TX), whose best is 13.78. Jenkins, a Texas A&M signee, won a gold medal last year at the IAAF World Youth Championship. His cousin, Robert Taylor, was a double medalist at the 1972 Olympics (gold 4x100, silver 100).
Others to weatch are junior Jeffrey Julmis (Fort Lauderale, FL) and Josh Hembrough (Forest Hills Northern, Grand Rapids, MI).
400m hurdles: Shaquan Brown (Kennedy, Paterson, NJ) and junior Johnny Dutch (Clayton, NC) appear to be the class of the field. Brown's season best is 51.6 while Dutch – the North Carolina 4A 300m hurdles champ – has a 52.37.
Daryl Reynolds (New Bern, NC), runnerup to Dutch at the North Carolina state meet, has a 52.61 seed time. Junior Emanuel Mayers (Lakewood, NJ) comes in at 52.78.
2000m steeplechase: Maryland-bound Greg Kelsey (Saratoga, NY), the nation's top prep 3000m steeplechaser at 9:16.25, goes against last year's third-placer, junior Ryan McDermott (Chaminade, Mineola, NY). A.J. Savoia (North Rockland, Thiells, NY) and Taylor Morgan (Portland, OR) should finish near the top.
Mile walk: University of Maine at Orono recruit Ricky Michaud (Caribou, ME) comes to Greensboro with the fastest seed time, 7:15.00. Taylor Burns (Scarborough, NE) and Michael Boucher (Ellsworth, ME) round out the top three on the form chart.
4x100m relay: Eisenhower HS (Houston, TX), competing here as Team Texas, leads the entry list with a 40.05 time from the Lone Star State 5A championships. Garland (TX), runnerup at the Texas state meet in 40.30, comes in bent on revenge. Eisenhower and Garland are 1-2 on the current prep charts.
4x200m relay: Team Texas, a.k.a. Eisenhower HS (Houston, TX), is the national leader at 1:24.10 after a win at their state meet. Elsik (TX) and Garland (TX) are second and third on the prep charts with times of 1:24.47 and 1:24.61. The Elsik and Garland times also come from the Texas state meet.
4x400m relay: J.W. North (Riverside, CA) is the national high school leader with a 3:10.36 time from the California state meet on June 3. The West Des Moines Valley foursome ran 3:13.80 by themselves at the Iowa state meet and hope to challenge.
4x800m relay: Warwick Valley (NY) is the national leader with a time of 7:38.3.
4xMile relay: Royal (Simi Valley, CA) comes in with the year's top prep time, a 17:19.31 from the Arcadia Invitational. Kroy TC (better known as York HS, Elmhurst, IL) has run 17:15.00. Monsignor Farrell (Staten Island, NY), with a seed time of 17:25.50, should contend.
800m medley relay: Northwestern (Miami, FL) tops the entry lists, followed closely by DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, MD). The Floridians have run 1:30.02 while the Maryland quartet has a time of 1:30.20.
1600m sprint medley relay: The Bulldog Striders (better known as Simon Gratz HS of Philadelphia) come in at 3:26.79. Right behind them on the form chart is Warwick Valley (NY) at 3:26.91.
Distance medley relay: Kroy TC (York HS, Elmhurst, IL), Fayetteville-Manlius (Manlius, NY) and Warwick Valley (NY) are all under 10:10 this season. Kroy's 10:05.00 leads the way.
High jump: Donte Nall (Chapel Hill, Douglasville, GA), the lone seven-footer, is the class of this year's field. There are six entries at 6-10 – South Florida recruit Michael Kursteiner (Nature Coast Tech, Weeki Wachee, FL); Jerome McKenzie (Marietta, GA); Daniel Averso (Providence Christian, Lilburn, GA); Princeton signee Justin Frick (Freehold, NJ); Marlon Woods (Booker T. Washington, Norfolk, VA); and Justin Oliver (Pennsauken, NJ).
Pole vault: A year ago, the top three places in this event went to Scott Roth (Granite Bay, CA), Mike Morrison (Great Bridge, Chesapeake, VA) and Jordan Scott (Oconee County, Watkinsville, GA).
All three are back this year, and it gets even better. There are six 17-foot performers entered, topped by Morrison's 17-6.5. The Florida-bound Morrison is the current national leader.
