Pennsbury's Olivia Sargent will make her 2016 indoor debut in the mile at the Armory (Photo by Kyle Brazeil)
Saturday 1/9: The EmblemHealth Hispanic Games (The Armory, New York, NY)
Oh boy, is there a lot to look out for? (Yes.)
Cheltenham's Chanel Brissett, PA#1 in the 60 meter hurdles by over a half a second, will get in the blocks for the 55 meter hurdles. She's .07 off former teammate Ciara Leonard's indoor state record in the 60 meter hurdles, so she won't get that record running in the 55 hurdles this weekend, but still, we could be looking at something special. Brissett will line up against Paul Robeson (NY)'s Alyssa Sandy and Medger Evers's Shayla Broughton, and we'll see if the good competition propel them to good times. Perkiomen Valley's Christina Warren will also be in the field.
Some PA names will be there for the 2 mile. On the boys' side, Will Griffen of Cheltenham and Connor McMenamin of Souderton are scheduled for the boys race, while Hannah Molloy of Pennsbury leads the girls' field.
The girls' mile will be a fun one, featuring the 2016 debut of XC AAA state champ Olivia Sargent of Pennsbury. Sargent will face a tough battle from Jessica Drop of Coginchaug (CT) and Danae Rivers of Wilbur Cross (CT). Other PA girls scheduled to race are Mary Webb from Pennsbury, Maddie Villalba of Central Bucks West, and Germantown Academy's Abbe Goldstein (PA#1 3000m).
The next heat of the girls' mile will feature Downingtown West star Aislinn Devlin, along with Emmaus' Katie Bacher, Perkiomen Valley's Annie Glodek, Pennsbury's Meri Twomey, Pennridge's Monika Brill and Coatesville's Brooke Hutton.
The boys' mile, expected to be another fast affair doesn't have any PA guys in the inviational heat, but Pennridge's Tucker Desko, who ran a PA#3 800 meter last weekend at The Armory, will look for some more slow(er) heat glory in the mile.
The girls' 400 is another loaded race. Penn Wood will bring Agnes Mansaray and Terri Turner, while Springside Chestnut Hill will feature their two stars, Brooklynn Broadwater and Alexandria Kitchell. Cheltenham's Alexis Crosby is also in the fast field.
Smiliarly, plenty of PA talent will come out for the boys' 400. Isiah Smith of Abington (PA#1 400m), Downingtown West's Josh McLemore (PA#2 200m), and the Penn Wood duo of Dennis Manyeah (US#1 800m) and Ndiaja Seck are among the names in a deep field.
The girls' 4x200 will be a competitive race with the PA#1 mark on high alert with both Norristown and Cheltenham toeing the line. keep an eye out for Susquehanna Township and Perkiomen Valley as well--both have some depth to put out a fast time.
For the boys' 4x200, Downingtown West will look to improve on its own PA#1 mark in a field that includes 18 teams seeded at 1:32 or faster. Penn Wood and Coatesville will also have entries in the boys' 4x200.
The girls' 200 is loaded with fast girls from Pennsylvania. Dasia Pressley, reigning outdoor state champ in the 200 meters, will make her open debut. Jayana Webb of Norristown, US#4 in the event, will also look to build on a huge 24.79 from last week at Marine Corps. Keep an eye out for the Imhotep duo of Avani Dorsey and Gloria Young, and Cheltenham's Madison Langley-Walker, Bria Barnes and Alexis Crosby. We'll get our first look at Pennridge freshman Kouri Peace in the 200. She's already run impressive times in the 60m dash and 300m. Susquehanna Township's Alysha Evans and Yasmin Brooks will also hit the blocks. There won't be enough room for all these girls to qualify for the finals, but expect a ton of fast times regardless and a big shakeup of the state rankings.
The boys' 200 will feature some PA kids, including Coatesville's Terrence Laird, Delaware Valley Charter's Jahmair Craig, and Haverford's Justin Moscoe.
There will be two notable debuts in the boys 800--the Hoeys. Brothers Jaxson and Josh Hoey will make their season debuts in the 8. Joining them on the line will be Quakertown's Brett Wolfinger and Abington's Jake Goode.
PA#1 and PA#2 will duel in the boys' 4x400 with Penn Wood and Abington squaring off. For the girls, Penn Wood, Norristown and Springside Chestnut Hill will chase PW's state-leading mark.
The Abington boys are also entered in the 4x800. Pennsbury also has a 4x800 entered, so we'll see if they decide to load it up.
In the 55m hurdles for the boys, keep an eye out for Mason Weh of Upper Darby, Colin Harker of Souderton, and Kyle Garland of Germantown Academy.
The 55m dash will feature Anthony Maurent of GAR Memorial (PA#1 55m and 60m), as he looks to keep up his impressive indoor campaign. Brissett, Webb and Peace will also try their hand in the 55m dash on the girls side.
PA#2 Moira O'Malley of Souderton will compete in the girls' high jump, while the boys field is loaded with Perk valley's Darnell Randall (PA#1 HJ), along with Coatesville's Dondre Pittman and Garland of GA