Even with all of the top-flight North Carolina talent that is entered in this meet, the star of the weekend will definitely be the brand-new facility.  The first dedicated indoor track in our state (North Carolina's facility houses multiple sports), the JDL Fast Track was built with us in mind--athletes, coaches, and spectators of the sport we love.  And since this is the first meet at the facility, every winning performance will set the building record!  That should make for a tremendous atmosphere, regardless of the performances.  Still, the quality of a meet ultimately rests with the quality of the athletes competing, and this one features a great spectrum of our state's best.  You will recognize a lot of the same names from the two meets held at UNC, but a sprinkling of athletes that we haven't seen indoors yet this year adds an element of surprise and hopefully will elevate all of the performances.  The events below stood out to me as the best bets for excitement.

Meet Page

JDL Fast Track Website

Friday Night

Girls' Pole Vault

Sydney White (East Forsyth) is one of the headliners of the meet, and she will no doubt set the original building record high for anyone who comes after her.  Not sure where Sage Proffitt will compete this weekend (the North Buncombe senior is signed up at Virginia Tech as well), but if she is here that makes two of North Carolina's best vaulters ever.

Girls' Triple Jump

At first glance, this might seem like a case of "the usual suspects:" Shemiah Brooks (Southwest Guilford) and Francesca Evans (Cummings) have been on top of several triple jump competitions this year, with Evans' teammate Ro'Daijah Faucette close behind.  What makes this interesting is the addition of Crystan McLemore (Millbrook), who has jumped over 37 feet outdoors this winter.  That makes four girls in excess of 37, and that makes for an interesting event to watch.  Besides, even if the same girls are competing, if they're really good at what they do it's still enjoyable to follow them!

Girls' 3200m Run

This field is highlighted by several girls that NCRunners followers will easily recognize, including three Senior Spotlight athletes from earlier this school year.  Green Hope has stacked the field, with sub-18 5K runner (and new William & Mary commit) Erica Amatori leading the way, while teammates Jessie Rossabi and Sarah Alexander are great runners in their own right.  North Lincoln's Allie Castro has run well in a limited winter schedule so far, while Dakota Foskey (West Johnston) has raced a bit more with equal success; neither of them has run a 3200 against top competition this winter.  Two "upstart" runners who have improved by leaps and bounds this winter--Ashley Brubaker (Reagan) and Chandler Borton (RJ Reynolds) will be seeking to continue their steep rise into the state's elite ranks.  Don't be surprised if the Green Hope teammates work together for much of the race, as they do in cross country, but with her 1600m speed Amatori has the potential to break away near the end and close out the race.

Boys' High Jump

Although state leader Jonathan Addison is not entered in the meet, in some ways that might make this an even more competitive event.  Cole Finch (Weddington) leads all 1A/2A/3A high jumpers at 6' 7", while Spencer Walden (Union Pines) is only one inch behind.  That can lead to the kind of duel that elevates both guys' performances.  Will Bennett (Page) has cleared 6' 4" this winter, and he will be looking to improve that and sneak into the battle for the facility record.

Boys' 55 Hurdles

Once again, many of the same names that we have seen in other indoor meets appear in this race: Isaiah Moore and Thomas Jones II of Cummings, plus Hezekiah Ward (Southeast Guilford).  The addition of two athletes making their indoor debut might increase the interest level, though.  Breze Butler (Pamlico) has a big hand time from a polar bear meet, and he will be trying to show that he can make that time stand up indoors.  Demonte Wilson (Crest) was one of the best in the state last spring, and if he is in shape for his first race of the winter he will be in contention.

Boys' 500m Run

Anytime Brian Davis of Fuquay-Varina takes the track, you can count on a strong performance; if he runs well, he should bring home the win.  The really interesting part, though, is what happens behind him.  There are several good athletes that will be battling each other for top 5 finishes, and that deep field should make for at least 3 strong heats of performances.  Teammates Barry Harris and Hezekiah Ward (Southeast Guilford) have run under 1:07 indoors this year, while Josiah Elliot (Parkland) has done it outdoors.  Claytin Lewis (Word of God Academy) ran 49 for the 400 last spring, and if he is in shape could be an intriguing addition to this race.  Chris Boyd (Ben L. Smith) is also a very interesting entry, as he definitely has the training to range up to 500 along with the speed of a top-flight 200/300 runner.  Don't be distracted by the three unattached times at the top of the performance list; one of them was a mistaken entry, and the other two appear to be overseeded (according to the past history I could find for them on MileSplit).

Saturday:

Girls' 4x800m Relay

What could have been a runaway by the top two teams will actually be a much more competitive race, because Green Hope and Watauga are both running two relays, and both teams have decided to put two equal squads out there instead of stacking their best onto their A team.  That means Broughton should be right in the mix, as well, making this a closer and more exciting event.  Marvin Ridge, West Forsyth, and Pinecrest are all looking to make the leap into the state's elite and could provide each other with a good push.

