Your In-Depth Boys adidas Track Nationals Preview

* Carter Knox finished second in the 500m at the Maryland Indoor State Championships

Photo Credit: Craig Amoss/MileSplit

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- The third and final national championships of the 2023 season have arrived, and we're ready to bring you full coverage of adidas Track Nationals. 

With three days of live coverage coming to you from MileSplit, we'll profile some of the nation's top athletes and bring you under-the-radar stories that will highlight teams and individuals from across the U.S.

Below, we get into the top events, the biggest draws and the boys athletes to watch.

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Your In-Depth adidas Track Nationals Girls Preview

Preliminary Entries

The Most Competitive Field

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800m

Contenders: Carter Knox, Dawson Reeves, Emanuel Williams

With seven athletes seeded under 1:55 and two under 1:53, we could see a timely finish in the championship division. 

But do we have a favorite? 

Perhaps not necessarily. While Carter Knox, a senior from Manchester Valley (MD) High School, enters with the top time of 1:52.36, he achieved that mark over the previous outdoor season. Dawson Reeves, a junior from Christ School (NC) traveling up from North Carolina, isn't far behind in 1:52.83. But he also ran that performance over the outdoor season.

Still, Reeves may have a leg up. He ran 1:53.31 in February, and what's more, he's the teammate of Rocky Hansen, who ran 4:00 minutes flat in the mile. 

Reeves may have the know-how here to get the Dub. 

Emanuel Williams, of Central aAcademy of Technology (TN), can't be counted out, either. He ran 1:53.33 last outdoor season; meanwhile, Julian Carter of Marion (AR) clocked a best of 1:54.00 over the same 2022 season.

The Deepest Event

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The Triple Jump

On paper, you can't argue with it. A total of eight athletes enter the field with leaps over 44 feet, including top seed Ty Mathes, a junior from Trinity Episcopal School (VA) who went 45-10 last outdoor season and who connected for an indoor season-best of 42-9.75 last weekend at New Balance Nationals Indoor. 

Mobu Nwakor, a junior from Jefferson Forest, may be the most in form, however, with a top mark of 45-3.25 in January. Furthermore, he's connected for four jumps over 43-8 over his indoor season. 

Other challengers include Ryan Wilson-McCoy, Donovan Estes and Jaxon Brewer. 

Best Head-To-Head Matchup

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The Pole Vault

Cody Johnston vs. Matthew Gray

Just three inches separate these two athlete's personal best marks in the pole vault. 

Better yet, though, Johnson is coming off a national title at Nike Indoor Nationals, where he cleared a career-best 17-1. 

Johnston, in fact, has been extremely consistent over his last three competitions, hitting 17 feet in all three meets. 

Gray, meanwhile, will have some work to do. But he did clear 16-8 in January and went 16-6 as recently as February, winning an indoor state title in North Carolina. 

5 Athletes You Should Pay Attention To

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5. Andrew Jones, Omaha Creighton Prep (NE)

Jones could be a sneaky-good sprinter out of Nebraska in 2023. The senior clocked a best of 10.56 in the 100m over the outdoor season. He's entered in the 60m with a seed time of 6.85. 

4. Owen Clemons, Cleveland (TN)

Clemons is no stranger to national meets. The highly-rated distance runner out of Tennessee competed at New Balance Nationals Indoor and won freshman titles in the 800m and mile at adidas Track Nationals in 2022. He's entered in the mile and 5K. In the later, he's clocked a top time of 4:18.39. 

3. Sahfi Reed, Philadelphia Martin Luther King (PA)

This could be Reed's time to shine. Entered in the 200m and 400m, he's a contender in each, with PRs of 21.79 and 48.13, respectively. Better yet, he's just a junior. 

2. Max Herman, Marietta (GA)

The No. 1 ranked athlete at the weight throw in the country, Herman could go off for an epic performance. His mark of 80-5.75 from January, at the Alabama vs. South Indoor Championships, was the 15th-best throw in high school history. 

1. Rodney Lora, Woodberry Forest (VA)

It'll be back-to-back weekends for Lora, who finished fifth in the shot put at New Balance Nationals Indoor last weekend in Boston. He's claimed a top throw of 63-2 this season and will enter as the favorite. He's currently ranked U.S. No. 7 in the event.