The Great Southwest Classic in Albuquerque, New Mexico is an annual track and field festival of the best stars from all over the country and even Jamaica! Check out the preview to find out which events are the most loaded.
Pictured: Jamaican junior national record holder Akeem Bloomfield, whose 400m PR is 44.93. He will race the 400m as well as the sprint relays with Kingston College.
More on the Great Southwest Classic:
Boys Races
Fresh off a win at the Pre Classic, indoor national champion Keshun Reed will challenge Jamaican junior national record holder Akeem Bloomfield in the 400m.
Boys Elite 100m
Who: Jace Comick, Jhevaughn Matherson, Shivnarine Smalling
When: Saturday, 5:35 p.m. MT
Why: After a disappointing sixth-place finish at the Texas Relays, senior Comick rolled to a wind-aided PR of 10.17 (+3.9), which ranks all-conditions No. 3 in the nation, and took home the Texas Class 6A state title. His wind-legal best of 10.42 (+1.5) ranks U.S. No. 10. He will have to contend with Jamaicans Matherson (PR of 10.25 +0.9) and Smalling (PR of 10.45 +0.0) of Kingston College.
Boys Elite 200m
Who: Tyrese Cooper, Shamon Ehiemua, Dartez Hamlin, Trevin Chambers
When: Saturday, 8:30 p.m. MT
Why: U.S. No. 3 ranked Ehiemua, the Texas Class 5A State Champion, and U.S. No. 4 ranked Cooper, the Florida state champion and national freshman class record holder at 20.68 (+0.8) headline a field that also includes No. 7 ranked Hamlin and all-conditions No. 11 Chambers, both of Texas. This meeting could produce a new entry on the all-time list.
Boys 4x100m Relay
Who: Kingston College
When: Saturday, 6:20 p.m.
Why: Jamaican champions Kingston College won the Penn Relays Championship of America with a smokin' time of 39.63. Will they smoke the Americans? Texas could stand a chance with an all-star squad of Jace Comick, Trevin Chambers, Dartez Hamlin and Shamon Ehiemua if they choose to run.
Boys 400m
Who: Akeem Bloomfield, Tyrese Cooper, Keshun Reed
When: Saturday, 6:35 p.m. MT
Why: This may be one of the deepest high school 400m races of all-time! Jamaican Jr. National Record holder Bloomfield is the class of the field with a PR of 44.93, set last year at the Jamaican Champs. He will win here, but could push top American quarter milers to big times. U.S. No. 2 ranked Cooper, the Florida state champion and national freshman class record holder at 45.94, is undefeated this spring, as is No. 4 ranked Reed, the New Balance Nationals Indoor 400m champion, whose PR of 45.75 dates back to May of 2015. Read more here on this potentially historic 400m race.
Boys Mile
Who: McKay Johns, Brody Smith
When: Saturday, 6:00 p.m. MT
Why: Take Albuquerque's 5,312 feet of elevation into consideration when evaluating distance marks here. Josh Collins set the meet record in the mile one year ago at 4:15.79, though that mark figures to go down this year. Johns of American Fork, the NXN runners-up and home to NXN champion Casey Clinger, ran 4:12.72 at altitude to place third in the 1600m at the Utah state meet and owns a season-best of 4:08.77 from Arcadia. NXN All-American and 10-time Wyoming state champion Smith has run 4:11.62 this year for 1600m.
Boys 4x400m Relay
Who: Kingston College
When: Saturday, 9:50 p.m. MT
Why: Can a state all-star team challenge Kingston College, who clocked 3:10.26 for runner-up honors at Jamaican Champs? If Texas can get indoor national champion Keshun Reed a big enough lead, he may be the only one capable of fending off 44.93 man Akeem Bloomfield on the anchor.
Girls Races
Texas sophomore Sha'Carri Richardson owns the nation's fastest wind-legal 100m time this spring: 11.47 (-0.4).
Girls Elite 100m
Who: KaTia Seymour, Sha'Carri Richardson
When: Saturday, 5:30 p.m. MT
Why: This Texas vs. Florida match-up pits two undefeated state champions against each other. Texas sophomore Richardson is undefeated in the 100m and owns the nation's fastest wind-legal time at 11.47 (-0.4). Florida state champion Seymour is also undefeated in the 100m and ran 11.53 this year, albeit with no wind indicator.
Girls Elite 200m
Who: Symone Mason, Ka Tia Seymour
When: Saturday, 8:15 p.m. MT
Why: Two of Florida's brightest stars from the Class of 2017 match up here: Class 2A state champion Seymour and Class 4A runner-up Mason. Their sole career match-up was the Bob Hayes Invitational in March, where Mason defeated Seymour in the final, 23.91 to 23.94. Mason ranks No. 22 in the nation this year at 23.8 (+1.7), while Seymour ranks U.S. No. 28 at 23.9 (+0.5).
Girls 400m
Who: Julia Hall, Symone Mason, Kayla Johnson
When: Saturday, 6:30 p.m.
Why: Three sub-54 seconds girls are entered here and three more have recorded times under 55 seconds this spring. Hall has only been outpaced only by national leader Arria Minor this year and owns the field's best seed time at 53.35, though Mason -- the Florida Class 4A state runner-up and an IAAF World Youth Championships finalist -- owns a PR of 52.8. 800m specialist Johnson owns a PR of 53.85.
Girls 800m
Who: Christina Aragon, Kayla Johnson, Christine Marie Williford, Karina Haymore
When: Saturday, 7:25 p.m. MT
Why: The nation's top middle distance runner in Aragon is coming off a big weekend at the Montana State Championship, where she swept the 800m, 1600m and 3200m with new state meet records of 2:05.65 (US #1), 4:43.51 (US #3) and 10:23.31. The Stanford commit will focus on the 800m this weekend and look to improve her PR of 2:04.00. Johnson, Williford and Haymore are all sub-2:10 performers and will look to cling on to a fast early pace in the pursuit of new PRs.