North Carolina is sending a great group of girls to Greensboro for this year's outdoor nationals! The headliners are Keni Harrison, Danielle Butts, Sydney White, and Cary's 4x800, who all hold top-10 national rankings in their events. We should also include Wesley Frazier on that list, as her 16:50 PR for 5000 meters makes her a definite contender (and she finished second last year). Look below for the top events on each day of competition, from an Old North State point of view:
(EE = Emerging Elite events, C = Championship events)
Thursday
Events to Watch
The heptathlon is always interesting to watch, as it evolves from event to event and each athlete's strengths and weaknesses affect the overall scoring. Sarah Graham and Anna Smith are both hurdlers and jumpers, and we'll see how they perform in the throws over the course of the two-day competition. Kendell Williams (GA) won the pentathlon at NBIN and could be the favorite, and Rachel Chernaskey (PA) is also experienced in high-level multi-event competition.
The featured running event of the night is the championship 5000, where Wesley Frazier will definitely be running to win. Several of the big names nationally have opted out of this race, and it looks like Frazier is the favorite with competition from Haley Pierce (DE) and Joanna Thompson (TN). Thompson has run 17:06 this spring (ranking #7 nationally) and Pierce, of distance power Tatnall, is #13 in the 5000 and finished cross country season ranked #8 in the US for 5K.
NC Entry List
Sarah Graham (Wake Forest-Rolesville) C Heptathlon
Anna Smith (Northern Guilford) C Heptathlon, EE Javelin
Ryen Frazier (Ravenscroft) C 5000
Wesley Frazier (Ravenscroft) C 5000
Julie Swaim (Reagan) C 5000
Whitney Thornburg (Asheville Christian) C 5000
Davona Dula (Harding University) EE Discus
Breanna Warren (Western Guilford) EE Discus
Elizabeth Ambler (Northern Guilford) EE Pole Vault
Debra Dobermuth (Watauga) EE Pole Vault
Laura Gulliver (Watauga) EE Pole Vault
Kristen Lee (Raleigh) EE Pole Vault
Colleen McLean (Riverside) EE Pole Vault
Rachel Neagle (East Forsyth) EE Pole Vault
Tess Rogers (North Stokes) EE Pole Vault
Rayna Yvars (Green Hope) EE Pole Vault
Courtney Crawford (Western Guilford) Freshman 100
Myshale Spigner (Parkland) Freshman 100
Star'Asia Baskins (West Mecklenburg) Freshman 400
Christina Dixon (Greenville) Freshman 400
Ricole Jenkins (Wakefield) Freshman 400
Friday
Events to Watch
Keni Harrison will be trying to add another New Balance title to the 60 hurdles championship she earned in the winter. National leader Dior Hall is not in the race, and the door is wide open for many of the contestants to take the title with a good race. Kendell Williams (GA), Morgan Snow (GA), and Brea Garrett (TX) look like the chief competition for Harrison.
The Championship 2 Mile sports big names both nationally and in-state. Wesley Frazier and Sarah Rapp are joined by emerging star Anna McBride, but it will be very difficult for even the best of our state to break through with Aisling Cuffe (NY) and Kayle Beattie (IL) in the race. Those are the top two girls in the country, and both have gone sub-10 this spring already! If anyone can step up to make this a 3-woman race it is Frazier, but how much will she have in the tank after the 5000 the night before? There should be a heated second group in this race, populated by girls who are already under 10:20 or are trying to get there.
Friday's field event action includes the Championship Pole Vault, where US #5 Sydney White will tangle with US #1 Morgan LeLeux (LA) and US #2 Kaitlin Petrillose (TX), with Lindsey Enders (FL) in the mix as well. White is the only junior in that bunch! The meet record of 13' 3" is likely to fall with this much talent vaulting. Danielle Butts takes her US #10 mark into the competition against US #3 Thea LaFond and US #6 Melodee Riley, while Shemiah Brooks and Francesca Evans are looking to finally crack the 40-foot barrier.
