The annual Burdette classic will be the finale of the
2014 calendar year. But in the minds of the athletes competing, it is the when
the action really begins to heat up, and each athlete starts to step up their
intensity and hope that a good performance here will catapult their season to
new heights.
The meet is traditionally heavy on boys teams, as the
top four in each of the boys event will qualify for the February 21st TFCAofGP
Meet of Champions. This meet produces several state leading performances, and
Tuesday should be no different.
The highlights of the relay events will feature the
state leaders in the 4x2 and the 4x400 meter relays. Pennsbury ran 1:33.73 at
the Armory last week in the 4x200 to top the state, but this will be their
first chance to put a fast time down on a flat track. Delaware Valley Charter
and Imhotep have been good in this event for the past couple of seasons, and
will look to take down the leaders in a rare head to head matchup. Penn Wood is
also scheduled to compete, as they look to take over the top spot in a second
sprint relay.
Penn Wood is also entered in the 4x400 meter relay,
where they are at the top of the state list with a 3:28.46. They will face off
against the champions, Cheltenham, in a matchup of the last two 4x4 state
champions. Cheltenham have a 3:30 time to their name from two weeks ago, and a
win would be a big boost to their title chances.
In the open events, the 60 meter dash will feature the
return of state champion Christian Brissett of Cheltenham. PA has yet to see a
sub 7 second FAT mark in the 60 this season. Will Brissett be the first?
Charles Snorweah of Pennsbury will go head to head with the champ, as well as
compete in the 200 meter dash, where PA has only seen one sub 23 second
performance thus far. 55 meter dash state leader Ade Roundtree of Imhotep will
move up to the 200 for this one.
200 meter dash state leader Andrew Dillon of Norristown
will be competing in the 400 meter dash against Kornelius Klah of Pennsbury and
Ndiaga Seck of Penn Wood. Seck is part of Penn Wood's state leading 4x4, while
Klah is a key member of Pennsbury sprint relays.
55 meter hurdles leader Kornelius Klah of Pennsbury will
face previous state leader Charles Bowman Jr of Central Dauphin East in the 60
meter hurdles. The two are only a tenth of a second apart, but will have a huge
challenge to face in Mason Weh of Upper Darby. Weh was the only state medalist
in the event last season that was under the 11th grade. This will be his first
time running the event this season. Can he find his best form on the first time
of asking?
The 800 meter run has yet to see a sub 2 minute
performance in the state this season. Will Tuesday be the first? It has a
chance with Pennsbury's Alek Sauer scheduled to compete. Khai Samuels of
Pleasant Valley ran 2:02 on Saturday at the Christmas City Relays, while Connor
Holm of Radnor has broken 2 minutes indoors. 9th grader Kamil Jihad of Chester
has also run 2:02 and could be the future of this event in the coming years.
3000 meter state leader Paul Power will drop down to the
mile on Tuesday after his 8:55 performance on December 17th at the Hill School
Invitational. Colin Abert of Easton will run the 3000 meters, looking to do
better than his 3rd place mile performance on Saturday at Christmas City.
In the field events, it's the first head to head matchup
in the pole vault between last season's top two. Champion Chris Stone of
Springfield Montco will face state leader Ryan Wilkes of Valley View. Stone
cleared 14 feet on the opening weekend, while Wilkes just cleared 15-6.75 on
Saturday at the Christmas City Relays. Who will win the first matchup?
Three of the six 50 plus foot shot putters will square
off on Tuesday, as Milton Jones of Glen Mills, Matt Slagus of North Pocono, and
Kieran Moore of Upper Dublin will look to break into the state top three at the
expense of their opponents. 6-8 high jumper Alex McCord of Warwick will be
competing in the high jump, as the state has yet to feature a high jump
performance higher than 6-2 this season.
The girls sprint relays will be strong, especially the
4x200 meter relay, which will have PA#2 Susquehanna Township square off with
Neumann Goretti and PA#3 Norristown. Susquehanna Township edged out Norristown
to win the Christmas City Relays on Saturday, but can those teams repeat those
performances and hold off an up and coming Neumann Goretti squad? Neumann
Goretti will also run the 4x400 meter relay where they will face off against
North Penn and Easton.
In the open events, Christina Johnson of Susquehanna
Township will look to follow up her 200 meter gold from Christmas City with a
win in the 60 meter dash. She sits at PA#4 this season after running 7.90 on
Saturday. Carol Burgess of Great Valley will go head to head with Johnson in
the 60 dash, and she will also run the 200 meter dash against Eliza Brooks of
Neumann Goretti .
In the distance events, Mady Clahane of Cumberland
Valley will make her indoor season debut in the mile, where she will face Elise
Claffey of Great Valley and Brooke Hutton of Coatesville. Who will gain a big
win against top competition?
In the field events, Lucianne Burner of North Pocono
will look to make it two wins in 4 days in the pole vault. Burner won the
Christmas City Relays on misses, as she cleared 11-6 along with three other
competitors. Greer Gumbrecht of Easton cleared 10-6 at Hill School in her only
win of the season.
In the triple jump, state leader Katy Alberici of Susquehanna
Township will defend her top spot she earned after clearing 37-3.75 on Saturday
at Christmas City. Challenging her will be Evelyn Berecz of Downingtown East,
who has won both DVGTCA triple jump competitions this season. Her best of
35-9.25 currently sits at PA#5.
