What to watch for (2/20 WKND): Champs Weekend & Millrose Games

TFCAofGP 51st Meet of Champions (at Lehigh University)

Perkiomen Valley's Darnell Randall will look to improve on his PA#7 6-5 in the high jump at MoCs (Photo by Patty Morgan)

FIELD: There should be some good stuff to watch for in the field on Saturday. The high jump will be a good battle between the usual suspects in the Greater Philadelphia area. As Williamsport's Qayyim Ali and Meadville's AJ Byham have broken the event open somewhat, the guys like Coatesville's Dondre Pittman, Pennsbury's Eric Wacker, Perkiomen Valley's Darnell Randall, Pennridge's Matt Moyer, and Penn Charter's Akeem Blake will look to have big days on the mat. Overall, it should be another exciting matchup on Saturday in the high jump.

In the long jump, look out for Bensalem's Caleb Appiah-Owusu and William Tennent's Stephen Testa in a field where seven jumpers have gone past 21 feet. Appiah-Owusu returns in the triple jump to compete against CB East's Alex Parasky, Springfield (Delco)'s Ache Hall, and Marcques Gibbs of Upper Darby. There will be plenty to look for on the runway this weekend.

The shot put matches up Wissahickon's Yondell Dudley with Glen Mills' Quadir Gibson. Both have put up strong 50+ throws on the season. Most recently, Dudley threw a major PR of 55-8 at the Last Chance Meet, moving him up to PA#6 in a very competitive event statewide.

Hatboro's Nick Marino will be competing in New York for the Millrose Games, leaving the pole vault wide open. Kennett's Xavier Feliciano is the new favorite at MoCs.

Kristian Marche of Imhotep is PA#3 and will be one to watch in the 60 dash (Photo by Steven Pisano)

SPRINTS/HURDLES: Charles Headen has been on fire this season. The LaSalle season kept it going with a pair of PCL titles (and a team title, too!) last weekend. He comes in as PA#2 in the 60m and the top seed in the event on Saturday. But Imhotep upstart Kristian Marche (PA#3) will look to spoil Headen's undefeated 60m season. Jeremy Jennings of Downingtown East, Upper Darby's Gianni Lawrence, Del Val Charter's Jahmair Craig, and Glen Mills' Keon Rantin all have legitimate claims to that top spot though. What have we learned? You don't wanna miss the 60 meters at this meet. 

Mason Weh of Upper Darby will look to build on his huge PA#1 8.00 in the hurdles. He is the heavy favorite this weekend, but some solid hurdlers behind him will certainly be looking for the upset. Archbishop Ryan's Monte Guess, Springfield's Ache Hall, and Souderton's Colin Harker make up a strong class of competitors. 

The 200 meters will be good, too. Ade Jones-Roundtree of Imhotep is the top seed on the performance list, but he has Millrose duty on Saturday. Instead, Norristown's Khalif Sinclair, Penn Wood's Ndiaga Seck, Haverford School's Justin Moscoe, and Bishop Shananan's Keegan Hughes have turned into the new favorites. All have had impressive seasons to this point and picking a winner is no easy task there. Hughes and Seck are also entered in the 400 meters, with another nice field that includes North Penn's Dante Watson, who has had a monster last two weeks, and Pennridge's Austin Howell. Don't count out Council Rock North's Mike Welde or MLK's Tyreek Mathis, either.

DISTANCE: The distance events at MoCs are really anybody's for the taking. Each field is deep. Each field is loaded. Here goes nothing. In the 800, CB West's Rock Fortna and Quakertown's Brett Wolfinger come in as the top seeds. Wolfinger's teammate Hudson Delisle has had a strong season as well. Watson is entered coming off the 400. William Tennent's Matt Kraus, Malvern Prep's Colin Wills will certainly be contenders. Meanwhile, the field includes Dennis Manyeah of Penn Wood, who did run 1:56 way back in December. Tactics will certainly come into play and this will be a fun one to watch. 

Tucker Desko of Pennridge leads a strong field of milers in what should be a great race (Photo by Steven Pisano)

The mile will be another close race. Headlining the field will be Pennridge's Tucker Desko (PA#6). Desko has proved he can kick with the best of them and that should bode will for him in this race. But there's plenty of depth in this field, too. Souderton's Connor McMenamin won a gritty race at the last TFC meet before Last Chance. CB South's Matthew Scarpill, Owen J. Roberts' Liam Conway, and Conestoga's PJ Murray are three guys looking to make some noise and nab a state spot. Joe Maguire of Council Rock South and Eddie Goebel of LaSalle are coming off impressive 3Ks last week and are hungry for more.

The 3000's top 16 seeds are separated by less than 20 seconds in their seed times. In a championship race, that means this race is up for grabs. CB West's Brian Iatarola is the top seed, but he'll be contested by a large group. Look out for Lower Merion's Matthew D'Aquila, CB East's Joshua Goetz, and Episcopal's Jakob Jorgensen, among others.

RELAYS: In the 4x200, Downigntown East, Pennridge, Imhotep, and Wissahickon will be the favorites. The 4x400 should be a thriller. North Penn and Pennridge battled in this event to the end a few weeks ago and they're the top seeds here, but Wissahickon, Glen Mills and the always dangerous Abington will make this more than a two team race for sure. Speaking of Abington, they are forgoing the opportunity to run at the Millrose Games to run the Meet of Champs instead. Surely in that case, we should expect a fast 4x800 from the Ghosts (and possiby a stab at the PA#1 spot). That 4x800 also includes CB East, Pennridge, Cardinal O'Hara, CB West, and Germantown Friends. Who runs their 'A' team? I guess we'll find out. Then there's the DMR. Again, who knows who will be truly coming after this one. There are plenty of states "bubble" teams, so it's fair to expect a bunch will be loading up. Look out for LaSalle, Council Rock South, Neshaminy, Abington, Council Rock North, Bonner & Prendie, Cardinal O'Hara, and Penncrest. Only a few seconds separate these teams, so yeah--don't miss this race.

Meet Information

Enter at 9:00 AM Meet starts at 10:00am