* Michael Ferguson (1) won both the 1600m and 3200m at the NCHSAA 3A Indoor State Championships
Photo: MileSplit North Carolina
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A weekend full of season debuts and national leads provided a lot of PBs and stellar performances from the Midwest to both coasts.
The National Performer of the Week poll will close at 5 p.m. CT on Thursday, February 20, and the winner will be announced shortly after.
Take a look at five of the top-performing boys from last weekend.
Owen Powell, Mercer Island (Wash.): It was a historic day for the future Washington Husky, as Powell broke 4:00 on a track he's quite familiar with. At the Husky Classic, he finished seventh in the Men's Mile, running 3:57.74 to smash the 4:00 barrier. He already had the state record by a lengthy margin, but now the senior is also No. 2 on the all-time high school indoor list and is the sixth-fastest miler in high school history. If that wasn't enough, Powell is the first sub-four high schooler in Washington history.
Christian Dixon, Mallard Creek (N.C.): Keeping his winning streak alive and well, Dixon ran 6.28 over 55m to win his fifth-straight race in the event and claim the state title at the NCHSAA 4A State Championships. Dixon set a lifetime best of 6.29 in the prelims before lowering it by a hundredth of a second in the final. Dixon moved up to No. 16 in state history and sits at No. 4 in the country this season.
Jackson Cantwell, Nixa (Mo.): The best thrower in the country opened up his indoor campaign over the weekend at the Northwest Missouri Bearcat Youth/Open Indoor Meet, heaving the shot put 71-09.75, the top mark in the country this season by over six feet. Cantwell also shattered the Missouri indoor record by over seven feet and is already No. 6 in the national indoor record books. Cantwell is just under a foot away from becoming the top junior in high school history.
Tayvon Kitchen, Crater (Ore.): It was a pretty good weekend for runners in the Pacific Northwest, as Kitchen broke Nico Young's (Newbury Park) five-year-old 3000m record. The uncommitted senior clocked 7:55.48 to better Young's record by over a second. Kitchen is just the fourth high schooler to ever break 8:00 in this event. Just for kicks, he doubled back the next day in the mile and ran 4:05, a new lifetime best. He sits No. 1 and No. 2 in both events in Oregon's record books.
Michael Ferguson, North Buncombe (N.C.): At the NCHSAA 3A Indoor State Championship, Ferguson swept 1600m and 3200m, coming from behind for an epic win in the 1600m. In the longer of the two events, the junior took the win in 9:24.38, just over half of a second ahead of the field. Ferguson followed that up with a lifetime best over 1600m, chasing down the leader to out-lean him at the line. His official time was 4:16.23, the No. 4 time in the state this season and the fastest amongst juniors.