Defending champ Roth, a two-time winner at the California state meet, is next on the U.S. list at 17-5. Junior Spencer McCorkel (Bryant, AR) has cleared 17-2 while Scott has gone 17-1 this year.
Air Force Academy recruit Phil Hanson (Pontiac, IL) and Nick Frawley round out a lustrous field. Hanson has a best of 17-1.75 and Frawley (Midlothian, TX) won the Texas 4A title with a 17-0.25 mark.
At the Nike Indoor Nationals, Roth – who's headed to Washington – took first with Morrison and Scott tied for second.
Long jump: Last year's third-place finisher, Keith Graham (West Ashley, Charleston, SC), returns. Graham comes in this year at 24-5.75. The best seed performance, 24-6.5, belongs to Keenan Hall (Ben Davis, Indianapolis, IN). Also in the 24-foot range this year are Christopher Dollinger (North Penn, Lansdale, PA), and Marlon Woods (Booker T. Washington, Norfolk, VA).
Triple jump: Kali Jackson (Cahokia, IL) and Gary Jones (Webster-Schroeder, Webster, NY) hold down two of the top three spots on the national prep list. Jackson, who'll attend Wallace State next year, is the leader at 52-5.75. Jones is third at 51-5.25. Keith Graham (West Ashley, Charleston, SC), who checks in at 48-11.25, was third in this event last year.
Shot put: Four of the nation's five best high school performers will lock horns in Greensboro. Eric Flores (Custer, SD) owns the top three prep marks on the current prep charts, including a season best of 67-4.5. Flores, who also played goalie on a state championship soccer team, was this year's Nike Indoor winner. Flores will attend Concordia Portland this fall.
Missouri recruit Andy Oaker (Steelville, MO) is third on the prep charts at 66-3. Right behind him is Indiana-bound Eric Werksey (Seymour, IN) at 65-6, followed by junior Benjamin Stephen (Union County, Liberty, IN) at 65-5. Werskey and Stephen took the top two spots at their state meet in Bloomington, Ind., this month.
Discus throw: UCLA signee Bo Taylor (Newport Harbor, Newport Beach, CA) and sophomore Geoffrey Tabor (Ardmore, OK) top this field. Taylor's 213-7 from the qualifying rounds at the California state meet is the national leader. He claimed the Golden West title this month in Folsom, Calif.
The prodigious Tabor is a real thoroughbred. Phil Tabor, his father, and his uncle, Paul Tabor, were football stars at Oklahoma. Phil was a member of the NFL's New York Giants while Paul played for the Chicago Bears. Geoffrey, who ranks first in his class, is also an accomplished cellist.
Hammer throw: Junior Walter Henning (St. Anthony's, South Huntington, NY) stands out in this field like King Kong atop the Empire State Building. Henning, last year's runnerup, has the top five prep marks this season – including a best of 247-6, a junior class record. In Greensboro, he could challenge the meet record of 242-9 by Jacob Freeman in 1999.
David Schiedt (Lassiter, Marietta, GA) owns the next-best performance, 219-3.
Javelin throw: The best two seed marks belong to Michael Davis (Kings, Lake Forest Park, WA) and Preston Chatham (St. Paul's, Covington, LA). Davis checks in at 210-8 while Chatham, an LSU recruit, has a best of 210-2. Princeton-bound Mark Paski (Delbarton, Chester, NJ) and Steve Pierce (Ridgewood, NJ) are over 200 feet this year.
100 meters: Two sub-10.4 performers highlight this year's field. Sophomore Harry Adams (Dillard, Ft. Lauderdale, FL) comes in with a 2006 best of 10.33 while junior Brandon Saine (Piqua, OH) checks in at 10.37. Saine, an outstanding running back in football, has already committed to Ohio State for the fall of 2007.
Others to watch include Charles Clark (Bayside, Virginia Beach, VA), a 10.47 performer this year, and Baylor-bound Trey Harts (Barbe, Lake Charles, LA), whose season best is 10.49.
200 meters: Charles Clark (Bayside, Virginia Beach, VA), last year's fourth-placer, is back. Clark has a wind-aided 20.91 this year. He'll contend with junior Brandon Saine (Piqua, OH), Trey Harts (Barbe, Lake Charles, LA), Jeffrey Smith (Silver Lake, Kingston, MA) and Darrin Conley (Middletown, OH).