Boys Distance
Boys 1000
Patrick Dougherty (IMG Academy, Florida) enters with the top seed of 2:35, but since Florida does not compete indoors he's never competed in the event. He does have a 1:58.79 and a 4:36 1600 on his resume though. Davis Turner (Asheville) has been strong this indoor season running a 4:38.35 for the full Mile a few weeks ago. He seems to have much more potential in the 1000 than his 2:40 PR and should contend for the win in this field. Rontrel Fenton (South View) holds the best PR in the field with a 2:35 from his sophomore season, but was not near that in his season debut. Caleb Silver (Smithfield-Selma) had a strong cross country season and will look to continue that on the track.
Boys 1600
This seems to be the strongest field out of the three distance event for the boys at the Eastern Challenge this year. Kyle Fawzi (Panther Creek) has proven his fitness early this season with a 1:57 800 split and a 4:29 1600. Stuart Holmes (Broughton) had strong anchor leg on Broughton's 4x800 last Friday at JDL and it looks like he will be fresh heading into the 1600 this Saturday. Laderique McNeill (Harnett Central) has cut a ton of time off his 1600 already this season going from a 4:50s runner to a 4:30 runner. He could be big surprise as he competes against a strong field. Luke Gostling and Tucker Cera (Millbrook) were running fantastic early in the cross country season, but both seemed to suffer injuries holding them back in the post season. Ares Epps (Green Hope) has recently moved from Knightdale and will look for a strong debut in a Green Hope uniform.
Boys 3200
Caleb Petty (Leesville Road) came on very strong at the end of the cross country season and holds a 9:35 converted 3200 PR from 2 weeks ago at the VA Showcase. Haven Honeycutt (Asheville) looks to be doubling back from the 4x800 and has certainly proven himself over the longer distances after taking 4th place at the 3A XC State Championships. Behind them their should be a slew of boys contending to break the 10 minute barrier and qualify for the NCHSAA State Championships.