Champions Tune-Up Recap

For the second straight year, Trent Friday stole the show - and this time he also claimed the top spot in the national rankings.

 

Though the pre-race coverage on NCRunners focused heavily on the girls' 800, given the depth of the talent in that race, it was Trentavis Friday that took over the show on Saturday night with two amazing performances.  First, he rolled through an incredibly smooth 100 meters as though he was just gliding through a practice run, making it even more stunning when his time of 10.17 was announced.  That makes him US #1 this season by a full tenth of a second, and also ranks him NC #2 All-Time and US #6 All-Time.  As the sun set and the temperatures dropped, the conversation centered around whether Friday could run something in the 20.60 range, moving him into second in state history in that event, as well.  It was clear from the start of the 200, though, that something special was happening.  Despite the cooler temperatures (around 75 at race time) and a track surface that isn't particularly fast, Friday clocked 20.33 for another US #1, this time by 0.22 over the second-best effort so far this season.  The time fell 0.01 seconds short of the all-time state record, leaving Trent as NC #2 All-Time and US #7 All-Time.  He's not done yet, either - Friday plans to run the 200 at New Balance Nationals, then wants to go on to World Juniors in Oregon.