1A/2A/3A Boys Indoor Preview
Photos by Mark Keenen
The team title could go to a number of teams . . . Parkland has talent in the sprints and middle distance, Mooresville has field and distance, Carver has sprints and jumps, Asheville has a few elite athletes with winning possibilities. This should be an exciting meet and could come down to the final lap of the 4x400.
Shot Put
This competition is going to be great! Five athletes have thrown over 50’ this indoor season, so expect the champ to have to come up with something special. Jake Deaton of Mooresville leads the way, followed closely by Kencie Brewer of Southern Guilford. Kencie is the top returnee from last year’s indoor championships. Kenneth Rowland of Jacksonville, Donald Pollack of Goldsboro, and Hakeem Vinson of South Johnston are all over 50 feet.
Long Jump
With the top 3 jumpers within 2.5 inches of one another, look for this event to also be heavily contested. The top 10 are within about 8 inches of one another, so one big leap and anyone could take the win. The top 3 entries are: Cody Earnhardt of East Lincoln, Caleb Lucas of South Johnston, and Jamel Allison of Mooresville. This is truly anyone’s event, and Mooresville and South Johnston will truly need these points as they compete for the team title.
Triple Jump
Similar schools are at the top of the triple jump, but with slightly different names. East Lincoln’s Josh McCray is the only athlete to get out past the 45’ mark. Seeded second, is South Johnston’s Dee Williams, only a sophomore, with a mark of 44-5. The only familiar name in the top 3 is Jamel Allison. He will want to improve upon his effort at last year’s meet where he fouled out of the competition. Again, look for Jamel to be smart, as Mooresville will need his points.
High Jump
The high jump is another field event up for grabs. Dusty Kenealy of Rockingham County has jumped 6-6 this season, but so has Bunker Hill’s Centrail Williamson. Look for the win to come from one of these athletes, as the next group has cleared 6-2.
Pole Vault
The pole vault has the most entries in the field events with twenty-one athletes. The number one seed is Logan Shearer of Southern Lee, who has already won in the Eddie Field House once this year. There are 7 athletes within a foot of one another, so look for this win to be in the air as well.
55m Hurdles
The top 2 seeds belong to North Rowan athletes, John Bostick and Deshaun Barger. John was one of the top hurdlers last year, but I haven’t seen any results from him this winter. Deshaun is only a 9th grader, so he is a big unknown. Michael Simmerson from Owen has had a great indoor season, placing at the top of both NC indoor meets. He has already run 7.64 at the Eddie Smith Fieldhouse. Jacobi Jenkins of Rocky Mount has run 7.74 indoors and will be in contention as well.
55m Dash
Giovanni McKnight of Asheville ran incredibly at the Eastern High School finishing 2nd overall in a very impressive time of 6.39. He is the favorite here, as he has defeated the majority of the competition already. The #2 seed, Darryl Williams of White Oak, is a very accomplished sprinter in his own right, with a 10.91 100m personal best. Don’t count out Dominique Tate of Carver either.
4x800m Relay
Well, this is going to be interesting as Mooresville comes in with the top time in 8:11. They ran this at the V-Tech Invitational, but the 4 athletes listed on the performance list are not the 8:11 crew. Asheville, the #3 seed, doesn’t seem to have their A team either; they are without both Presson and Harwell. So, could this be Parkland’s race? Looks like it.
1600m Run
Mooresville’s Patrick Campbell leads this talented group with a 4:16 (true mile), ranked 15th in the US. He looks to be a step above the rest of the field, but the race still has to be run. Asheville sophomores, Isaac Presson & John Harwell, are the next two seeds. If the race comes down to 200m, watch out for Presson’s kick. He came out of nowhere at the Eastern HS Challenge.
500m Dash
Jarrell Elliott of Parkland is the favorite here, as he has already run 1:07.14 indoors. The #2 seed, Hunt’s Stephen Hooper, ran 1:09.78 at the Eastern HS Challenge, so he will really need to step up if he wants to challenge. West Rowan’s Justin Avery comes in with a 1:07.24, outdoors, but does have a personal record of 50.86 in the 400m. He could be a factor.
1000m Run
The Ashville sophomore duo is again at the top. However, how will they do off the mile? Will they run all three distance events? Alex Cremer of West Henderson has raced these guys a number of times this season. He defeated Presson at one of the polar bear meets and ran 2:38 by himself about a week and half ago. He should be ready to challenge Harwell and Presson.
300m Dash
Jarrell Elliott of Parkland should be coming off a win in the 500m dash, so could be beaming with confidence. His seed time is the same as William Graves of Southern Guilford at 35.34. This race could be a fun one as I think there could be a number of possible winners. Look out for: Jacobi Jenkins, McKinley Morning, James Raley, Justin Avery, Darryl Williams, Anthony Council, and Jovan Wilkins. All have good times outdoors this winter, but what can they do indoors?
3200m Run
Patrick Campbell should be able to put it on cruise control and still win the race. With the 3rd fastest time in the US at 9:14, he is seeded 16 seconds faster than the #2 seed. Isaac Presson is the #2 seed, but may have run 2 races already. The most likely candidate for the #2 spot seems to be Josey Weaver of Madison, if Harwell and Presson run the 1600, 1000, & 3200. Also, look out for Nick Freeman, Zack Brantley, and Dillon Hawley.
4x400m Relay
This may decide who wins the meet. With the competition looking to be tight throughout the meet, the 4x400 could prove to be very exciting. Carver and Parkland have the top 2 times and will be in the hunt for the team title. Mooresville has the #7 seed time, with XC runners. Can they step up and score much needed points for Mooresville to capture the title? Should be fun.