A look at the 1A/2A/3A NCHSAA Boy's State Championship. (as of 2/1/07)
There looks to be a number of teams who have a chance in winning this meet. In my opinion, Parkland, TC Roberson, Nash Central, Asheville, and North Rowan look to be at the top. Parkland could win both relays and do very well in the 55-500m run. TC Roberson will score many points in the distance events, but also have athletes spread throughout the other events. Nash Central looks to have athletes everywhere, with 2 of the top 4 seeds in the 500m. Asheville is very strong in the field events with Isaiah Thompson jumping well. They will also score points in the distance events, so they could be tough. Finally, North Rowan looks very tough in the hurdles and the jumps.
In the sprints, Bryce Sherman, a transfer to Carver, has only run one race and has the fastest seed time. There are only 5 athletes listed in the 55m, and Sherman and Dominique Tate are both from Carver. Big points for them. In the 300m, Pakland has the top 2 seeds, Jarrell Elliot & Charles Lindsay, This race will probably be won with a time of 35.7ish as a number of athletes are flirting with the 36.00 barrier. Handy Dawes of Nash Central leads the way in the 500m with a quick 1:05.54. This looks to be a 3-man race with Handy, Mike Eddy of Asheboro, and Jarrell Elliott of Parkland. These 3 are the only athletes are 2 seconds faster than the next best. Nash Central and Parkland both have 2 athletes seeded in the 5.
In the distance events, similar names to the XC season will be popping up. Thomas Young of Reagan has been running very well this indoor season. His 2:36.16 from the Virginia Tech meet leads the way in the 1000m run. Stephon Roach of Reidsville is the #2 seed with a 2:37 seed time from a polar bear meet. They are the only two with times under 2:40, but look for Sean Sewell of Cardinal Gibbons and Drew Tucker of West Stokes (last years 800m state champ, 1:52) to lead a challenge from others. The 1600m should be a good race. Kevin Wanichko of Southern Nash looks to challenge the top seed, Thomas Young, and push for a sub-4:30 performance. Josh Dubin of TCR ran 4:35 in the cold on 1/31, with 2nd place running 4:53. There are other big names in the race, Andrew North of Asheville, Daniel Hamilton of Franklin, Zachary Bryan of Reidsville, and a couple Mooresville guys. The winner should be right at the 4:30 mark, give or take a few seconds. In my opinion, the 3200m will be one of the more exciting races. Patrick Campbell of Mooresville and Jonathan Sunde of Charlotte Catholic will be fresh for the race while the other top seeds will be coming off the 1600m. Again, most of the top XC runners can be found in this mix. Look for the race to be tactical to start and then the pace begin to quicken throughout.
North Rowan's Phillip Bush & John Bostick lead the way in the 55m hurdles. Phillip won the Wally Gilbert Invitation early in the season. The obvious point to make here is, North Rowan and Parkland, 2 team contenders, will be scoring big points.
Parkland leads the way in the 4x400 and with their top 300m and 500m runners, look for this seed to stand. Nash Central should push a bit in the 4x400 as well. TC Roberson has the top time in the 4x800. They ran 8:19 at the Clemson meet. Parkland could battle TCR for the top spot, but with all the depth that TCR has in the 1000m, I'd say they win this one by 5 seconds or so.
Isaiah Thompson of Asheville will be a leader in each of the jumps. Hopefully he doesn't loose any spring with all the jumping he will be doing. His jump of 6' 6" from V-Tech leads the way with Derrick Ross of Union Pines. The high jump could be a good one with 5 athletes within 2 inches of one another. The long jump is actually led by Phillip Bush of North Rowan. He jumped 23-2 at the Clemson meet, but it isn't updated on the entry list. He and Isaiah could push for one of the top jumps in the US. The boy's triple jump could push the 45' mark. Jamel Allison of Mooresville was the 3A state champ last year, but is only seeded 8th. Cordell Livingston of SW Guilford looks to challenge Isaiah for the win.
The pole vault has two 14' vaulters in Zach Smith of Ragsdale and Ryan Oakes of White Oak. Kent England of Asheville and Evan Sandling will definitely be in the mix as well. This is one of my favorite events to watch.
Adrian Little of Farmville Central leads the way in the shot put with his 55-8.25. He is the obvioius favorite here, but Jason Roberts of SW Guilford will definitely want to pull off the upset. He has thrown multiple 52' throws this season.