Ariah Graham and her Wakefield teammates continue to amaze in their quest for a national legacy.

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Girls

Sprints & Hurdles

Gabrielle Gray (High Point Central, right) is the defending 100m champion and posted an 11.63 time in the summer that makes her one of the top 10 returners in the nation, according to the MileSplit database.  The New Balance Indoor finalist in the 60m dash also made a lot of progress in the 300 this winter, and that could signal a move toward the low 24's in the 200 this spring.  Alexis Murphy (Apex) is the top returner in the 200 and no slouch in the 100, while Olicia Sharp (Wakefield) is also a contender in both the 100 and the 200.  Markia Franklin (Southern Durham) blasted onto the scene in the 100 last year, and she holds the #2 spot in the 100, but watch out for Wakefield's J'Den Williams, who had a very strong winter.  Aalayah Faulcon (Southern Durham) had the top 400 time in 4A last spring, but Ariah Graham (Wakefield, above) has already posted a sub-54 time this winter.  Graham and teammate Tiana Patillo finished 1-2 in the national rankings for the 500 this year, and their depth gives them the luxury of focusing each runner on one or two individual events; that, in turn, strengthens their relays.  Based on returning marks, it looks like Mollie Williams (Clayton) and Tyler Brockington (Dudley) are going to battle it out in the hurdle races, although Brockington had a better winter season; Alvonna Blakney (West Mecklenburg), already a strong 300 hurdler, showed off some great skill over the high hurdles indoors.

Distance

These events are so incredibly competitive, it's hard to decide who to preview!  Coming out of the winter, the top 800 candidates are Jennie Cunningham (Pinecrest), Maura McDonnell (Green Hope), and Mattie Blue (Broughton), but don't forget about defending champion Shelby Howell (New Hanover).  Howell did not run in the winter, but did improve quite a bit in cross country season over her previous times.  In the 1600, Millbrook's Sammy George (left) is the two-time defending champion, and she also had the best times in the winter; she always seems to get there when the state championship comes around.  There were five other girls at 5:02 or faster, which could signal a race this spring with at least six girls under the 5 minute barrier.  Darby Middlebrook (Watauga) posted the #2 indoor 1600, and she also was the only 4A runner to break the 11-minute mark in the 3200.  Anna McBride (Davie) returns to defend her 2011 outdoor and 2012 indoor titles in the 3200, and you should not underestimate her speed, which could make her a 1600 contender if she chooses to put more emphasis there.  Sydney Foreman (Ardrey Kell) broke 11 last s[ring, and has already broken that barrier again this spring, which is a significant improvement on her pace from this time last year.  As if that weren't enough, thre girls vaulted themselves into the mix this winter with enormous improvements: Ashley Brubaker (Reagan), Megan Sullivan (Broughton), and Erica Amatori (Green Hope) all ran 5:04 or faster this winter.  Whew!  Can't wait for the state meet.

Field Events

Brianna Tate (Grimsley) is the only 4A returner to have broken 40 feet, although Carthenia Brown (Lumberton) was hard on her heels last spring.  Alyssa Dunn (Enloe) is the top returning discus thrower, with Breanna Warren (Western Guilford) close behind, and both of them are top-flight shot-putters as well.  If you've been following the performances this winter, the long and triple are filled with familiar names: Shemiah Brooks (Southwest Guilford, right) is the top returner in both events, with Jordan's Alexis Perry and Dudley's Achsah Brice second in the long and triple, respectively.  Wakefield's Graham is a bit of an enigma here, as she did pop a 19-foot jump this winter, but also seemed to show less emphasis on the event than she did in the past.  Also, Darlene Girardeau (South View) showed the potential to contend in the long jump with strong performances this winter.  Jordan's Perry has already staged several battles with Pinecrest's Hannah Hensley over the past year or so, and if both can stay healthy they should do so one last time for the state title on May 19th.  Sydney White (East Forsyth) is not quite done rewriting the record books in the pole vault, but she certainly needs to keep an eye on rising star Kristen Lee (Wakefield), who comes out of the winter season only 4 inches behind. 

Teams to Watch

Not much mystery here, as the Wakefield girls are poised to dominate once again.  They do have some young, returning talent, but they also have a strong class of seniors planning to finish their careers in style, and the rest of us can only enjoy watching the heights they reach.  As was the case in the winter, it looks like Dudley has the inside track on second place, although Southwest Guilford, Southern Durham, Apex, Green Hope, Watauga, and Broughton all have enough firepower to make a run at the team podium.

