The other state record holder from the state meet competing at Nationals is John Lewis of Cheltenham in the boys 800. His state record performance of 1:48.72 still sits at US#2 for the 2015 season. The only blemish on that record is a recent June 2 defeat to Sam Ritz of Germantown Academy, who is also scheduled to compete in the event. Ritz sits at US#10 at 1:50.72. Lewis will be one of the favorites, but with Ritz’s track record against Lewis, Ritz will have as good of a chance as anyone to win national championship gold.
Ritz is also entered in the mile run, where he will look to finally dip under the 4:08 he ran back in the indoor season. Former Inter-Ac rival and reigning AAA 1600 meter champion Jaxson Hoey of Downingtown West will also compete in the mile, looking to get under 4:10 for the very first time. He ran 4:11 for his state gold medal a month ago. Colin Abert of Easton came within an eyelash of 3200 meter state gold, running a career best 8:56. Now he will be looking for a career best in the mile after running a 4:14 1600 in May.
Last year’s 2 mile freshmen national champion Nick Dalh of Germantown Friends will now run in the championship race this year. Dahl ran a big 9:02.64 back on May 1st at Henderson and will look to be the first 10th grader in state history to break 9 minutes for 2 miles.
In recent weeks, Zach Brehm of Carlisle has not only won the AAA 3200 meter title in state meet record time and run 4:10 for a full mile on June 1, but he has declared that the 5000 meter run may be his best event according to his coach. Now we will get to see Brehm run the 5000 meters at Nationals. Just remember to not count him out late on in the race, especially after his late race heroics at states, going from 7th to 1st to win the gold medal.
In the sprints, two time AA 100 meter dash champion Jahvel Hemphill of Bloomsburg will take his PA#2 time and compete at the national meet. Hemphill is the 2nd ranked sophomore in the 100 meter dash in the country and has a personal best of 10.59. AA 200 and 400 meter state champion Andrew Snyder of Camp Hill will compete in both events at nationals. Hill is coming off a state meet record 21.50 in the 200 and he has 2nd best time in the 400 in PA at 48.04.
Charles Bowman, Jr of Central Dauphin East will contest the 400 meter hurdles. After some blazing performances in the open 400 and the 4x400 meter relay, he will look to improve on his 54.32 performances from the Penn Relays that’s ranked 38th in the country. He will also run the 4x400 meter relay with his team that had some bad luck at the state meet. They have a 3:16 seasonal best on the year. They will also compete in the 800 meter sprint medley relay with The Haverford School, Imhotep, and Academy Park.
Academy Park will also run the 4x100 meter relay after being surprise finalists at the state meet. Academy Park sits at PA#10 on the season at 42.58. Bishop McDevitt are PA#7 at 42.47. Indoor 4x2 medalists Springside Chestnut Hill will run the 4x2.
The 4x800 meter relay will have Pennridge represent PA. They currently sit at US#5 and PA#2 for 2015 with their 7:40.56 performance from states in a runner up performance. Dan Williams and Tucker Desko will lead the team with PA top 20 performances in open 800 races. Pennridge will look to break 7:40 and contend for national gold!
Though he may not have set a record at the state meet, Ryan Wilkes of Valley View does hold a share of the state all time best in the pole vault with a 16-6 clearance from his May league meet. Wilkes will have one last chance to break that mark at nationals, where he sits with the 17th best mark in the US. Caleb Sanford of McDowell will look to close his fine season on a high. He sits at 15-3.50, good for PA#3.
A potential state record holder this weekend or down the line will be Jordan Geist of Knoch. He has had a huge spring, winning states and the Penn Relays. He now has a personal best of 69-1, which is good for US#3. With the US#2 shot putter in the field, Geist will have a great chance of winning a national championship. David Lucas of Warwick will also do the shot put, where he is coming off a personal best, but his strongest event is the discus, where these two stars will also compete. Lucas is still US#5 from his runner up performance at the Penn Relays (199-7), but Geist got the best of Lucas at the state meet. If Lucas can hold his nerve, he can have a big day at nationals. PA#6 Tom Peppernick of Fannett-Metal will also compete in the discus, looking to break 170 feet for the first time.
The javelin has a large PA representation going to North Carolina. Six of the state’s seven 200 foot plus throwers have entered the national meet with all of them in the national top 16. Michael Biddle of Williamsburg Community enters at US#2 and will be the favorite for the national title. US#4 Drew Hess of Wilson (11) is just under 4 feet behind Biddle’s 213-10 seasonal best. Evan Sing’s 202-4 from April has the Penncrest senior at US#10. Mike Marsack of Stroudsburg sits at US#11, while Grayson Hill of Cathedral Prep, Skyler Mason of West Allegheny, and AAA state champion Grant Jones of Lasalle round out the national caliber group. The wild card in this event will be Nick Solfanelli of Scranton Prep, 2014’s top PA javelin thrower.
The two best long jumpers in the state are back to dual one last time. Isaiah Brooks of Woodland Hills broke the 24 foot barrier for the first time in his career in the AAA state long jump on his final jump, only for Saahir Bethea of Cheltenham to hit 25-5.75 to win the competition. What will the rematch bring? Bethea is now at US#3 despite his mark being wind-aided, making him a title contender. Brooks will look to hang tough with the state champ and set a personal best on his final attempt. In the triple jump, PA#6 Brandon Stanback of Bishop McDevitt has a 47-6 personal best from the district 3 meet. Will 48 feet be possible in his final competition?
