The Great Southwest Track and Field Classic kicks off at the University of New Mexico Thursday as some of the top multi-event athletes in the country take part in the heptathlon and decathlon. Starting Saturday, the rest of this incredible invitational takes place, where dozens of U.S. top ten ranked athletes will go head-to-head in a full slate of events. MileSplit will be on-site providing coverage all weekend long.

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Great Southwest T&F Classic Preview

The 33rd Annual Great Southwest Track and Field Classic kicks off once again this Thursday at the University of New Mexico. Since it's inception, top athletes from Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and Utah have come together to take part in this star-studded event that generally sees a handful of new U.S. #1 marks posted and a slew of U.S. top ten results. This year's edition is no different with such superstars as Jacquelyn Coward (TN), Ryann Krais (PA), Mason Finley (CO), Reggie Wyatt (CA), Jeff Demps (FL), Will Claye (AZ), Rachel Laurent (LA) and Victoria Jordan (TX) all taking part.

For many of these athletes the Great Southwest Track and Field Classic represents their last competition of the season before the national championships, whether that be Nike Outdoor Nationals or the USATF Junior T&F Championships. With state meets completely over athletes now have the opportunity to roll into championship mode, and with deep and talented competition in nearly every event athletes will have plenty of chances to earn new personal bests.

Listed below are the signature events of this year's Classic, where we highlight the top individuals in the event and what may occur.

Boys Events

Boys Sprints: Wow! Look at the boys sprint events. From top to bottom each race is loaded with talent that could produce numerous U.S. #1 performances. The unifying event seems to be the 200m dash, bringing together athletes from the 100m dash and 400m dash events and sticking all of them at the end of the meet. Saturday's final sprint event should be explosive!

The 200m field comprises of such notable athletes as U.S. #1 Brandon O'Conner (Miami Southridge, FL), U.S. #3 Maurice Mitchell (Raytown South, MO) and U.S. #2 for 100m Jeff Demps (South Lake, FL). These three speedsters are the trio of favorites, however athletes like quarter milers Dominick Roberts (Denver East, CO), Matt Butcher (Longmont, CO) and Allante Battle (Desert Vista, AZ) will challenge as well. O'Conner has the top time in the country with his wind-aided 20.63, so expect that to be challenged, and keep an eye to see just how well all these athletes react after already running one or two all out sprints earlier in the day.

Meanwhile, the 100m dash pits U.S. #1 Demps against U.S. #5 Mitchell. Both these athletes enjoy the short sprint better than the longer ones and a rivalry between these two should begin to take place as well. Next year Demps takes his talents to the University of Florida, and while he is going for football he may also compete in track. Mitchell is taking his talents to Florida State University, so a Gators v. Seminoles showdown is taking place Saturday in New Mexico.

The 400m dash will be interesting to watch. O'Conner, Roberts and Butcher are all entered in the event, with O'Conner being the top seed with his 46.50 time. Between these three the first 200m could be fast enough to drag at least one of them under 46.30, and you can bet they'll all be chasing the U.S. #1 performance of 46.28 set last weekend by Joey Hughes (CA) at the California State T&F Championships.

Boys 300m Hurdles: A meeting of the long hurdlers will take place Saturday afternoon, as Reggie Wyatt (La Sierra, CA), Chance Casey (Crosby, TX) and Brandon Tucker (Lewisville, TX) all take part in this high profile event. Entering the competition, Wyatt is ranked U.S. #1 in the 400m hurdles with his leading time of 50.46, while Casey and Tucker are ranked U.S. #2 and U.S. #3 in the 300m hurdles with their times of 36.32 and 36.38 respectively.

The top time in the country this season comes Georgia's William Wynne, who ran 36.28 last month at the Georgia State T&F Championships. All three of these athletes have the potential to break that mark and don't be surprised to see them dip well into the 35 second range since none of these competitors have been pushed for over a month now.

Boys Shot Put & Discus: The best all-around senior thrower takes on the best junior all-around thrower as the Stanford-bound Geoffrey Tabor (Ardmore, OK) and Mason Finley (Buena Vista, CO) clash in both the boys discus and shot put events. The early odds give Finley the victories in both events after huge throws ended his Colorado season with a new U.S. junior class discus record of 222-01 and many big throws over 63 feet. However, Tabor is the experienced veteran here and was the top discus thrower in the country last season as a junior. He's been focusing on this end of year competition all season long and should be ready to throw some incredible distances.

