Photo by Howard Anderson
Boys' 200 Meter Preview
When Terrance Laird opened his season with a 21.75 at the Ursinus Open, we figured this season had the potential to be a special one for the Coatesville senior. From there, Laird has progressed steadily, winning at Burdette, Kevin Dare, and Ocean Breeze. At Ocean Breeze at the end of January, laird went 21.31, just .09 off Brady Gehret's PA state record.
This Saturday, Laird will attempt to shave off those remaining hundredths and try to take down that record. But more importantly, Laird is a strong favorite to take the state title in the event. He's still in search of his first state title after missing the second half of last season and getting nipped at the line by Josh McLemore in outdoors. This has all the makings of Laird's Time and he'll try and make it happen.
There are a bunch of others who will be on the hunt for the upset should Laird slip up. The one with possibly the best shot at making that happen is North Allegheny's Ayden Owens. While he's one of the favorites in the hurdles, Owens also went 21.51 on the oversized track at SPIRE, which puts him at PA#2. After the three rounds of hurdles, Owens will look to summon the energy for a run at Laird later.
The Imhotep duo of Kristian Marche and Ade Jones-Roundtree will be a duo to watch. Marche ran 21.67 at the Hispanic Games earlier this season and he won the TFCAofGP Meet of Champs this past week. Jones-Roundtree is the defending 60 meter champ, but he'll look for some more in the 200.
Ambridge Area's Isaac Elliott, the top seed in the 60 meters is another one with some serious talent. Elliott ran 21.76 at Edinboro last week, which should translate to a very fast time at PSU on Saturday. He can't be counted out. Neither can Dock Mennonite's Austin Kratz, who went 21.74 at Ocean Breeze in January.
Bishop Shanahan's Nate Alleyne (PA#9) and Keegan Hughes (PA#11) should be in contention, as well. Alleyne has run a few quick 300s this season, which should help his 200 come this weekend. Glen Mills' Keon Rantin, Springfield (Delco)'s Philip Shovlin, Council Rock North's Mike Welde, and Neshaminy's Savion Hebron are part of a long list of those with a good shot at medaling in the one-lapper.
Boys' 200m Entries:
Event 14 Boys 200 Meter Dash (25)
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State Meet: 21.22 3/6/2010 Brady Gehret, Altoona
Name Year School
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1 Alleyne, Nate 12 Bish Shanahan
2 Arp, Aaron 12 CD East
3 Bobowicz, Christian 12 CB West
4 Cook, Ethan 12 Bonner/Prendie
5 Data, Dom 12 Shenango
6 Elliott, Isaac 12 Ambridge
7 Hebron, Savion 10 Neshaminy
8 Henning, Michael 11 Upper Dublin
9 Hughes, Keegan 12 Bish Shanahan
10 Iherjirka, Obinna 11 Card O'Hara
11 Jones-Roundtree, Ade 12 Imhotep
12 Kratz, Austin 11 Dock Mennonite
13 Laird, Terrance 12 Coatesville
14 Manetta, Joe 12 CB West
15 Marche, Kristian 11 Imhotep
16 Montgomery, Austin 9 Norristown
17 Orozco, Nico 12 Conestoga
18 Owens, Ayden 11 North Allegh
19 Rantin, Keon 12 Glen Mills
20 Shovlin, Philip 11 Springfield Delc
21 Smith, Najee 12 Muhlenberg
22 Steinberg, Seth 12 CR South
23 Tucker, Chris 12 Penn Charter
24 Vaughn-Jackson, Gunell 12 South Phila
25 Welde, Mike 11 CR North