Boys 800m
The Elite Heat five is going to be insane. I'm predicting a 1:51 winning time, and it could come from any of these athletes. In lane 1 will be South Carolina commit Ethan Mathis (Chapel Hill). He holds a personal best of 1:57 and was 5th in this event at the 2019 NCHSAA 3A state meet. Lane 2 will have Krystopher Durham (Weddington). He holds a 1:56 personal best and was 6th at the 2020 NCHSAA 3A Indoor state meet in the 1000m. Lane 3 will have Princeton commit Sam Rodman (Liberty, SC) with a 1:55 personal best. The star power comes in lane 4 in the form of 1:53 runner Saxon Brown (Simpsonville, SC). Brown is also a sub 50 400m runner. NC State commit Grant Howlett (Lake Norman Charter) has had a breakout track season having already clocked 1:54. He will be in lane 5. Lane 6 has defending NCISAA D1 800m champion and 1:55 personal best runner Colter Nichols (Providence Day). Lane 7 will have Virgina's Alex Davis (Ashland, VA) who holds a 1:56 personal best and has ran under 1:58 in three straight races. Sharing lane 8 will be David Birkhofer Jr (Bandys), 1:57 personal best, and Eli Sterling (Blacksburg, VA) with a 1:58 personal best.
Boys 1600m
Man, oh man, is this a field. The 8th and final heat will be paced through 800m in 2:05 and I believe the winner runs under 4:10. The fastest personal best of the bunch belongs to Ryan Motondo (Walter Williams). He ran 4:14 just over a week ago, so we know he's ready to roll. Jack Dingman (Northern Guilford) isn't going to be outshined. The ECU commit holds a 4:15 personal best and is more than capable of dropping another chunk off that time. Maddon Muhammad (Myers Park) is right there with Motondo and Dingman. He holds a 4:16 personal best. NCISAA D1 1600m champion Kenny Eheman holds a 4:17 personal best and is riding a hot streak from his state championship. Jacob Laney (Porter Ridge) is a dark horse, being only a sophomore. His personal best of 4:17 is in jeopardy as Porter can gain some national attention with a big time performance. Will Soule (Mt. Tabor) has also ran 4:17 en route to winning his section of the Mount Tabor Mile. Dylan Look (Chapel Hill) has a 4:18 personal best. Miles Phillips (North Lincoln) has a 4:19 personal best. Athletes who can break 4:20 for the first time include Wesley Larson (Weddington) and Jacob Scott (North Lincoln).