Girls' 1600m Run

Erica Amatori (Green Hope) will be going for a double win after her aggressive race last night in the 3200, and she will have a solid field to compete with her.  Mattie Blue (Broughton) will run her first 1600 of the winter season after a strong debut in the 1000; Madelin Talbert (South Mecklenburg) has run 5:19 this season and has a PR of 5:02.  Representing the eastern part of the state will be Carmen Hilliard (South Brunswick), who has a 5:16 under her belt this month, and Jentzen Jones (Fike), who ran 5:18 way back in December before dealing with some injury issues.  Amatori's teammate Lauren Colberg is definitely no slouch in the mile, either, having gone 5:16 in a polar bear race.  If you're counting, that makes five girls who have already gone under 5:20 in this race, not to mention the others who have the potential break through.  There are a number of girls in the fast section who could do just that today, including Dakota Foskey (West Johnston), who has been racing well this winter.

Girls' 1000

Maura McDonnell (Green Hope) won this event last weekend at UNC, sitting and kicking with her patented late burst.  The tactical race did not produce a blazing-fast time, though, so here's hoping that someone pushes the pace early.  It will be interesting to see what long-distance specialist Darby Middlebrook (Watauga) can produce in the shorter race; she has run some strong 4x800 legs for her school and has more speed than some give her credit for.  South Meck's Talbert is always in the mix in this event, if her legs aren't too tired from the 1600 earlier in the day; Ashley Brubaker (Reagan) and Chandler Borton (RJ Reynolds) will renew their developing cross-town rivalry while trying to hang with the more-established names in the fast section.  Maggie Harahan (Page) finally broke through the 3:10 barrier a few weeks ago, after an injury last winter derailed her otherwise steady progress in the event.

Girls' 300

This race is very top-heavy, with Briana Haith (Granville Central) and Gabrielle Gray (High Point Central) clearly the class of the field.  The field is deep, though, and so the last 3 or 4 heats should be very competitive races and interesting to watch.  And, of course, we all want to see if Haith can crack the 40-second barrier, which is always a huge accomplishment on a flat track.

Boys' 55 Dash

Once again, a fleet of hand-timed entries lead the entry list, and once again the national leader is buried (this time ranked 8th).  I suspect that, once again, Tevin Hester (Granville Central) will emerge as the champion after all is said and done.  There are a number of legitimate sprinters in this race, even if some of their hand times might be just a bit quicker than what they can duplicate under the FAT eye, and that should make for a good final section.  Watch out for Harvey McSwain II, the defending 3A outdoor champion in the 100 and 200, and it will be interesting to see how Xavier Jones (Ragsdale) does in a rare venture down to the short sprints.  If you filter out all the athletes with hand times that have not competed indoors yet this year, you get a much different picture of the leaders in this event (see below).  If the 6.2 and 6.3 hand-times turn out to be true, then they would be right in the mix for a top-5 spot.

6.35	Tevin Hester	NC Granville Central	2012	01/07/2012	North Carolina HS Opener
6.54	Joseph Horton	NC Knightdale	2012	01/20/2012	Durham Striders Eastern HS Challenge
6.59	Jakara King-Penn	NC Reagan, Ronald W	2015	12/17/2011	Liberty Elite Invitational
6.59	Taris Jackson	NC Berry Academy	2012	01/07/2012	North Carolina HS Opener

Boys' Long Jump

State leader and US #9 Khourtney Whitted (Durham Riverside) is the headliner on the runways that produced strong triple jump results yesterday, and he will be challenged by Cameron Hudson (Berry Academy).  Hudson's best is 22' 1" this winter, but he has cracked the 23-foot barrier in the past and could do so again today.  George Freiberger (Westchester) won the triple jump last night, and I know he wants to gete past 22 feet after being close many times. 

Boys' 4x800

It appears that Mount Tabor is not running their best team, as they entered this race at a time 16 seconds below their state-leading 8:14.  If so, then that puts them right in the same range as Weddington and Marvin Ridge, and that should make the race fun to watch.  Several more teams have sub-8:30 potential, including Northern Guilford, Providence, Watauga, and West Henderson.

Boys' 1600m Run

Jacob Sears (Panther Creek) has only raced sparingly this winter, and this will be his first indoor race of the season.  It seems unlikely that he will run his all-time PR, but he is certainly strong and will be near the front of the race.  Josh Copus (Mount Tabor) has the fastest time this season of anyone in this race, while Jordan Marsh (Reagan) brought home an impressive time in the 3200 last night.  Broughton's Sam Roberson, like Sears, is running his first 1600 of the winter, as is Jeremy Gower (West Johnston).  There are a lot of talented runners in the race, but there is also a lot of uncertainty here, and that makes the outcome a bigger mystery than usual.

Boys' 1000m Run

The presence of Thomas Graham (Cary Academy), North Carolina's top long-distance runner, makes this an interesting race.  Although this is a little shorter than his normal race selection, Thomas is sharpening up for his race in the New Balance Grand Prix next weekend, where he will be in the featured high school mile (more on that next week).  Developing speed was one of his stated goals for this year, so this will be a great measuring-stick for him.  Graham faces three of the top 10 runners in this event for North Carolina: Alec Lane (Marving Ridge), Tommy Schotzinger (Cardinal Gibbons), and Richard Miller (Millbrook).