Since 1979, the Apex Lions' Relays has been one of the premier meets in North Carolina and that continues on in 2023! In 2022, we saw a return to the track after a two-year hiatus. Now in 2023, we are in full swing and ready to roll. You can watch the Apex Lions' Relays LIVE on MileSplit starting with the 4x1600m at 9:00am.
There are six meet records that we think have a good shot at going down this weekend!
Girls 100m
Union Pines' Briana St. Louis has been on a tear since the start of outdoor season. She is undefeated in the 100m, but has yet to run a lifetime best this season. What better opportunity than Saturday at the Apex Lions' Relays. Her 2022 best of 11.67 is under the current meet record of 11.73 set in 2019 by Jonah Ross (Garner). St. Louis, a sophomore, is new to North Carolina this season, but she is quickly establishing herself as a major threat in the sprints. She is top ten in the state this season in both the 200m and 400m.
Boys 1,600m
There are seven boys with seed times under 4:20. But they're all going to have to put in work to get under the meet record of 4:11.53, set in 2010 by Blake Williams (Northern Durham). Two boys, however, have seed times under 4:16: Logan Dingman (Lake Norman) and Marco Evans (Cary). Back at the 2022 NCHSAA Outdoor State Championship, Evans finished 6th place, one spot ahead of Dingman. However, so far this season Dingman is NC No. 1 and Evans is No. 4. The one to watch is Orange's Gabriel Schmid. Schmid, a junior, has been on fire in the 3,200m to start the season. He ran 9:06.93 at Raleigh Relays, then backed it up two weekends later with a 9:03.06 performance. He also ran 4:17.85 this season in the 1,600m.
Girls 100m Hurdles
The top two seeds in this event, Selena Carlyle (Clayton) and Alexa Nestor (Green Level) have lifetime bests under the current meet record of 14.39 from 2016. Nestor took 3rd in the indoor state meet in the 55m hurdles, while Carlyle was 7th. Nestor, who is committed to Kent State, has won both her hurdle races in the 2023 season. However, Carlyle's best of 14.22 is NC No. 3 on the season, while Nestor sits NC No. 6 thus far.
Boys Discus
The meet record of 172-1 from Jon Beyle in 2013 is up for grabs this weekend. Gates Hinton (Fuquay-Varina) tossed 182-1 yesterday afternoon, making it the second time he's thrown over the meet record this season. He is currently NC No. 2 and U.S. No. 25 on the season.
Girls High Jump
Defending NCHSAA 4A Indoor state champion Kirstin Smalls (Panther Creek) is facing off with the top returner from the 2022 NCHSAA 4A Outdoor state meet, Lia Anderson (Hillside). This season Anderson is NC No. 2 with her 5-9 clearance. Smalls has cleared 5-4 this season, but she won the indoor state meet with a 5-8 jump. Meaning, both girls have cleared the meet record of 5-7. The meet record was set in 1988. It has been tied three times (1999, 2006, 2008) but never broken. It is the oldest girl's meet record at Apex Lions Relays.