Following the lead of Finley and Tabor are Matt Kosecki (Humble, TX) and Cameron Tabor (Norman, OK). Both athletes are extremely talented, as Kosecki is ranked in the U.S. top ten in the discus, throwing over 200 feet this season, and Cameron Tabor following in his cousin Geoffrey's footsteps, being ranked in the U.S. top twenty in both events. The depth will show throughout the weekend in these two events, which could see over a half dozen U.S. top five marks take place.

Boys Long Jump & Triple Jump: While the track events generally garner the most attention in the stadium at this meet, this year the boys long jump and triple jump could steal much of the show. With three of the top five triple jumpers in the country competing, all of whom have lept over 50-09 this season, the competition here will be intense. Arizona juniors Will Claye (Mountain Point, AZ) and Bryce Lamb (Chandler, AZ) lead the way, already having lept 52+ feet this year. Claye and Lamb are two of the best junior jumpers to come around in a long whie, so there accomplishments here could be very special.

Closely behind those two comes Roman Holmes (Cherry Creek, CO) and Omar Craddock (Killeen, TX). Holmes lept 50-09.25w in Colorado earlier this outdoor season, while Craddock lept 50-10.50 indoors. Having four athletes over 50 feet in one meet is simply outstanding, usually only seen at the national championships. Furthermore, Claye, Lamb and Holmes will all be competing in the long jump. Expect these athletes to push the U.S. #1 rankings in both events.

Boys Decathlon: The top three returnees in the boys decathlon from last season return this year to the Great Southwest Class to prove who the best in the country is. Last year Curtis Beach (Albuquerque Academy, NM) won the Great Southwest decathlon and earned himself a U.S. #2 ranking, however, the U.S. #1 athlete in '07 was Ben Davies (Brentwood Academy, TN), who will challenge Beach and will be looking to break the national record in the event after finishing only 38 points off the mark last season.

The two day event will be a nail biter, as Davies excels at a national level in a few events, while #3 returnee Daniel Gooris (Cibola, NM) is one of the countries best vaulters. While Beach has superior leg speed over the concluding distance event, he actually shows more consistency than the other two, just lacks the big points to take him over the top. Regardless, this will be a three man battle to the finish and could provide the most exciting results of the weekend.

**Davies scored 7379 points last year to take the U.S. #1 ranking. His point total in '07 left him 38 points shy of the national record of 7417 set back in 1993 by Ryan Theriault (NV).

Boys Pole Vault: 17 feet. That's the height all pole vaulters have been shooting for this season. Thus far only two athletes have cleared such a height, but the Great Southwest T&F Classic hosts three others incredibly close to the height. Jack Whitt (Norman North, OK) and Daniel Gooris (Cibola, NM) are tied at the U.S. #4 spot of 16-09, while Chase Cooper (Smoky Hill, CO) is tied for U.S. #9 at 16-07. Generally a collection of talent in this event means one or two will pull through and improve upon their PR's. With the 17 foot barrier in site, and with the near perfect conditions expected, we may see the third, fourth and fifth vaulters over 17 feet this season.

Girls Events

100m & 300m Hurdles: The most intriguing match-up of the entire weekend on the girls side has to be the 300m hurdles. With U.S. #1 Donique' Flemings (Saginaw, TX), U.S. #2 Jacquelyn Coward (Knoxville West, TN) and U.S. #5 Ryann Krais (Methacton, PA) in the field, this race is loaded with enough talent to make a strong push towards having all three break the 41 second barrier. Flemings already broke the 41 second barrier earlier in the season, running 40.96 to win the Texas State T&F Championships. Her time ranks her U.S. #11 all-time.

Meanwhile, Coward enters the competition with a U.S. #17 all-time performance of 41.11 at the Tennessee State T&F Championships, while Krais is running under 42 seconds as well. Assuming this race gets off to a fast enough start, which all indiciations is that it will, do not be surprised if all three athletes dip under 41, with the race winner earning themselves a U.S. top six all-time ranking by breaking 40.50. The only downside to this match-up would be if Krais decides to scratch the race after already competing in the heptathlon the two days prior.

In the 100m hurdles Coward will run under the pressure of being the pre-race favorite. Her 13.11w mark earned earlier this season at the Volunteer Track Classic has ranked her U.S. #1 all-season long. Her big meet experience will come into play and should provide a nice edge. Flemings is entered as well, while her teammate Destiny Lumas (Saginaw, TX) will also be vying for victory. Similar to the longer hurdle event, with so much talent in the field it should not surprise anyone if a new U.S. #1 time comes about.

100m & 200m Dashes: Six athletes are entered in the 100m dash field Saturday afternoon. The star-studded line up includes U.S. #1 Victoria Jordan (FW Dunbar, TX) among others. Jordan, who's been running incredibly well all season long, ran 11.16 at the Texas State T&F Championships, ranking her U.S. top five all-time.

