Terry Sanford has been running well this season and they will be trying to claim the title of having the best sprint relays in the state this Saturday.
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Sprint Relays - Distance Relays - Premier Races - Field Events
Sprint Relays - Distance Relays - Premier Races - Field Events
Boys
Sprint Relays
Terry Sanford has run the fastest 4X100, 4X200, and 4X400 relays of any team entered. They should be considered the favorite in those events, but Apex won both the 4X100 and 4X200 at the Carolina Relays earlier this year, and they will be in contention this Saturday. Green Hope and Grimsley will also be competitive in the 4X400m. The 1600m SMR is tipped in favor of Green Hope, Apex, or even Broughton because they can back up their solid sprint legs with an 800m leg around 2-flat.
Distance Relays
Broughton and Cardinal Gibbons are the favorites in the 4X800, 4X1600, and DMR, and Green Hope should be right there with them. However, it is unclear which athletes will run in each relay, and because of this some relays will be more loaded with talent than others. This would allow a team like Apex to swoop in and capture a title if one of those three teams should falter. In fact, Panther Creek has already run an 8:09 4X800 this season and should be fighting for the win regardless of who they face.
Premier Races
None of the guys in the Premier 100m have posted any stand-out performances this outdoor season, but Raul Oquendo, Jonathan Avery, Tyri Beard, and Tyler Cook all ran under 11 seconds last year. Expect one of them to emerge as the victor on Saturday. Emmanuel Jackson is the best returning hurdler in the state and should easily pull away from the competition in the 110h.
Connor Peeples has already run a 4:17 mile and a 1:55 800m this season and is certainly the favorite in the 1600m. Henry Pehr leads a pack of athletes crowded around 4:30 this season that will be fighting for a podium position and potentially a sub-4:20 clocking.
Field Events
Drew Pederson, Michael Utecht, and Ian West finished 1, 2, 3 respectively in the pole vault at the Carolina Relays two weeks ago. They will most likely be the top 3 again in some order, but Pederson and Utrecht will want the pride of winning at their home high school. Ryan Davis will be looking to establish himself as the top overall thrower in the state at this meet. He will be greatly challenged by Iyin Battle in the Discus, as well as by Daniel Ligons and Alex Williams in the shot put. They all sit atop the North Carolina rankings in their respective events.
The best triple jump athletes have yet to jump this outdoor season, but Charleston High and Jonte Leason both jumped over 45ft indoors. Leason has also consistently jumped over 6-6 in the high jump and will be the favorite in that event as well.
Girls
Sprint Relays
I cannot come up with another way to spin this: Parkland will (barring disaster) dominate the 4X100 and 4X200. Don't think that Parkland will have a walk in the park in the longer sprint relays, as Cary will challenge them in the 4X400 and 800m SMR. Those will be two of the best competitions of the meet. Not to be overlooked, Rocky River and Leesville Road had solid 4X400 teams all indoor season and have continued posting good times the past few weeks.
Distance Relays
Was anyone else super impressed by Carrboro's 9:32 4X800 time they posted to start out the season? A replication of that performance may be good enough to win on Saturday. However, the girls from Leesville Road and Cary should put up a formidable challenge to Carrboro in the 4X800. Carrboro can also be competitive in the 4X1600 and DMR, but those events will instead favor deep squads like that of Cardinal Gibbons, Green Hope, and even Chapel Hill.
Premier Races
Sydnei Murphy ran 12.09 in cold conditions last Saturday and will be looking to win the 100m in front of a home crowd this Saturday. Nevertheless, as the reigning state champion in the 100m, Katlin Sherman is the favorite to take home the title at the Apex Relays. She also has recorded the only sub-12 100m this season using FAT. It is always exciting to see how fast Ebony Williams can run in the 100h--she should comfortably pull away from the field on Saturday.
Ryen Frazier will look to maintain her grip on the title of the best distance runner in the state on Saturday by winning 1600m. She has made a habit of running solo sub-4:50 miles recently, and that could pull Malia Ellington along to her first sub-4:50 time ever. Maysa Araba and Elly Henes will be leading the rest of the pack in hopes of clocking their first time under 5 this season.
Field Events
Apex should have a good day in the field events. Apex's Anna Eaton is the only girl in the state to jump 13ft in the pole vault and her teammate Zoe Early is seeded second, having jumped 12ft this season. Sydnei Murphy of Apex is the only girl in the long jump to consistently jump over 19ft. There are other girls like K'Lynn Beal who have jumped over 18ft, but their jumps have been somewhat inconsistent all season. Beal is also a contender in the triple jump, having jumped over 37ft indoors, but the favorite in that event is Nateja Hale who has had a stronger start to her outdoor season.
