A look at the boy\'s 4A state meet.
This meet should be great. I will go out on a limb here and say, \"Expect some of the top indoor performances in the country.\" Ok, that really isn\'t a risk, that is an obvious statement since we have names such as: Trenton Guy Jr., Edward Alexander, Johnny Dutch, Austin Davis, LaMarr Davis, Anthony Hendrix, Kelvin Hardesty, Dylan Ferris, and Spencer Adams.
The team champion . . . I believe New Bern is the favorite as they are spread out among multiple events and will finish highly in most of them. They should score in both relays, the 55-1000m, TJ, SP, and possibly others. West Charlotte will definitely be in the mix. The sprints are their bread and butter. They will score a lot of points thands to Guy, Alexander, and not to be forgotten about, Demario House. We\'ll see how far the 4x400 and sprints can take them. RJ Reynolds is another team who has potential to finish high. Charlton Rolle will score a lot of points as he is extremely talented. Vance is the 4th team I see up towards the top. They have sprinters, they have hurdlers, they have Alex Wiggan in the 1600, and they have some field event athletes. However, these kids are on the border line of scoring in almost every event. They will need to come through. I\'d love to see it come down to the 4x400 with New Bern and West Charlotte having to win the event to win the title.
The sprints - can you say \"West Charlotte\"? Trenton Guy Jr. leads the US in the 55m and has already won on this track. His own teammate may be his biggest competition, as Edward Alexander is the 3rd ranked 55m runner in the country. Chris Culliver of Garner has run fast outdoors and handtimed, so we will see if his 6.24 seed time is legit. This field is loaded and should be very exciting and very fast! The 300m will feature some of the same names. Guy just ran 34.17 on the banked track at V-Tech, losing to Sean Holston of VA who ran the fastest time in the US. He has won on this track in 34.99. In that race he barely held off Antonio Sales of East Chapel Hill who ran 35.07. There are more times in the 34\'s but all of them were run on an outdoor track. The 500m should also be very exciting and very fast. LaMarr Davis won at the Eastern HS Challenge in 1:04.85. That is the 2nd fastest time in the US on a flat track. Anthony Hendrix lost to LaMarr on that day, but ran the 5th fastest time in the US. Then last weekend, 2 new names popped up, as Miles Walker of Providence and Ian Williamson of Green Hope went 1, 2 at the Virginia Tech meet. Their times rank #1 and #2 in the US on a banked track. So, as you can see, this field is loaded. Not to mention, Clinton Peguese of West Charlotte who has run 1:05.2 outdoors and is on their very fast 4x400 team. Can they get close to 1:04 flat?
The boy\'s 1000m should be fun. Dylan Ferris of East Forsyth won at V-Tech last weekend with the #2 time ever run by a NC athlete. His time of 2:30.91 also ranks him #5 in the US right now. Anthony Hendrix of New Bern comes in as the #2 seed but has already run 1:55 in the 800 this season. I see this race being a battle with both guys gutting it out and giving the crowd an incredible finish. John Curtiss of Providence is no slouch as he ran 2:35.03 at V-Tech last weekend. His time puts him #13 on the All-Time NC list. The 1600m run looks to be all Dakota Lowery. With Dylan Ferris not signed up for the 1600 it really opens the door for Lowery to win going away. Dakota is only seeded 4th with a 4:30, but has run 4:21 for a true mile, a 4:19 converted 1600m. The race should be for 2nd place here between John Curtiss, Greg Dame of Mount Tabor, and Nick Graw of Enloe, only a 9th grader. The 3200 looks to be where the XC runners can be found. Sam Mordecai, Greg Dame, Ross Hughes, Andy Wacker, Dakota Lowery, Ryan Kaat, and Charlie McGoogan were all big names during the XC season. Only 2 of these guys have broken 10:00 but there is no way that is the case after this race is over with. Look for the winner to run somewhere around the 9:40 mark. I\'m going to leave this one alone as far as picking a winner goes.
The boy\'s 55m hurdles should be a no-brainer as the fastest high school 55m hurdler EVER is in this race. Johnny Dutch of Clayton HS set a new National Record at UNC, running 7.07. It\'s crazy to think that he will easily win this event when Bulter\'s Spencer Adams is the 3rd fastest 55m in the US this indoor season. However, his 7.33 is nowhere near Dutch\'s 7.07. Reynolds has 2 top hurdlers themselves and will be needing big points here, Charlton Rolle & Korel Mack will look to help Reynolds out in this event.
As I said before, I\'d love to see the meet come down to the 4x400. West Charlotte and New Bern didn\'t get to race eachother at the Eastern HS Challenge, but New Bern ended up winning out of the 2nd heat. West Charlotte ran 3:20.9 at a polar bear meet at Independence HS . . . that\'s fast! There are other teams in this event though, look for Sanderson, SE Raleigh, Wakefield, Reynolds and Vance to roll, too. The 4x800 should be fun as well. Providence HS ran 8:16 at V-Tech which was a good bit faster than what they ran at UNC earlier. Southeast Raleigh ran 8:21 at the Eastern HS Challenge which was the fastest NC time of the day. I hope we can see something around 8:10 for the win, but we\'ll see.
The high jump is led by Brandon Wiggins of B.L. Smith. His 6\' 4\" clearnace is 2 inches better than 7 others listed at 6\' 2\", so I\'d say this one is up in the air. Austin Davis of Northern Durham will look to sweep the horizontal jumps. He should have an easier time in the triple jump, as he is one of the best in the country with his 47\' 11.5\" mark at the Eastern HS Challenge. New Bern\'s Rashad Dobie is the #2 seed in the triple but 2 feet behind. Close behind him is Ashspon Forrest of Independence with his 45\' 8.5\". They are the only other 2 over the 45\' barrier. In the long jump, Davis is the #2 seed. The #1 seed goes to Reynolds\' Charlton Rolle with his jump of 22\' 11.5\". There are 5 guys who have jumped over 22\' in the long jump. These guys are flying.
The pole vault should be a good competition. Scott Houston of NW Guilford won at the Eastern HS Challenge with a clearance of 14-6. Macey Ruble of Watauga has cleared 14\' and Maverick Miles of South Rowan and Tyler Benton of Pincrest have both been over 13-6. I\'m looking forward to this one.
Finally, the shot put\'s #1 seed is John Sabacinski of Myers Park. He threw 48\' 7.5\" back in December, so we\'ll see what he\'s got in February. Mark Blackeney of Vance is the only other thrower who has gone over 48\' this season. I\'m sure we\'d all like to see 50\'.