If you are hosting an invitational designed to attract only the nation's elite, to be run on one of the fastest indoor tracks in the world, where do you go to find that level of talent? If you're smart, you have to make some calls to North Carolina. The Old North State is well-represented at the Brooks PR Invitational this year, with seven of our best athletes competing against top talent from around the country. The meet will be run Sunday afternoon and evening, and the races will be broadcast live on FloTrack. The Dempsey Fieldhouse facility is well-known for its ridiculously fast times, as the oversized oval certainly has wide curves that make for easier running.
Events with North Carolina Athletes Participating
Girls 60m Dash:
Gabrielle Gray (High Point Central) finally gets to test her mettle against the very best in the country. Shayla Sanders (Boyd Anderson, FL) is the current US #1 with her mark of 6.85, with Myasia Jacobs (Paramus Catholic, NJ) right behind her at 6.87. Gabby and Kali Davis-White (also Boyd Anderson, FL) are the only two other athletes in the field that have run under 7 for the 55 this winter, but there are three who have top marks in the 60: Jennifer Madu (Plano East, TX) is US #1 with her 7.40, while MaryBeth Sant (Valor Christian, CO) and Chyna Ries (George Washington, CO) are both under 7.50.
Boys 60m Dash:
In one of the more surprising entries of this meet, Kendrick Davis (Berry Academy) has emerged and is running his first race of the season in the high-pressure environment of this national-caliber meet. The 2A state champion in the 100, Davis is the top returner in North Carolina with his US #18 time of 10.47 (especially since Millbrook's Keith Marshall graduated early and headed to college). He is jumping right into the deep end, as Levonte Whitfield (Jones, FL) is the #2 returner in the 100 from last spring. Tatum Taylor (O'Dea, WA) is the current US leader in this event, and LeShon Collins (Glasgow, DE) is #2. Cameron Burrell (Fort Bend Ridge Point, TX) is the #4 returner in the 100.
Girls 400m Dash:
Ariah Graham (Wakefield) faces a tough test in this race, although it would appear that the US leader in the 500 is up to it. Felicia Brown (MLK, GA) is the current national leader at 53.88, and there are several entrants that ran comparable times last spring. Courtney Okolo (Carrolton Smith, TX) ran 53.79 outdoors in 2011, while a pair of Connecticut sprinters, Precious Holmes (Hillhouse) and Sydney Over (Windsor), have also run under 54. Holmes, currently US #2 in the 300, has the top PR in the field at 53.16. A big wildcard in this field: last years' US #1 at 800m, Amy Weissenbach (Harvard Westlake, CA) is running the 400 while teammate Cami Chapus, known more for her 1600 prowess, is in the 800.
Girls Mile Run:
After some injury issues prevented her from competing during our regular winter season, Sammy George (Millbrook) has come out the other side and is ready to race. This is her one and only chance to qualify for New Balance Indoor Nationals, and she couldn't have picked a better race or a better facility for the task. The field for this race includes hometown favorite Maddie Meyers (The Northwest School, WA), who owns a PR of 4:41.93, as well as current US #4 Kelsey Margey (Friends Academy, NY). Carmen Carlos (McGill-Toolen Catholic, AL) is currently US #1 in the 3200 but decided to run the shorter race, and she recently claimed a triple win at the Alabama state meet. Add in twins Haley and Hannah Meier (Grosse Pointe South, MI), and this is going to be a fast race!
Girls Two-Mile Run:
Wesley Frazier (Ravenscroft) won this event last year in 10:17, and after putting up some impressive 1600 times so far this winter, she may be primed to repeat. The field is strong, however, with Foot Locker champion Molly Seidel (University Lake School, WI), current US #2 Haley Pierce (Tatnall, DE), and current US #4 and Foot Locker runner-up Erin Finn (West Bloomfield, MI) all in the race. Keep an eye on Grace Tinkey (First Presbyterian, GA), who hasn't raced much this winter but can really run if she's fit.
Boys Two-Mile Run:
They've become partners in big races and PR's since November, and now they race together again looking for more big times: Craig Engels (Reagan) and Thomas Graham (Cary Academy) will face off with a ton of talented runners tomorrow night. The US #1 mark of 8:40.13 by Edward Cheserek is probably not in danger here, but don't be surprised if the rest of the US top 10 is completely rewritten once the race is over. Luis Luna (Piner, CA) and Darren Fahy (La Costa Canyon, CA) are the returning #2 and #3 runners from last spring, both having gone under 9 minutes. They are joined in the sub-9 club by Danny Martinez (St. John Bosco, CA), Tony Smoragiewicz (Central, SD), Jonah Diaz (Palos Verdes, CA), and Kevin Bishop (Monta Vista, CA). That makes six runners who have broken nine minutes, five of them from California, in this race. I have a hunch that North Carolina may have two new entrants into that club by the end of tomorrow.