Boys Open Events
As with the girls, the field events are going to be extremely competitive for the boys this weekend. In the Shot Put, we should see a duel between two guys chasing the 60-foot standard this year in Austin Harrison (West Forsyth) and Joshua Sobota (Bearden TN). Three of the field events lack national-caliber top seeds - and both of those events are going to be extremely competitive. In the Pole Vault there is a clear favorite, Jacob Sobota (Bearden TN); he has cleared 15 feet in the past. Behind him, though, is a logjam of nearly equal seeds, with 3 jumpers in the 13's and another 4 in the 12's. The entries in the Triple Jump are even more bunched: Tyrek Funderburk (Metrolina Christian) and Tyler Webber (Lower RIchland SC) are in the 44-foot range, and there are 6 jumpers entered between 42' and 43' 3". The most hotly contested of these could be the Long Jump, where a whopping 10 athletes are seeded between 21' and 22' 9", led by Webber and Ezekiel Hokett (North Mecklenburg).
Charles Hicks (Bolles) is the top seed in the 3200 with his PR of 9:17.96, followed by a trio of North Carolina runners: Ben Mitchell (Forsyth Country Day), Dakota Mendenhall (Forbush), and Landon Maxwell (East Gaston). In the 1600, Loudoun Valley teammates Colton Bogucki and Peter Morris both have PR's of 4:21, giving him the favorite status over Wynn Johnson (Dorman SC) and Todd Holbrook (R.J. Reynolds). Loudoun Valley also has a top contender in the 1000 in Jacob Hunter, although Pigues is the favorite if he stays in the race (he might withdraw to focus on the 800 after running a NC #1 time last weekend). Haywood Ferguson (South Mecklenburg) and Joel Shores (Southeast Guilford) could also contend, along with several other sub-2:40 entrants.
One of the interesting things about this time of year in North Carolina is seeing which sprinters can make the transition from "Polar Bear" competition to indoor and still hang. Athletes can put up big times in the 55 Dash running against hand-held stopwatches, but FAT shows the true story. Take, for example, Ahmad Ellis (Berry Academy): he has run a 6.44 converted hand time outdoors, and still runs pretty well indoors (6.58 in December). If he can break 6.50 this weekend, we'll know he's the real deal. Cameron Council (Northwood), on the other hand, clocked a 6.46 indoors last weekend, earning himself favorite status in this race and also a spot in the Elite 60. Julius Norman (Lincoln FL) could also be a contender, as his 7.16 60 time converts to mid- 6.50's for the 55. When it comes to the 300 Dash, the big deal is the wider curves outdoors, which allow for faster speed in the turn when compared to an indoor track. Mikel Locklear (Hoke) is a good example - we can see how his outdoor 35.74 holds up on the tighter indoor oval. Likewise for Emerson Douds (Weddington), who is running his first indoor 300 of the season this weekend. Amir Ali (New Manchester GA) bears watching; he is seeded in the 34's, and has run near-PR 200 and 400 times so far this winter. If Kokayi Cobb (Christ School) stays in the 500 he will be the favorite, but he might opt out to save for the Elite 400. He has run a legit 1:05.45 indoors, which sets him apart from several out-of-state runners that are entered at 1:05 but haven't got the resume to prove they can run it.
Can Cary pull off a relay triple this weekend? They will take on Bolles School (running as Bulldog TC) in the 4x800 Friday night, with Panther Creek, Mooresville, and Myers Park also contending in a race that could go back and forth several times. The Imps could also win in the 4x200, where they are currently NC #5 (but with an outdoor time). West Forsyth also has a fast outdoor time, whereas Weddington has a nearly equal time from an indoor meet - which makes the Warriors the likely favorites. On the other hand, Cary is definitely proven in the 4x400, where they ran an NC #2 time of 3:29.57 indoors just last weekend. That will make it hard for someone like Hoke or Butler to knock them off in the meet's final race.