Relays are the biggest story on Friday for North Carolina's girls, though. Wakefield's Ariah Graham is not participating in any individual events, sacrificing those for the sake of her team's relays. They will join South Central and West Mecklenburg early in the day for the 4x200, where Withrow (OH) looks like the favorite with a 1:38 clocking. Western Branch (VA) is #5 in the US in the 4x100, but it looks like they're focusing on this relay at the nationals. Texas teams hold 8 of the top 10 times in the US, and 11 of the top 15, but none of them are participating in the meet.
4x100 (qualifying) is on Friday, and Wakefield will again battle South Central as well as a strong field from out of state. MLK (GA) has a 46.34 time this year, and both Withrow (OH) and Medgar Evers (NY) have broken 47. If Western Branch is not running the 4x100, then there are no US top-10 teams in the meet this year.
The nightcap will be the 4x800 relay, where Cary's US #8 girls (running under the name Achilles) are striving to break the 9-minute mark to close their stellar career. Bronxville (US #3) and Shenendehowa (US #7), both from New York, will be setting the pace up front, with several teams looking to run sub-9:10.
NC Entry List
Sarah Graham (WFR) C Heptathlon
Anna Smith (NG) C Heptathlon
Apex C 4x200
Wakefield C 4x200, 4x100
South Central C 4x200, 4x100
West Mecklenburg C 4x200
Markia Franklin (Southern Durham) C 100
Gabrielle Gray (High Point Central) C 100
Alexis Murphy (Apex) C 100
J'Den Williams (Wake Forest-Rolesville) C 100
Keni Harrison (Clayton) C 100 Hurdles
Nora McKiver (TW Andrews) C 100 Hurdles
Alexis Perry (Jordan) C 100 Hurdles
Mollie Williams (Clayton) C 100 Hurdles
Parkland C 1600m Medley
Wesley Frazier (Ravenscroft) C 2 Mile
Anna McBride (Davie) C 2 Mile
Sarah Rapp (Cardinal Gibbons) C 2 Mile
Cary C 4x800
Watauga C 4x800
Sydney Cook (Watauga) C Pole Vault
Audrey Diener (Apex) C Pole Vault
Sage Proffitt (North Buncombe) C Pole Vault
Sydney White (East Forsyth) C Pole Vault
Shemiah Brooks (Southwest Guilford) C Triple Jump
Danielle Butts (South Central) C Triple Jump
Francesca Evans (Cummings) C Triple Jump
Alisha Bradshaw (Salisbury) C Discus
West Johnston EE 4x100, EE 4x800, EE 4x200
West Mecklenburg EE 4x100
Parkland EE 4x800
Butler EE 4x200
Cary Academy EE 4x200
Ragsdale EE 4x200
Green Hope EE 4x200
Eliza Dekekr (Durham Academy) EE 1 Mile
Esther Fisher (JH Rose) EE 1 Mile
Hunter Roberts (Southwest Guilford) EE 100 Hurdles
Mel Davis (Butler) EE 400
Ro'Daijah Faucette (Cummings) EE 400
Alyssa Omile (Enloe) EE 400
Brionna Simmons (New Bern) EE 400
Laroya Banks (Perquimans) EE 100
Nyshedra Brown (West Craven) EE 100
Alexandria Council (Raleigh) EE 100
Madison Rayfield (East Forsyth) EE 100
Chasity Roberts (Jones) EE 100
Paisley Simmons (TW Andrews) EE 100
Bryanna Wyatt (South Central) EE 100
Kristen Henson (Reagan) EE 2 Mile
Jessica Rossabi (Green Hope) EE 2 Mile
Yasmine Artis (New Bern) EE Triple Jump
Ameenah Bay Shaw (Cox Mill) EE Triple Jump
Tatyana Bryant (South View) EE Triple Jump
Dejah Hayes (Western Guilford) EE Triple Jump
Cheyenne Miller (East Rutherford) EE Triple Jump
Amara Bell (Southeast Raleigh) EE High Jump
Sydney Cook (Watauga) EE High Jump
Emily Kimble (Owen) EE High Jump
Hana Ratcliffe (Durham School of the Arts) Freshman Mile
Saturday
Events to Watch
Relays are again prominent for the Tar Heel state, starting with Cary in the Distance Medley. On the heels of Deanna Foshee's 5:00 clocking two weeks ago, Cary could be in the mix, but this race is loaded. Fayetteville-Malius (NY, running under the name Stotan) are the national leaders, and they obviouly want the national record set by Blacksburg last year. US #2 North Shore (NY) and US #3 Harvard-Westlake (CA) are also in the race, along with US #5 Ward Melville (NY), US #6 Shenendehowa (NY), US #8 Red Bank (NJ) and US #10 Cornwall (NY). Can you tell this race is really important in New York?
