Girls | Boys

Girls Preview

Sprints/Hurdles

After putting up some big times indoors, Paisley Simmons (TW Andrews) has had a somewhat quiet spring season. The defending 100 and 200 champion appears to be heating up at the right time, though, holding the top seed in both races. Her teammate, Nora McKiver, may be the chief competition in the 200, and McKiver is the two-time defending champion in both hurdle races, as well. That give Andrews a shot at 48 points from those two athletes alone! Nikolete Hurrinus (Cuthbertson) has the best 400 time coming into this weekend, having defeated top returner Jaleesa Smoot (Salisbury) in the regional. Hurrinus will also try to get past the two Andrews girls in the 200, which is shaping up to be one of the best races of the day. Don't count out Tia Glover (St. Paul's) in the 100: she wasn't really tested in her regional, and could have more than she has shown so far.

Distance

One of the biggest questions of this meet centers on defending 1600/800 champion Grace Morken (Carrboro): will her title defense be derailed by her own teammate? Maysa Araba almost beat Grace at the cross country state championship, and did beat her at the regional last weekend in the 1600. Grace is capable of threatening the 5 minute mark if she goes all-out, and if she wins both races it will be the third straight year with double titles for her. Her sister Helen will be battling top-ranked Arden Vessie (Corinth Holders) for the 3200 title, and Callie Wynn (West Davidson) could get in on that action, too. Noteworthy for her absence is Jessica Wallace (First Flight), who took Morken to the wire in both races last spring but has only run once this year; the meet is a little less exciting without her.

Field Events

Every field event has a different girl at the top of the performance list, which should make for an interesting day. The throws will be very competitive, with no clear favorite in either (although Carrboro's Diamond Tyson enters the meet with a slight advantage in the shot put). Ninth-grader Julia Scoles (South Iredell) could be a star in the making, as she has the top mark of any regional qualifier in the long jump. The high jump should be particularly fierce, with 4 girls that cleared 5' 4" at the regional battling for a title. Libby Florence (Cedar Ridge), Hunter Welborn (Starmount), Vanisha Wilshire (Louisburg), and Ashley Parker (Draughn) will have to watch their early misses if they want to get an edge. Ashley Terkhurst (Cuthbertson) is the #1 seed in the pole vault, but the event is tightly clustered at the top and there are at least 3 girls that could win. Teshlyn Smith (South Granville) is the top returner in the triple jump and also has the best mark from the regional meets.

Teams to Watch

Carrboro wasn't pushed in the 4x800 in their regional, and they will be seeded third this weekend, but don't be fooled: they can easily run away with that race, having run 9:35 earlier this year. St. Paul's comes in with the top seed in the 4x100 and 4x200, although the competition is close behind in both races. In terms of team scores, Carrboro has the firepower to win one more team title with this group of seniors, but it might be closer this time. Cuthbertson has enough athletes to make a serious run at the championship. Can T. W. Andrews, powered by two superstars, get into the equation as well? If the meet comes down to the 4x400, Carrboro has the top seed.

Boys Preview

Sprints/Hurdles

James Drummond (Lexington) has been strong in the 200 all season, and it looks like his 100 times are starting to come around now, too. The 100 will be extremely competitive, though, with Marquise Pope (Newton-Conover), Jesse Earnhardt (East Lincoln), and Juwan Crowder (Forest Hills) all within one tenth of Drummond's time. Brian Sessoms (Carver) has an FAT 10.69 from earlier this season, as well, and could be the dark horse. Aaron Hamilton (Northeastern) is the only 400 runner in the meet that ran under 49 last weekend, and that makes him the favorite. In the hurdles, a familiar duo from Cummings dominates the performance list. Isaiah Moore has the top seed in the 110's, while Thomas Jones II is #1 in the 300 (and a close second in the highs, too). These two have pushed each other in every practice and meet for the last two years, and nothing will change this weekend.

Distance

You could bill this meet as "A.J. Tucker vs. North Lincoln" and you wouldn't be far from the mark. Tucker is the top seed in the 1600 and has the best time this season (by far) in the 3200, although he will be seeded 3rd in that race because he was able to cruise at the regional. North Lincoln compensates with numbers as well as talent. Andrew Fea is seeded first in the 800 and second in the 1600, Joshua Mosteller second in the 800 and fourth in the 1600, and the duo of Ryan Shannon and Chris Boyle holds the top two seeds in the 3200. Dominic Collichio (Carrboro, 1600/3200) and Tommy Connell (Brevard, 800) could also contend for titles.

Field Events

Two of the state's best will go toe board-to-toe board in the throws, as Scott Peretin (Carrboro) is the top seed in the shot put and James Rowland (Northside) is ranked first in the discus. Keion Adams (Salisbury) will also be in the hunt for a shot put title, but if those first two guys throw well they will separate from the rest of the discus field. Cummings' Moore is again the top seed in the long jump, and though he only cleared 6' 4" last weekend he is a threat to win the high jump, too. In that event he will be seriously challenged by Chris Wray (Shelby) and Tevin Bates (Greene Central), in what could be a very exciting competition. The triple jump has no clear favorite, with two 44-footers and six more in the 43-foot range, and that makes it anybody's guess as to who will win. In the pole vault, Ethan Smith (Cedar Ridge) has been inconsistent this spring, but he is clearly the best in the state when he is on his game.

Teams to Watch

It's a classic match-up in the projected team competition: North Lincoln's depth in the distances vs. Cummings' two-man power act in the hurdles and field events. Cedar Ridge is close enough to threaten, as well, especially if Tucker takes the 3200. In an interesting twist, it appears that the relays will have very little impact on the team scores, although they will certainly still be exciting. Bunn has an outside chance to win both sprint relays, but they are so competitive that one little bobble could change the whole complexion of the race. Watch out for Lexington, with James Drummond on the anchor, in the 4x100. West Stokes and North Brunswick appear evenly-matched in the 4x400, while Richlands holds the top seed in the 4x800. Cedar Ridge did advance a 4x800, although they are seeded 6th, but North Lincoln decided not to put their top boys in that event at the regional; they might want those points by the end of the day Saturday.