Photo by Derrick Dingle
Boys' Field Preview
This will be the matchup to watch. Reigning indoor state champion Qayyim Ali of Williamsport returns to the Carnival once again this season for the high jump. He cleared 6-9 here last year, and after a nice performance two weeks ago at Susquehanna where he cleared 6-7, Ali will look to take down PA#1 and US#4 Kyle Garland of Germantown Academy. Garland's cleared 6-10 on three separate occasions, but the high jump is all about bringing your top game on the right day. Keep an eye on the high jump just inside the first turn on the track. Lower Merion's James Burton (PA#5), Chester's Braheem Bishop (PA#7), and Easton's Tawheed Muhammad (PA#7) will also be ones to watch on Saturday.
Watch Ali's winning jump from last year's Carnival:
There's no triple jump on Saturday, which means the horizontal jumpers will invest all their energy in the long jump. The top seed is Conestoga Valley's Jose Barbon, who went a PA#2 22-9.75 at Kutztown this past weekend. But Garland will also contest the event and his long jumping is really coming into form as evidenced by his PA#4 jump at last week's TFCAofGP meet. Milton Hershey's Treyvon Ferguson has shown his triple jump digs after a huge PA#1 in Maryland over the weekend, and he'll look to move up from PA#9. Schuylkill Valley's Brendan Sparr will also be one to watch.
Photo by Bill Shearn
It's no secret how deep the shot put is in PA. An incredible 27 boys have thrown over 50 feet and 11 of them have thrown past 55 feet. Saturday should be a great display of that depth. Chambersburg's Kelton Chastulik is the top seed in the field. He's had a great season thus far that included a PA#5 two weeks ago. PA#6 Keith Dreese of Selinsgrove should be a formidable challenger, but also watch for Southern Lehigh's Andrew Rochon, North Pocono's Matt Slagus, Greencastle-Antrim's Campbell Parker, Manheim Township's Ben Viau and Oley Valley's Jacob Gieringer. The PRs of all those boys are only within a few feet, so this event will go to whomever bring their 'A' game on Saturday.
In the pole vault, watch for the West Chester Rustin duo of Xavier Feliciano and Charles Dever. Feliciano put up an indoor PR of 14-6 at the Armory on Monday night, so he'll be looking to ride that momentum into Saturday. Dever has cleared 14-0 this season, just like Schuylkill Valley's Joe Jardine, the reigning outdoor state champ in Class-AA.