The COMPLETE New Balance Nationals Outdoor Boys Preview

Sprints & Hurdles Preview

NOTE: All rankings referenced in this section are FAT and wind-legal only, unless otherwise indicated.

100 Dash

With other events drawing off some of the top short sprinters in the nation, local favorite Cravont Charleston (Mallard Creek NC) could be the top seed, as he is ranked 6th in the nation right now.  William Allen (Paul Dunbar KY) and Sanchez Berry (Bassfield MS) are the only other top 25 sprinters entered, as they are US #11 and #16 right now (and Berry is US #6 all conditions with his NWI 10.26)

200 Dash

Freshman sensation Tyrese Cooper (American FL) is on hand to put his US #4 mark of 20.68, a national record for 9th grade, against a strong veteran field.  US #5 Maxwell Willis (Archbishop Carroll DC) and US #6 Dartez Hamlin (El Paso Burges TX) are also under 21 this season, and they should give Cooper everything he can handle.  Willis and Cooper squared off at Great Southwest last weekend, with Willis taking the victory, and Cooper would surely like to repay that debt this weekend!  You can also include Allen among the contenders, and this could be his chance to break 21 for the first time.

400 Dash

Cooper is also the top seed in the 400, where he is 2nd in the nation right now and one of only three high school boys under 46 this season.  He will face a relatively familiar foe in Jamal Godwin (Everglades FL), whose 46.23 is US #6 this spring.  Three other competitors have run under 46.5: Montel Hood (Wayne Memorial MI), Champion Allison (George Ranch TX), and  Trevor Stewart (South County VA).  Local star Chantz Sawyers (High Point Christian NC) has run 46.64 despite winning by large margins in every 400 he ran this spring, so it will be interesting to see what he can do with people in front of him.

110 Hurdles

Durham's Marcus Krah (Hillside NC) has a short drive to A&T, and he has great experience at the facility - in fact, his US-leading 13.32 was set here almost exactly a month ago.  Krah may be focused on time more than competition, as the all-time North Carolina record (13.08, set by Wayne Davis III in 2009) is the only honor that has eluded him in his stellar career.  This won't be an easy race by any stretch of the imagination, though, not with Trey Cunningham (Winfield City AL, US #2t) in the meet, as well as two others who have run under 13.70: Rainey Anderson (Westlake GA, US #6) and Grant Holloway (Grassfield VA, US #7).  Add US #9 Wesley Watkins (Westlake GA) to the list, and you have half of the national top 10 entered!

400 Hurdles

This is arguably the most loaded event of the entire meet for the boys, and certainly has the most potential for excitement of all the track events.  The current top 4 in the country are entered, plus the US #1 in the 300 Hurdles, and there are a total of 14 athletes in the meet that have broken 54 seconds this season!  This event also represents a Lone Star State invasion, led by 400H national leader Norman Grimes (Canyon TX) and 300H national leader Jayson Baldridge (George Ranch TX), not to mention three other top-seeded Texans.  Infinite Tucker (Huntington NY) heads up the East Coast contingent, as he is currently US #2 at this distance.  Cory Poole (East Orange Campus NJ) and McKinley Brown (American Heritage FL) will also be in the hunt for the win.  Fun fact: Brown used to be a teammate of Krah's at Hillside, and he has run at the A&T facility a few times, as well.