Virtual Meet: Returning Girls

(Subscribers only, using 2011 performances in the MileSplit database)

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Boys

Sprints & Hurdles

With the early graduation of Millbrook's Keith Marshall, the boys' sprints are absolutely wide open.  Contenders in the 100 could include Joseph Horton (Knightdale), Aaron Tindall (Olympic), Da'Quan Smalls (Knightdale), indoor 55m champ Jermaine Lewis (West Forsyth), or Broughton teammates Caleb Gabriel and Chris Mangus.  Smalls could end up battling Chris Boyd (Ben L Smith) and Xavier Jones (Ragsdale, left) in the 200.  The 4A classification is ripe for a newcomer to steal the show, and there just so happens to be a candidtate: Wake Forest-Rolesville freshman Bryce Love is a national age-group record holder in the 100, 200, and 400 with PR's of 10.73, 21.81, and 48.27 (all achieved before injuries ended his summer track season prematurely).  Ragsdale's Jones is the top returner in the 400, with Fuquay-Varina's Brian Davis (the indoor 500m champion) and Southeast Raleigh's Jamaree Murray close behind.  The hurdles are equally wide open in this classification, with no clear preseason favorite; Hezekiah Ward (Southeast Guilford) and Erin Jenkins (Z. B. Vance) are ranked in the top 3 in both events, while Jordan Javadi (Providence) holds down a narrow lead in the returning 110 rankings, and Matthew Foster (Jordan) is a close #3 in the 300.

Distance

Craig Engles (Reagan) holds the returning #1 ranking in both the 1600 and the 3200, and he posted a 1600 time that was 10 seconds faster than any other 4A runner this winter, while also showing enough speed to contend in the 800.  Sam Roberson (Broughton) established himself as the favorite in the 3200 with his state-leading 9:08 from the indoor season.  Bakri Abushouk (Cary) is always a threat in both of those races, and there are already 7 guys under 9:40 and 10 under 4:30 from the winter season.  The wild card in the distances is Mark Blackmon (West Charlotte, right), who has declared his intentions to train harder all year (including during basketball season), which definitely paid off in winning the 4A cross country title.  I predict Blackmon will be a force in the mid-distances this spring.  If Engles decides to run the 800 at the state meet, he will face a strong field that should include Blackmon, as well as defending 4A champ Carl Walton, jr (Northwest Guilford) and Clay Jones (Fuquay-Varina).  Watch out for Richard Miller (Millbrook), who ran 2:32 for the 1000 and has already posted a 4:18 to take the early state lead in the 1600 this spring.  

Field Events

Austin Vegas (East Forsyth, left) will be hard to unseat in his pursuit for an outdoor title to go with his indoor championship; he is currently a full foot ahead of his nearest competitor, Reid Harris (Watauga).  Likewise for Jonathan Addison (Enloe), whose 6' 10" leap indoors (and New Balance Indoor  Nationals championship) put him in the driver's seat for the high jump.  Jaylon Holt (Southeast Raleigh) is the only other returner to have cleared 6' 8".  Khourtne Whitted (Riverside) is the leading returner from both last spring and this winter in the long jump, although Addison has been a threat in that event, and two other jumpers have cleared 23 feet: Dyron Jones (Hillside) and Diondre Butler (Jack Britt).   Southeast Raleigh's Holt leads a wide-open triple jump field that has at least three legitimate challengers, including Theodore Brown (Garner), Channing Stribling (Butler), and Austin Drake (Independence).  Jon Beyle (East Chapel Hill) is the #2 returner in the shot put and discus based on marks from last spring, but his improvement to 56 feet this winter makes him the preseason favorite in the shot.  Tommy Burns (AC Reynolds) is the #1 returner in that event, while John Galarde (Hoggard) tops the discus list.  Jalen Peterkin (Southern Durham) threw farther this winter than any returning 4A athletes did last spring, so he will be right in the mix, as well.

Teams to Watch

As opposed to the girls' team battle, which has a clear favorite, the boys' championship is completely up for grabs.  The virtual meet gives the early nod to Reagan, but since relays' aren't included in that scoring, there are many unknowns right now.  A virtual score of only 30 points means this is anybody's game, and contenders include Broughton, Fuquay-Varina, Butler, Southeast Raleigh, Enloe, Mount Tabor, and indoor co-champions Knightdale  and Southeast Guilford.

Virtual Meet: Returning Boys

(Subscribers only, using 2011 performances in the MileSplit database)

Support NCRunners' coverage, and get 24-7 access to both the state and national databases!

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