Saturday will be the boys turn to take their final crack at sealing their state qualifying fate at Lehigh University for the 50th Meet of Champions. Last week at the Last Chance Qualifier, 51 state qualifying guideline performances were hit. Will they top that number on Saturday?
We will start with the relays, as Penn Wood and Upper Darby will lead the way in the 4x200 meter relay. Both teams rank in the state top five this season, with Upper Darby at #2 and Penn Wood #4. Penn Wood finished 2nd at the PTFCA Carnival last week in 1:32.64, one second off their best baked track time. Upper Darby has come the closest to challenging Cheltenham in the event. Can they get the stick around and stay sharp before next week?
The former national leaders in the 4x400 meter relay, Cheltenham, will face Penn Wood and Abington to keep their PA undefeated streak alive. Cheltenham not only has the 2nd best time in the country, but they have the fastest time in PA on a flat track this season (3:26.21). Abington and Pennsbury have dipped under 3:30 this season and will look to improve their state ranking.
In the 4x8, state leaders Pennsbury will toe the line as the only sub 8 minute team in the field. Behind them will be teams looking to improve their chances of making the state meet and get off the bubble. Bensalem, Wissahickon, and Downingtown East are all in the state top 20, with the latter two teams needing a new season to ease their fears come Sunday afternoon's selections.
In the distance medley relay, Downingtown West, Central Bucks West, Council Rock South, and Cardinal O'Hara are all inside the state top ten. Cardinal O'Hara used this race last to lead them to a strong finish and a national championship last season. They will toe the line looking to repeat that fortune. Abington and Lasalle will lead the chase pack behind them and look to break into the state top ten themselves.
In the open events, the top two 60 meter dash will go head to head. Christian Brissett of Cheltenham ceded his state lead to Charles Headen of Lasalle last weekend, and this race will be his chance to get it back. Brissett hasn't been defeated against PA competition this season, but this will be his toughest challenge to date. Yeedee Thaenrat of Father Judge and Osiris Nicholson of Church Farm will look to get under 7 seconds.
In the hurdles, Mason Weh of Upper Darby has been finding his groove as of late and he will look to keep his momentum. Cordell Richardson of Cheltenham and Kornelius Klah of Pennsbury have been going head to head at 55 meters, but who will come out on top when you add the additional 5 meters?
Plenty of star power will be on hand in the 200 meter dash. Charles Snorweah of Pennsbury, Tyler Whitmore of Upper Moreland, Charlie Wells of Penn Wood, are just a few of the guys who will run the 200. The state qualifying guideline gets met in large numbers at this meet in this event. Will that track record continue?
State champion John Lewis will run the 400 meter dash looking to maintain his state lead and crack the 49 second mark on a flat track, a rarity these days. He will have tough competition in the form of Penn Wood's Ndiaga Seck and Charlie Wells, Isaiah Smith of Abington, and Andrew Dillon of Norristown. This foursome hasn't dipped under 50 seconds this season, but achieving that standard on Saturday will put them right in the mix for a state medal.
The 800 meter run features the chase pack behind the top three runners in the state who sit in the national top 5. Alek Sauer of Pennsbury leads that group. This will be his first open 800 since winning the Burdette Classic nearly two months ago. Since then, he recorded an FAT 1:52.61 split in a 4x8. Billy McDevitt of Malvern Prep is the other state top ten 800 meter runner in the race. Behind them are some sub 2 minute runners and about a dozen 2:01 or faster runners. We could see a bunch of sub 2 minute times Saturday, which will make Selection Sunday very interesting.
The rematch is on in the mile between Jake Brophy of Central Bucks East and Casey Comber of Hatboro Horsham. Brophy got the best of Comber last Friday at the last chance qualifier, and the two will be favored to duplicate that classic race. Eric Diestelow of West Chester East will look to break 4:25 after his come from behind win last Saturday at the PTFCA Carnival. Julian Degroot-Lutzner of Masterman has been excellent all season long and has put himself in the thick of each race he has competed in.
In the 3000, Degroot-Lutzner and Comber will be joined by Brian Arita of Council Rock North and Andrew Hanna of Council Rock South. Comber's state qualification seems secure, but the chase pack could use a stronger performance to make Sunday a little easier on them. Arita and Hanna broke 9 minutes in January and are sitting right on the bubble. Degroot-Lutzner will look to break 9 minutes for the first time this season.
In the field events, Chris Stone of Springfield Montco will high jump and pole vault. Stone has had better success in the high jump, sitting on top of the state at 6-6. His pole vaulting will look for a strong rebound, as he has yet to reach 15 feet this season. Gurjeet Raj of Marple Newtown and Colin Waitzman of Strath Haven have gone back and forth against each other for the past several weeks and have cleared 14 feet in the pole vault. The chase pack in the high jump, however, are full of state hopefuls looking to punch their ticket to State College.
In the long jump, Saahir Bethea of Cheltenham is looking to come close to his season best of 23-4 that he set back on December 20. Like the high jump, the chase pack is looking to secure state qualification. Jay Stocker of Coatesville and James Holt of Downingtown West have hit the guideline, and reaching the 22 foot mark will be big for their confidence.
An all Inter-Ac match up will highlight the triple jump, as state top five jumpers Reggie Harris of The Haverford School and Sam Pope of Episcopal Academy will square off. Pope is one of two jumpers to break the 46 foot mark, while Harris one of two others to break 45 feet. Darian Alston of Downingtown West, Christian D'Andrea of Archbishop Carroll, and Stocker are also in the state top ten, sitting in the 43 foot range.
In the shot put, two 50 foot shot putters will lead the way. Milton Jones of Glen Mills is currently on a hot streak, reaching PA#5 honors for his efforts, while Kieran Moore of Upper Dublin is holding on to his top 15 place. Can the two get the best out of each other to reach new heights? The chase pack will hope they can feed off their ability and break into the top 15 for Selection Sunday.
The performance list for Saturday's meet can be found HERE!