* Athens Drive's Noah Valyo is the defending 3,200m champion at The VA Showcase; he returns for 2024
Photo Credit: Dan Loughlin/MileSplit
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A healthy dose of North Carolina State University recruits will lead the top section of the boys 3,200m at The VA Showcase next Saturday.
Four athletes in all -- including Foot Locker Nationals top 20 finisher Gabriel Schmid and Nike Cross Nationals qualifier Noah Valyo -- will lead the contingent of future Wolfpack men.
The goal? A sub-9 minute performance for the distance.
If recent results are of any indication, it just might be Schmid who acquires it.
The Orange High School senior currently owns the U.S. No. 1 time of 9:04.30, while four of the top five athletes at the distance in the U.S. are scheduled to run in the field.
Valyo, a future teammate from Raleigh, is the defending champion from his effort of 9:12 last year. Schmid, Valyo, Tyler Surface and Will Venable are among the top 12 runners in the field and have all signed with NC State.
WATCH LIVE: THE VA SHOWCASE
Begins Airing On Jan. 12 at 11:30 a.m. EST
The boys and girls 3,200m sections are set for 7:40 a.m. on Saturday and run up through 10:30 a.m.
While Schmid has yet to eclipse nine minutes for his career, he got very close last year, netting times of 9:03 at Arcadia and 9:09 for the full two miles at Nike Indoor Nationals.
Valyo, a senior at Athens Drive, ran 9:12 at this meet in 2023 clocked a blistering best of 14:40 for 5K over the cross country season at NXR Southeast, qualifying for NXN.
Most likely to succeed? That just might be Berkley Nance, the fourth-place finisher from Foot Locker Nationals who will be debuting here.
Nance ran 13:58 for 3-miles at Woodbridge and 14:43 for 5K over the fall. He clocked a time of 9:12 for 3,200m as a junior outdoors and 9:07 outdoors for two miles.
Shane Murphy and Henry Koike-Sieira, teammates from Manhattan Hunter College (NY), are among the strong contenders. Both Ivy-league bound -- to Pennsylvania and Columbia, respectively -- they own PRs of 9:03 and 9:11.
This will be all dependent on pace.
Jack Anstrom, a senior from Seaforth, is also a viable challenger. He ran 9:02 for 3,200m last outdoor season and is coming off an impressive cross country season where he clocked a PR of 14:59.70.
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THE TOP 3,200M BOYS SEEDS
| name | school | seed time |
|---|---|---|
| Jack Anstrom | Seaforth (NC) | 9:02.61 |
| Gabriel Schmid | Orange (NC) | 9:03.06 |
| Shane Murphy | Manhattan Hunter College (NY) | 9:03.30 |
| Ethan Green | Arlington (NY) | 9:04.44 |
| Noah Valyo | Raleigh Athens Drive (NC) | 9:06.00 |
| Berkley Nance | Mills Godwin (VA) | 9:08.78 |
| James Partlow | Governor Thomas Johnson (MD) | 9:10.00 |
| Ty Blair | Loudoun Valley | 9:11.35 |
| Henry Koike-Sieira | Manhattan Hunter College (NY) | 9:11.82 |
| Nayan Kasperowski | South County (VA) | 9:12.01 |
| Tyler Surface | North Raleigh Christian (NC) | 9:16.00 |
| Will Venable | Raleigh Broughton (NC) | 9:16.09 |
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SATURDAY'S SCHEDULE
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7:00am: Facility Opens & Track Opens For Warmups
7:40am: Girls Unseeded 3200m Run (Fastest Section First)
8:50am: Boys Unseeded 3200m Run (Fastest Section First)
10:30am: Girls 4x800m Relay (Fastest Section Last)
11:15am: Boys 4x800m Relay (Fastest Section Last)