Two of NC's best will travel over 2,000 miles to participate in races that will take less than 25 seconds combined, and they will be right in the mix in two highly competitive events.
Two North Carolina stars are taking very long trips to run very short races this weekend. Sun Valley sprinter Kadarius Lotharp and Sanderson hurdler Emmanuel Jackson are headed to Seattle this weekend for the Brooks PR Invitational. Lotharp actually has the fastest time in the field at 10.35, although that was with a 3.5 tailwind; Xavian Marks (George Ranch TX) has a legal 10.39 that probably makes him the slight favorite. With 6 competitors in the race that have broken 10.50 at some point this season, Lotharp should be pushed more than he was at the 3A state meet. Jackson is in a similar position in the 110 Hurdles, where the top 7 entries are between 13.53 and 13.87. It's an ideal position for him to build on his big race at the 4A state meet and move up from his current US #8 ranking. The top seed in the hurdles is Amere Lattin (Fort Bend Marshall TX), but his PR of 13.53 came last summer; this season, his best is 13.74, which means this race is absolutely wide open.