Wish I could come up with a more original title, but winning the Pulitzer Prize for Best Title isn't my purpose here!
What IS my purpose is to hint at which Meet Records might fall at this weekend's New Balance Indoor Nationals meet for High Schoolers, being held at The Armory from tomorrow through Sunday, and to give a few candidates for the honors.
First, let me tell you why the women's list of MR possibilities is far longer than the men's.
It's very simple, really.
The female side of HS T&F is in a sort of Renaissance.
It has been for a few years now.
Led by middle and long distance runners, it also covers a wide swath of other events.
And it's more than a few SUPER stars, like Mary Cain, Keturah Orji, Wesley Frazier et al.
The DEPTH in the running events is......DEEP! (Gee, how profound! LOL)
I'm sure in future years the boys will prevail, while the girls weaken.
T&F goes in cycles, and right now, and maybe starting with the emergence of Cain in 2012, it's the girls who are dominant.
That said, here's the NBIN Meet Record possibles for 2014.
Men
200 Zyaire Clemens and Trentavis Friday have the best shot at the 21.07 MR.
400 Clemens, Rai Benjamin, Abdur-Rahmaan Kelly, and 600 specialist Richard Rose have a chance at the 46.57 MR. But none have ever broken 47....yet.
1 Mile Millrose winner Luke Gavigan, Garrett O'Toole, and soph Austin Tamagno will aim for the 4:05.50 MR.
5000 The 2013 NBIN Champion was Elijah Armstrong, in 14:54. Nowhere near Lukas Verzbicas MR of 14:06.78. But he's good, and might be ready for a huge breakthrough!
60H The only name I recognized was OUTdoor 110H leader Marlon Humphrey. 7.60 is tough, but Humphrey has a fair shot.
4X400R Relays are hard to predict. A few teams (in ANY relay, not just this one) might have one superstar to anchor, but most successful teams have a BALANCE between the 4 runners, with maybe a slight edge given to those who have both balance AND a star anchor! It seems MR's in Relay events--boys and girls--happen more frequently than you expect, looking at the team's make-up. That said, THIS Relay has Richard Rose, the 600 leader, probably anchoring the Boys & Girls--NY team. B&G always have great Relay squads, so you won't go wrong here picking B&G for a MR.
PV Devin King. He's the 2014 Indoor leader, and already has an OUTdoor mark of 17-4! The MR of 17-6 appears in BIG trouble!!
WT The MR is one of those otherworldly tosses by HSR holder Colin McCullough! You know, those NINETY-plus feet throws of his from 2009. Forget THAT!! But Daniel Haugh has an excellent chance of surpassing 80 feet!! (Still a winning distance for WT guys in the HS ranks!!)
Women
60 Hannah Cunliffe has a shot at the 7.29 MR. Watch for Ky Westbrook also.
200 Westbrook.
400 Francena McCorory's 51.93 is safe. But Olivia Baker might run 52.5 or thereabouts.
800 Elise Cranny's 2013 PR was an altitude-aided 2:08.50. The MR is Sabrina Southerland's 2:03.59. At last year's NBIN, Cranny improved her mile PR from 4:58 to 4:40! Watch for her to make a similar improvement here in the 800. Can she challenge Mary Decker (Slaney's) HSR of 2:01.8?? Look for 2013 600 leader (1:30.35) Emma Gallagher to be her prime foe, with possibly Maddie Berkson taking 3rd. But they should be FAR back!!
1 Mile Alexa Efraimson is in the same world as Cranny. (And creeping up QUITE close to.....Mary Cain!!!) No contest here as to who wins. Only question is, can she SOLO a 4:28?? The odds would be MUCH stronger with Cranny in the race, but they've chosen to run separate events. That said, she should EASILY get Cranny's MR of 4:40.62. Stephanie Jenks and Kennedy Weisner have a fair shot at going under 4:40....but just barely!
