Abington will be looking for season bests in both the 4x400 and 4x800 at the Armory this weekend (Photo by Steven Pisano)
Armory Track Invitational
Read MileSplit NY's comprehensive preview
Click above to read MileSplit NY's nice preview of all the high school action going on at The Armory. Below, we'll give a PA-centric look at one of the nation's biggest indoor meets.
Jaxson Hoey already has PA#1s in the 800 and mile, so why not try something in between? The Downingtown West senior will face a tough test in the 1000 meters (Friday, 7:25), though. Fordham Prep (NY)'s Conor Lundy and Saratoga Spring's Aiden Tooker will provide a great race for Hoey with some other big names stepping in.
Germantown Academy's Abbe Goldstein, who spent the early part of her season running the 3000 and mile, has been getting some faster races in lately. Last week, she ran an 800 meters at Ocean Breeze, and on Saturday Goldstein will race the 1000 meters (Friday, 7:43pm). The aforementioned Watson is favored in that race, but it will be interesting to see what Goldstein can do in the 1K.
Dasia Pressley of Pennsbury will step up the 300 meters (Saturday, 1:03pm), coming in as the top seed in a loaded field with some top NY sprint talent. In the boys' 300m (Saturday, 1:09pm), Downingtown West's Josh McLemore, who once held the US#1 title in this event will look to take it back over the Huntingdon (NY) duo of sprinters.
In the girls' 600 meters (Saturday, 3:42pm), Germantown Friends' Sarah Walker will return to the spotlight. She'll be squaring off with Rush Henrietta Sperry standout Sammy Watson, who is also entered in the 1000m. That should be a good battle and a good indicator where Walker's speed is at.
Nick Dahl of Germantown Friends' School will try his hand at the open mile (Saturday, 3:12pm), looking to claim a spot in the Millrose mile. Dahl comes in as the top seed, but a few NY and NJ runners will look to spoil the party.
In the Millrose Girls Mile Qualifier (Saturday, 3:04pm), there are three PA runners. Olivia Sargent of Pennsbury is the top seed, coming off a win in the event at the DVG meet on Friday. Olivia Arizin of Cardinal O'Hara won her heat of the Millrose Trials in the mile and then took the 800 meters at Ocean Breeze last weekend. She'll be a definite threat to get that Millrose nod. Maggie Hallahan of Germantown Academy, who's been having a great season, is also entered. These three will see a big challenge from Jessica Lawson, the NY state champ in cross country and runner-up at Foot Locker Northeast.
The girls' 4x200 should be a crazy fast race (Saturday, 2:29pm). PA#1 and PA#2 are in the field. Throw in the US#1--Paul Robeson from New York--and you're pretty much guaranteed some fireworks. Norristown and Cheltenham have entries in Friday's DVG meet, assuming they are racing that night. Those two squads are also entered in the ATI 4x200. If they can quickly re-energize, we'll see a great race and a definite shot at a new PA#1. And hey, in case you were wondering, the indoor state record is 1:39.00 (by Cheltenham in 2014).
Abington will look for a strong race in the boys' 4x400 (Friday, 8:18pm). They ran the current PA#1 in the event at the Hispanic Games last month and surely, they'll be looking to beat that 3:21.11 this weekend. St. Joesph's Prep, who came close to edging Abington's time at Ocean Breeze (PA#2 3:21.60) last weekend is also in the field. PA#3 Penn Wood is in the prior heat (Friday, 8:12pm) looking to get in on the action as well. It's probably a safe bet that we'll see a time faster than the current PA#1.
The Penn Wood girls will look to extend their already huge lead in the state in the 4x400 in a DEEP field (Friday, 7:47). PW ran great with 3:53 at Ocean Breeze last week. What else do they have in store this go around? They'll come back Saturday at 5:13pm for the 4x800 meters looking to improve on their PA#6.
Abington, Penn Wood, and Germantown Friends will line up for the boys 4x800 (Saturday, 5:28pm). The PA#1 8:01, set by Abington back in late December, so they'll be going for a sub-8 along with the rest of the PA competition. It should be fun to watch the PA teams matchup with some of top teams from New York and New Jersey.
In the weight throw, Matt Slagus of North Pocono will be the lone PA representative, while Jessica Slagus, likewise, will be the only PA competitor.
Oh, and if you happen to go, make sure you're paying attention 2:19 on Saturday where Virginia standout Drew Hunter in the mile where he'll attempt a sub-4 against the pros in the Men's Elite Mile. Hunter's already run 7:59 for 3000 meters last week and even Alan Webb thinks Hunter is better than himself.