Kyle Garland (GA) / Photo by Jerome Lowery
Ocean Breeze High School Invitational BOYS Preview (Saturday)
In its first year last year, Ocean Breeze proved to be a another major New York venue for teams to drop fast times during the regular season. This year's been no different. The final Ocean Breeze open invite of the season is Saturday and the entries on the boys side (and the girls side, too) are absolutely loaded. Let's break down the boys action:
FIELD
Arguably the most anticipated matchup of this meet will come in the boys' high jump with a showdown between US#1 and US#2. Germantown Academy's Kyle Garland (who's cleared 6-10 twice this season) will go head-to-head with Daniel Claxton of Smithtown East (NY). Claxton sits at US#1, having cleared 6-11. We'll see if these two can push each other over the 7 foot barrier.
Also entered in the high jump is Lower Merion's James Burton (PA#3) Easton's Tawheed Muhammad (PA#6), CR North's Nolan Gromlich (PA#10), and LaSalle's Alex Sislo.
Hatboro-Horsham's Nick Marino returns to the runway again this weekend in the pole vault. Marino is PA#1 and he'll look to keep his senior season rolling into Saturday. In the shot put, watch for Pennridge's Riley LaRiviere and Fleetwood's Seth Wagner. Both could be in the mix for the win in the event.
In the triple jump, Wissahickon's Ahmir Johnson will look to improve upon his PA#1 in the event of 46-7. Stroudsburg's Shaq Mitchell will look to challenge as well.
Seth Slavin (Pleasant Valley) / Photo by Tony Morales
DISTANCE
Plenty of top distance runners will make the trip to Ocean Breeze and something tells me, they could all shake up the state rankings quite a bit.
In the morning, we'll see plenty of big names in the 800 meters. Bonner & Prendie's Dave Whitfield, Shanahan's Logan Yoquinto, Quakertown's Hudson Delisle, Saint Joseph's Prep's Robert Dupell, and Owen J. Roberts' Liam Conway in the fastest section. There's definitely some room in the rankings for this race to have a big impact, so stay tuned.
In the invitational 2 mile, Lower Merion's Matthew D'Aquila, Pleasant Valley's Seth Slavin, Winchester Thurston's Tristan Forsythe, Council Rock North's Ryan Campbell, and Cheltenham's Will Griffen are in the field. The state's fastest 2 mile has come from Penncrest's Avery Lederer with a 9:35.08 and we'll see if any of these guys can make a run at that time.
Then in the fastest section of the mile, the PA entries include Haverford's James Abrahams, LaSalle's Evan Addison, West Chester Henderson's Spencer Smucker, and OJR's Conway. The 4:20 barrier could certainly be on their minds.
North Penn, Council Rock North, and LaSalle are among the teams in the fastest section of the 4x800 and each have the pieces to drop a quick time.
Nate Alleyne (Bishop Shanahan) / Photo by Steven Pisano
SPRINTS/HURDLES
No shortage of big names all around the track will come out in full force for the boys' sprints and hurdles.
In the 55 meter hurdles, we'll see GA's Garland (PA#2 after conversions), West Catholic's Dajone Averett, The Haverford School's Sam Lindner, Pennridge's Alex Dimon, Wilson's Trevor Thenga, and Spring Ford's Stephen Chapman. After the morning prelims, the top 8 advance to the finals later in the day.
The 55 meter dash is just as loaded. Downingtown East's Jeremy Jennings leads the field of PA entries. But we'll also see Imhotep's Kristian Marche and Christopher Wells, Norristown freshman sensation Austin Montgomery, Dock's Austin Kratz, Lower Merion's Jared Cooper and Ahmad Hall, LaSalle's Octavious Carter, Shanahan's Ian Alleyne, Neshaminy's Savion Hebron, and Springfield (Delco)'s Philip Shovlin. Like the hurdles, there are just eight spots for the finals, but there should definitely be some good representation from PA.
Then there's the 200 meters. That is led by Coatesville's Terrance Laird, the senior who have electrified the track all winter. Laird will be the one to watch, but there's plenty of other talent, too. Kratz, Shovlin, Ian Alleyne, and Hebron return from the 55 earlier in the day. Then Glen Mills' Keon Rantin, Imhotep's Ade Jones-Roundtree, Bishop Shanahan's Nate Alleyne and Keegan Hughes, Central Dauphin East's Aaron Arp, Council Rock North's Mike Welde, and Penn Charter's Chris Tucker. Get a good look at the state top 10 in the 200 right now because it won't look like that after this meet.
In the 400, watch for Saint Joseph's Prep Miles Green in the fastest section of the day as the lone PA representative. In some of the other heats, watch for Shanahan's Hughes, CR North's Welde, LaSalle's Peter Nelson, and Imhotep's Chrsitian Brunson.
The 4x200 could also see a big shake up. There's no Imhotep in the field (they threw down last week at the Armory), but it's still jam-packed. Bishop Shanahan is the top ranked PA team in the field. Downingtown East, Glen Mills, LaSalle, Lower Merion, CR North, Roman Catholic and Wilson could all make some noise.