Along with Jordan, LaKeidra Stewart (Mansfield Timberview, TX), Ashley Collier (FW Dunbar, TX), Terra Evans (South Mountain, AZ), Carissa Levingston (Midwest City, OK) and Serena Williams (Peoria, AZ) are entered. Each of these individuals are listed as some of the best in the country, with all of them winning at least one state title this year respectively. It will be interesting to see how this race plays out and just how fast it will go.

The 200m dash is much the same, with all six participants in the 100m dash coming back in the longer sprint event. However, Jacquelyn Coward (Knoxville West, TN) is entered as well and should provide some extra competition for the field. Coward will be doubling back from her two hurdle events earlier in the day, which leaves open the question of how much will she actually have left for this race.

Pole Vault: It's not every day the top two athletes in any event compete against one another. However, this is exactly what will take place Saturday afternoon in the girls pole vault. U.S. #1 Rachel Laurent (Vanderbilt Catholic, LA) and U.S. #2 Shade Weygandt (Mansfield, TX) will renew their intense rivalry that has pitted them against one another numerous times this season. The obvious question is can one of these two break Tori Anthony's outdoor national record of 14-01.25. The answer is a resounding YES, as both athletes look to continue their push towards the record. Behind Laurent and Weygandt is a talented field, including Colorado's Elizabeth Stover.

Javelin: This event isn't as deep or talented up top as many of the others, but one individual makes this event worth watching. Freshman Hannah Carson (Dobson, AZ) is currently ranked U.S. #2 in the event after throwing 165-09 earlier in the season. However, Carson's javelin season is only beginning since Arizona does not sanction javelin as one of their state events. Last year as an eighth grader Carson threw 173-07, leaving her less than three feet off of the prep national record of 176-05. Expect Carson to make a real run at the record Saturday, where she'll be able to focus on her marquee event once again.

400m Dash: Can Natalie Stewart (Spanish Fork, UT) become the first sub-53 second 400m runner this season? That will be the question asked right before this race begins. For much of the season Stewart ranked near or at the top of the national rankings, currently sitting U.S. #2 with her 53.39 performance early last month at the BYU H.S. Invitational. Stewart only ranks behind freshman phenom Akawkaw Ndipagbor (Long Beach Poly, CA), who ran 53.35 at the California State T&F Championships last weekend.

For most of her last weeks of the regular season Stewart was running multiple events, helping her team as best she could in terms of scoring maximum points. While scheduled to run on Utah's relay teams Saturday, Stewart will be able to focus a lot of her energy on the 400m dash and should receive some competition from the top Texas entries, including Teagon Hill (Lancaster, TX) and Tiara Sims (Crossroads Academy, TX), who both enter the meet with seed times of 54.10.

High Jump: Victoria Lucas (Midland, TX) is on a roll. The University of Texas-bound senior won her state meet once again and leads the national rankings with a leap of 6-00.25, achieved at her regional meet last month. Recent results indicate that Lucas will top the end of season national rankings once again after topping 6-01 as a junior. With her state competition out of the way, and having all eyes pointed forward towards this competition and USATF Junior Nationals, Lucas looks to make one last leap into the record books. If she can raise her personal best to 6-02, which is very possible, that mark will rank her among the top twelve best high jumpers of all-time.

Lucas will be challenged however by sophomore Shanay Briscoe (Cypress Christian, TX). Last year Briscoe ended the season as a mere freshman ranked third in the country with her best of 5-11.50. Briscoe took that personal best one step further back in late April, clearing 6-00 for the first time at her district meet. If Briscoe gets on a roll expect her to possibly put herself on top of the U.S. rankings by days end.

800m Dash: Between Chelsey Sveinsson (Greenhill School, TX) and Nachelle Stewart (Spanish Fork, UT) the girls 800m dash could produce two U.S. top five performances, as well as two sub-2:07 times. Currently, Sveinsson is ranked U.S. #6 in the country with a time of 2:08.46, while Stewart is right on her heels with a U.S. #7 performance of 2:08.48.

Perhaps the best part of this race is that it will get out fast. Both Sveinsson and Stewart like to blast their competition early by taking races out at blistering paces. Sveinsson has shown this type of front-running all season long, leading at Nike Indoor Nationals and the Penn Relays against national caliber competition. The Texas freshman looks to improve her PR in the event, while the BYU-bound senior Stewart looks to take another step toward becoming one of the top three 800m runners in the country.

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