A Battle Of Academies, Quincy Wilson & More Ahead For VA

Jan 12, 2024

* IMG Academy's Dylan Woodruffe anchored the team's winning 4x200 last year at New Balance Nationals Indoor

Photo Credit: Charles Karam/IMG Academy

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The VA Showcase has become one of the very best indoor meets on the calendar every season.

This year's installment promises to deliver the same drama, with over 3,200 athletes and 300 teams from all over the United States, including the country's top Class of 2024 recruit from Oregon, the top boys and girls recruit from the Class of 2026, the returning female Athlete of the Year from Florida and many more state champions and absolute studs.

If you're in the mood for some electric indoor track and field action, you won't do better than the VA Showcase in January.

MileSplit is the place to be. We'll have the stream and all the content you could ream of, from thousands of photos to handfuls of interviews, daily recaps, features and podcasts.

Check back often to see just what went down in Virginia Beach. But in the meantime, read about the top girls events and athletes to watch this weekend.

WATCH LIVE: THE VA SHOWCASE

Begins Airing On Jan. 12 at 11:30 a.m. EST

The USATF Invitational events begin on Friday at 4:30 p.m. EST

Top Race Of The Weekend:

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Event: 300m

Schedule: Friday, 6:35 p.m. EST

Montverde Academy. IMG Academy.

The prep school academy powers from Florida star front-and-center here with the likes of Dylan Woodruffe (IMG Academy), Jayvian Greene (Montverde Academy) and Caine Stanley (IMG Academy).

The trio are ranked 1-2-3 going into this race, which could see a U.S. No. 1 go down. Paint Branch's Nicholas Spikes, who owns the nation's top time of 33.57, isn't entered.

Woodruffe is listed at 33.2, Greene at 33.40 and Stanley at 33.5. But only Greene has run the distance before, clocking a time of 34.43 here last year. Woodruffe and Stanley have run 49.4 and 48.11 in the 400m, respectively.

It's hard to say, really. Sixteen athletes with seed times at 34.50 or faster are entered.

Woodruffe and Stanley are looking to tune up ahead of some fast relays, while Greene will be a critical part in Montverde's overall vision, too.

This could be the start of some epic matchups in 2024.

Race That Has The Most Cinematic-Potential

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Event: 500m

Schedule: Friday, 6:45 p.m. EST

Easy. It's Quincy's (Wilson's) race. The Bullis School sophomore -- currently ranked No. 2 on the MileSplit50 -- has an opportunity to run into the record books here and improve upon his career best of 1:02.63 from last year.

That will not be easy. Not only is the national record a healthy 1:01.25 -- last accomplished by Will Sumner in 2022 -- but it was also achieved in this very meet.

In fact, five of the top 11 performances of all-time in this event have come at The VA Showcase.

But this is Quincy we're talking about. He wowed us as a middle-schooler, then he followed suit as a first-year athlete last year, dazzling us with top marks and a national championship in the 400m at New Balance Nationals Indoor. He even split 45.06 outdoors in the 4x400 at the Penn Relays.

He knows the stakes. He understands the race. And if there's anyone who can do it, it's Quincy.

The Top Field Event On The Docket:

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Event: Triple Jump

Schedule: Saturday, 1:00 p.m. EST

Ty'Heak Buie, the defending Virginia Class 6 state champion and New Balance Nationals Outdoor runner-up in the triple jump, is looking to make an assault on the 50-foot barrier here.

It was only in June when Buie claimed the first 50-foot mark of his career at his state championships, securing a leap of 50-0.75. There's reason to think he could aspire to that same form on Saturday.

Here, he's the clear favorite.

Only three other athletes enter with marks over 47 feet. In some ways, that's significant pressure. But for Buie, who is looking to join Jaden Lippett (50-7.5) and Xavier Drumgoole (50-4.25) on the national leaderboard, one would think that's his mission.

Athletes You Need To Know About:

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Sprints: Antwan Hughes, Parkland Magnet (NC) -- 55m, 200m; Avian Edwards-Pla, IMG Academy (FL) -- 55m; Curtis Coleman, Southeast Bulloch (GA) -- 55m; Jasyn Truitt, Salesianum (DE) -- 200m; Dylan Woodruffe, IMG Academy (FL) -- 300m; Jayvian Greene, Montverde Academy (FL) -- 300m; Caine Stanley, IMG Academy (FL) -- 300m; Rickey Williams, Camden County (GA) -- 300m; Quincy Wilson, Bullis School (MD) -- 500m.

Distance: Cole Boone, Pulaski County (VA) -- 1K; Dawson Reeves, Christ School (NC) -- 1,600m; Noah Valyo, Athens Drive (NC) -- 1,600m, 3,200m; Nayan Kasperowski, South County (VA) -- 1,600m, 3,200m; James Partlow, Governor Thomas (MD) -- 1,600m, 3,200m; Berkley Nance, Mills Godwin (VA) -- 3,200m.

Hurdles: Anthony Waterman, DeMatha Catholic -- 55mH; Joshua-Kai Smith, Gar-Field (VA) -- 55mH; Antonio Smith, Western Branch (VA) -- 55mH.

Throws: Cooper Williams, Davie County -- shot put; Caleb Barley, DeMatha Catholic (MD) -- shot put.

Jumps: Christian Hackett, Union Pines (NC) -- HJ; Drew Dillard, Archbishop Carroll (DC) -- HJ, 55mH; Ty'Heak Buie, Potomac (MD) -- TJ; Tyler Mathes, IMG Academy (FL) -- TJ; Alex Georgiev, Montverde Academy (FL) -- PV; Drake Risser, Lower Dauphin (PA) -- PV.

* Bullis School's national record in the 4x200 from 2019

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National Records Possibly On Alert:

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Event: 500m or 4x400

Schedule:

4x400 -- Friday, 4:50 p.m. EST

500m -- Friday, 6:45 p.m. EST

SMR -- Saturday, 12:40 p.m. EST

This is a hard one to predict. The most likely race to go down is the 500m. But perhaps the relays always offer the most potential, too.

When we look at the national records in the 4x200 (1:25.60, 2019) and 4x400 (3:12, 2019), though, they are healthy. We could look at Bullis School's seed in the sprint medley relay (3:21).

Right now, the national record in the SMR is 3:24. But we'll believe it when we see it.

The truth is, a truly special performance will have to go down this weekend in order for any national record to fall. But hey, if any meet can produce the feat, it's this one.

The Name You're Going To Be Talking About That You're Not Talking About Now

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Dawson Reeves, Christ School (NC)

Event: 1,600m

Reeves (top right) was an underclassmen at Christ School when Rocky Hansen was making his way up through the ranks. Then last year, as Hansen broke four, Reeves was showing strong development of his own.

There's no denying it had an effect on Reeves.

The now-senior -- who recently signed with Duke -- ran 9:11 for 3,200m on the track in November. Over the fall, he impressed with a runner-up finish at his NCISAA State Championships.

But Reeves' bread-and-butter will be on the track, where he could try to replicate Hansen's moment in the sun and go after a sub-4 performance of his own.

He opened up his season with a 4:16 on Dec. 9, but this is a runner who also went 4:09.61 for the full mile in May at the RunningLane Track Championships.

Reeves shouldn't be overlooked. That's one reason why we think he could make a major statement this weekend and turn the conversation into a "what's-possible" scenario for him as 2024 unfolds.