Nathan Henderson (JP McCaskey) / Photo by Bill Shearn
Hempfield Black Knight Invitational - Meet Preview
BOYS' PREVIEW
JP McCaskey's Nathan Henderson is kicking off the start of his invitational outdoor season this weekend at Hempfield. Henderson won the 3k at the indoor state championships and will be running the 1600 on Saturday. He will be joined by some of District 3's top names like Zach Lefever of Ephrata and Jesse Cruise of Cedar Cliff.
Another big name to watch on the track is Coatesville's Terrance Laird. He is coming off wins in the 100/200 at Bruce Dallas and will be running the 100m and 400m this weekend.
It will be a competitive race in the 200 with many boys seeded in the mid 22s. Leading the pack will be the Coatesville pair of Jayland Washington and Roland Miles, along with Wilson's Angel Martinez.
In the throws, Josh Eidemiller will be a top performer to watch in the javelin. He opened up his season throwing 182-8 last weekend which landed him the number three spot in the state rankings. Penn Manor's Alexander Scheivert will also be one to watch. The top seed in the discus is Luke Hoffman of West York Area who will be looking to make his way up on to the leaderboard this weekend.
Taraje Whitfield is the top seed to watch in the 110 hurdles this weekend. Whitfield placed third in the hurdles at indoor states, but will face competition from Aanyah Bermudez of Conestoga Valley.
In triple jump, Coatesville's Bill Anachuna will compete for the top spot with Hempfield's Darien Ressler. Both jumpers are seeded at over 43 feet.
The long jump will be competitive, with Jose Barbon of Conestoga Valley being the top seed. Barbon is coming off a bronze medal in the indoor state championship. The Coatesville pair of Naheem Moore and Aaron Young will also be athletes to watch.
Alison Willingmyre (Wilson) / Photo by Chuck Martin
GIRLS' PREVIEW
The girls sprints look competitive this weekend. The 100m dash boasts Warwick's Leah Graybill and Lily Palacio-Lewis. Destinee Holloman of Cedar Crest should also be at the top. Porsha Miles of Coatesville will be one to watch in the 200m. Many girls in the 400m also are seeded at times just under 60 seconds. It will be fun to watch who comes out on top.
Senior Alison Willingmyre of Wilson should be a top performer this weekend and is running the 1600/3200 double. Both races look to be competitive. The 1600 boasts Maddie Warrender of Northeastern and Lianna Tirado of J.P. McCaskey. Willingmyre will be joined in the 3200m by a talented field of Brooke Hutton of Coatesville and Hershey's Andrea Demko who is coming off a win at Bruce Dallas.
The 800m looks to be pretty competitive with the top seed Sarah Crissman of Fleetwood Area. Hershey's Hannah Jones will also be near the front and is coming off a strong win at Bruce Dallas.
In the 100m and 300m hurdles, Jane Livingston of Conestoga Valley is the top seed to watch.
Tesia Thomas of West York Area is the top seed going into the Long Jump this weekend. However, she will face tough competition from one of the top ranked Long Jumpers, Coatesville's Caroline Billone. Both girls are seeded over 17 feet. In the high jump, look for Warwick's Trinity Bitting-Ellis to be clearing top heights.
In the throws, look for a top performance from Aliyah Striver of McCaskey.