2 Mile Melody Fairchild's iconic MR (though the meet then had a different name!) of 9:55.92 MIGHT get chipped at by 10:12 girl Hannah Debalsi. But here the MR isn't the focus. This should be one of the best RACES of the meet, with Debalsi going against Caroline Alcorta, Tessa Barrett, and Bella Burda.
5000 Last year's NBIN 5000 had that "Race of the Century" odor to it. Wesley Frazier won by a hair in 16:18.01 (to Erin Finn's 16:18.02), the MR. That mark could be challenged by Burda, Barrett, Jenks, Claire Howlett, and....Ryen Frazier, who happens to be Wesley's younger sister!!
60H If Dior Hall doesn't FINALLY get the HSR of 8.16 (and the MR of 8:17), I'm going to cry!! She's been THIS close to it for TWO YEARS now!! Come on, Dior, CRUSH it!! (It's her last chance, as she's a senior!!)
the Relays (See the Men's report above!) That said, watch Team Jet Fast in the 4X400, as they have Olivia Baker. In the 4X800, Benjamin Cardozo (NY) has Denise Branch, and you NEVER underestimate Cardozo teams!! Also in that relay, West Springfield TC (VA) has Caroline Alcorta!! And the 4X1M has the West Springfield team (again with Alcorta) going head-to-head with Staples TC (CT), who have....Hannah Debalsi!! Hopefully they'll be close enough to have a SUPER duel over the final "mile" (1600)!
HJ This event has a relatively easy MR of 6-0, dating from the "old" NBIN (by another name!) of 1984!! The 2014 version has 6-1 outdoor jumper Cyre Virgo!
LJ & TJ Keturah Orji. The MR's are 20-7.25 and her own 43-11.50. She's jumped 20-11.75 and 44-11 OUTdoors (last year).
PV Desiree Freier has been the dominant PV'er this year. She's the indoor leader, and already the OUTdoor leader!! She's gone 14-0. So that 14-2 MR doesn't look TOO hard!!
SP This has the BEST field of ALL the events in the meet!! The 3 best throwers in the nation are here!!
Stamatia Scarvelis, Ashlie Blake, and the mysterious but fascinating Raven Saunders will shoot it out. The MR is also the HSR, that 54-9.50 by Michelle Carter! Take your pick! But where has Saunders been since that SHOCKING 53-8.25 back in December?? Haven't seen her name in results sheets since then!! One event to definitely look forward to!!
WT The MR is tough, as it's also the HSR of Shelby Ashe (68.2.50) from 2011. But Gabby Figueroa has been improving fast and furious this year, all the way to 64-11....so far.
Pent. The MR (and HSR) of iconic Kendell Williams will NOT be broken in 2014. But Alexa Harmon-Thomas should win this event easily!
1 Mile Walk I don't normally mention the walks, but this year will see Maria Michta's kid-sister, Katie, win this one....in a walk!! (Thank you, thank you!! LOL)
Another segment of the NBIN I don't talk about (or KNOW much about!) are the Junior HS and Emerging Elites segments.
However, this year has one outstanding athlete worth a mention.
Her name is Gabrielle Wilkinson, and she's an 8th grader from Pennsylvania.
A few weeks ago, she ran a 1000 in 2:51.71. Impressed? Well, after you find out that the NINTH grade record is 2:50.84, you might be. No?? Well, how about if you find out that that 9th Grade record is held by.....Mary Cain?? NOW....you're impressed!! Well, Ms Wilkinson is entered in the JHS Mile and the EE 800. The MR's for each are 5:18.70 and 2:14.26. Think she can get them??
I'll end this post with a name.
She's entered in the 4X200R on the Cheltenham TC (PA) team.
That means each girl SPRINTS her leg!!
The girl's name is.....Jariel SLOWLY!!
I kid you not!!
Enjoy the meets (NCAA and NBIN), and watch for my report(S) soon after they end!!
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