Wakefield follows with an 800 Medley Relay, where they are joined by Millbrook and South Central. Medleys often come down to the anchor (in this case a 400), and Ariah Graham will face stiff competition from Sandrae Farquharson of Medgar Evers, US #9 in the 400. Later in the day, Wakefield will again battle Medgar Evers, who are ranked US #4 in the 4x400. That race will also include US #6 Harvard-Westlake (CA).
Hurdles (and barriers) are a big theme for NC girls on Saturday. First Olivia Enright, Hannah Barbour, and Whitney Thornburg tackle the 2000 steeplechase and national record-holder Mary Kate Anselmi (Ward Melville, NY). The field also includes 5 other girls who have run US top-10 times this spring. In the 400 hurdles, Keni Harrison (US #4 300H) will face a stacked field that includes US #2 400H Alex Stanton (MA), US #2 300H Kaila Barber (OH), US #3 400H Autumne Franklin (MD), US #3 300H Leah Nugent (PA), and five other girls ranked in the top 10 in the nation in one of the two races. Will the experienced 400 hurdlers have an advantage over those from states that run the 300? North Carolina is very well represented here, with Michaela Birek, Francesca Evans, Nora McKiver, and Mollie Williams also competing.
NC Entry List
Cary C DMR
Wakefield C 800 Medley, C 4x400
South Central C 800 Medley
Millbrook C 800 Medley
Hannah Barbour (Watauga) C 2000 Steeplechase
Whitney Thornburg (Asheville Christian) C 2000 Steeplechase
Olivia Enright (Green Hope) C 2000 Steeplechase
Michaele Birek (Wakefield) C 400 Hurdles
Francesca Evans (Cummings) C 400 Hurdles
Keni Harrison (Clayton) C 400 Hurdles
Nora McKiver (TW Andrews) C 400 Hurdles
Mollie Williams (Clayton) C 400 Hurdles
Markia Franklin (Southern Durham) C 200
Alexis Murphy (Apex) C 200
Marissa Bellamy (Bunn) C 400
Aalayah Faulcon (Southern Durham) C 400
Cruz Vargas-Sullivan (Douglas Byrd) C 400
Wesley Frazier (Ravenscroft) C 1 Mile
Samantha George (Millbrook) C 1 Mile
Alisha Bradshaw (Salisbury) C Hammer Throw, C Shot Put
Davona Dula (Harding) C Hammer Throw
Amber Clark (South Central) C Long Jump
Alexis Perry (Jordan) C Long Jump, C High Jump
Sarah Graham (WFR) C High Jump
Nyshedra Brown (West Craven) EE 200
Gabrielle Gray (HPC) EE 200
Madison Rayfield (East Forsyth) EE 200
Chasity Roberts (Jones) EE 200
Paisley Simmons (TW Andrews) EE 200
Eliza Dekker (Durham Academy) EE 800
Deanna Foshee (Cary) EE 800
Danielle Jameison (RJ Reynolds) EE 800
Maura McDonnell (Green Hope) EE 800
Chelsea Treadway (Swain) EE 800
Courtney Crawford (Western Guilford) EE Long Jump
Dejah Hayes (Western Guilford) EE Long Jump
Felicia McCarthy (Butler) EE Long Jump
Madison Rayfield (East Forsyth) EE Long Jump
Davona Dula (Harding) EE Shot Put
Breanna Warren (Western Guilford) EE Shot Put
