Which Indoor Records Will Fall in 2014?

A small handful of North Carolina athletes are knocking on the door of all-time greatness, but some records are tougher to reach than others.

 

 

5 All-Time North Carolina Records That Might Fall in 2014

  • Boys Long Jump - 24' 7.25" (Marcus O'Neal, Dudley, 1997 and Jarrett Samuels, Evelyn Mack Academy, 2011): Isaiah Moore (Cummings) has an outdoor PR of 24' 8.5", though he has never broken 24 feet indoors.  Right now he is still in the "hard work" phase of his training, and that makes his consistent mid-23's even more impressive.  When he has had some rest and the competition elevates, he will rise to the challenge, as he has in big meets in the past.

  • Girls 1000 - 2:53.85 (MacKenzie Pierce, Forsyth Country Day, 2004): When Blake Dodge (West Carteret) ran 2:08.84 for the 800 last spring, that set the stage for two major goals this school year.  Her 800 time ranks her #2 in North Carolina history behind Pierce's 2:06.67, and so Dodge now has the opportunity to chase both the 1000 and 800 all-time records.  Dodge broke 3 minutes outdoors in her first race of the winter, and she clearly has the foot speed and the ability to push herself (both may be tested before the season is over, if she wants this record).  The chances of this one falling are increased by the presence of Malia Ellington (Community School of Davidson), who clocked 2:59.43 indoors in her first 1000 ever.

  • Girls 500 - 1:13.87 (Tiana Patillo, Wakefield, 2013): With a PR of 1:14.94 from last winter, Layla White (Cary) is by far the closest of the candidates (and she has a shot at the 400 record, as well, having run 54.56 indoors last March).  The level of competition in our state will help her, as there are several strong long sprinters in NC right now; if any of them can reach the 1:15's in the same race, it could propel White below the record.  A girl like Jocelyn Culbreath (Reagan), Erin Morrison (Parkland), or even Dodge (who has run 1:17 outdoors) might fit the bill, and could even have an outside chance at the record herself.  Wouldn't a Dodge/White battle in the 500 be fun to watch?

  • Girls Weight Throw 53' 9.25" (Aslynn Halvorson, Butler, 2009): This event isn't contested very often in our state, but we do have one experienced performer back, and she has a PR of 52' 2".  That's Mohogany Baker, who competes for Higher Power Track Club (she attends Philip O. Berry Academy).  We haven't seen any results for Baker yet this winter, but with less than two feet to gain year-to-year, she has an excellent chance of taking the top spot.

  • Boys 400 - 47.57 (Lamarr Davis, East Wake, 2007):  The boys' 300 and 500 records are incredibly tough to reach (33.84 and 1:02.80 respectively), although we are blessed with a tremendous amount of long-spring talent on the boys' side right now.  That makes this record the most likely target, especially for those that go on to New Balance Nationals Indoors.  Even though he seems to be concentrating on the short sprints right now (and doing very well there), Trentavis Friday (Cherryville) is the state's best returning 400 runner, and his outdoor PR is under 47.  I'm not saying you should count him out from the 300 or 500 records if he turns his mind to them; I'm just saying the 400 is easier to get.  Marquavious Johnson (Knightdale) is also a strong candidate to take over the top spot all-time in this event.

 

10 State Meet Records That Might Fall in 2014

Note: only overall state meet records (the best from all classifications) were considered for the purposes of this article.  The state will be starting two new sets of records this winter for the 3A and the 1A/2A classification.

  • Girls 500 - 1:14.41 (Ebonie Cunningham, Southeast Raleigh, 2007)

  • Girls 1000 - 2:56.70 (Becca Deloache, Myers Park, 2010)

  • Girls 1600 - 5:01.72 (Darby Middlebrook, Watauga, 2012)

  • Girls 3200 - 10:48.48 (Sarah Vance Goodman, TC Roberson, 1998)

  • Girls 4x400 - 3:51.74 (Wakefield, 2012)

  • Boys 55 Dash - 6.21 (Chris Justice, Grimsley, 1996)

  • Boys 4x400 - 3:21.79 (New Bern, 2009)

  • Boys 4x800 - 8:01.07 (Knightdale, 2013)

  • Boys Long Jump - 24' 7.25" (Marcus O'Neal, Dudley, 1997)

  • Boys 300 - 34.49 (Fuqwuan Green, New Bern, 2009)