Bruce Dallas Invitational (@ Cumberland Valley)
It looks like the meet of the weekend will be in Cumberland Valley for the 15th Bruce Dallas Invitational on Saturday. There should be plenty to watch for so let's jump on into it.
Lake Lehman's Dominic Hockenbury makes his return to the track on Saturday (Photo by Joe Swift)
BOYS: Early season PA#1 Coatesville returns to the track in both the 4x100 and 4x400 where they'll enter as the top seeds in both relays. Cumberland Valley should be lurking gunning for the upset in both.
Coatesville's top sprinter Terrance Laird will likely be featured in those relays, but we'll also get a look at him in an open event. He's the top seed in the 200, an event that he spent a good deal of the indoor season at PA#1 before an injury cut his season short. The spring season should be a big one for a healthy Laird.
Lake Lehman's Dominic Hockenbury had a strong indoor season complete with a second place finish in the 3000 and then a big race at nationals in the 5K. Hockenbury will step down in distance on Saturday, though. The senior will race the mile, a race he says he'd like to get his time down in. There's a nice field assembled behind him, featuring Emmaus' Ryan Paradise, Freedom (11)'s William Aplaugh, and Cedar Crest's Jesse Cruise.
Cumberland Valley's Kier Miner had a huge indoor campaign and he'll look to build off of that this spring. Miner is the top seed in the 400, his best event. He'll look for a good start to his invitational season on Saturday.
The favorite in the 800 will be Cruise from Cedar Crest. Cruise went 1:55 last year and he'll look to start his outdoor season off on the right foot.
The throws will definitely be excited on Saturday. Schuylkill Valley's Joey Mundell is featured in both the shot and discus. The AA standout will look to get his season off to a good start after a low-key winter. He'll be facing no shortage of good competition, though. North Pocono's Matt Slagus, Chambersburg's Kelton Chastulik, Greencastle-Antrim's Campbell Parker, Schuylkill Valley's Kevin Reichart and a host of others will give Mundell a good run in both events. Bruce Dallas, along with the Knoch Relays, will give the state rankings a huge shake-up.
Hunter Watkins will headline the javelin. Watkins started his season off well, throwing an Elk Lake school record in the event. The 200 foot barrier seems like a possibility after that monster start.
In the high jump, PA#1 Dondre Pittman of Coatesville will get back on the mat after a nice start to his season where he cleared 6-4 at Rustin. In the pole vault, the State College duo of Girffin Thompson and Lucas Gray will be looking to put up some nice early season clearances.
One of the state's premiere horizontal jumpers will get back on the runway for his spring debut. State College's Kellin Valentine will be favored in both the long and triple. He's coming off a nice indoor season, but one that left him likely wanting more. The senior's final outdoor season begins Saturday. CV's Miner and Schuylkill Valley's Brendan Sparr will look to challenge him in the long jump.
Harrisburg's Ty'Asia Dansbury will be one to watch in the sprints at Bruce Dallas (Photo by Patty Morgan)
GIRLS: Harrisburg's Ty'Asia Dansbury will return to the sprint spotlight this weekend. Dansbury is entered (and favored) in three events: the 100, 200, and 400. We'll see if she does all three, but either way, we should expect some fast times from her this weekend. State College's Taylor Givens will look to contest her in the 100 and 200, while Garden Spot's Nesta Petit ton will make her 2016 debut in the 100. Also keep an eye out for Coatesville freshman Porsha Miles, who will look to make some noise this year.
In the hurdles, Cumberland Valley's Paige Geatz will be one to watch in both the 100 and 300-meter varieties. Bradford's Brooke McGriff, Petit ton, and Harrisburg's Aalexis Berry make up good fields in both races. State College's Rachel Wylie and Jordan Rohrbach will be factors in the 300-meter hurdles.
The 1600 will be a compeititve race, highlighted by Emmaus' Katie Bacher and State College's Natasha Fedkina. Expect the two to be around the low five-minute range. Cumberland Valley's Mady Clahane is the top seed in the 3200 meters, with Chambersburg's Abby Yourkavitch also in the field.
Like the boys, the throws on the girls' side will feature some of the state's top names. The discus features the preseason PA#1 Emily Johns of Lake Lehman. Kutztown's Jocelen Ruth (current PA#1) is also in the field along with North Pocono's Jessica Slagus. All three are also entered in the shot put, which should be equally exciting.
Veronika Karpenko of State College had a tremendous indoor season and now the senior will turn her attention to the spring season. After winning the triple jump and finishing second in the long jump at the PTFCA Indoor State Championships, Karpenko will open her season Saturday in both events. In the long jump, she'll be joined by her teammate Givens in what should be a good competition.
In the pole vault, Spring Grove's Nathalie Elliott will come in as the favorite with State College's Kinsey Thompson and Lyndsey Reed also in the field.
While the state rankings will definitely see a big shake-up after this weekend, most of those changes will likely come from Bruce Dallas.