It will be a big weekend at the Millrose Games for the Keystone
In total, 22 Pennsylvania individuals/relays are entered in the prestigious meet that will take place Thursday and Saturday at the Armory in New York City. We're highlighting PA's entries in the 113th Millrose Games with a breakdown of what to look for in each event.
Check out a look at Pennsylvania's Millrose Games entries below (all event times on Saturday with the exception of the girls pole vault)
Girls Pole Vault (Thursday, 2/6 - 6 P.M.)
What to watch for: It's no surprise that Pennsylvania is sending six girls to open things up at Millrose on Thursday night. PA has been on fire in the pole vault over the past decade-plus and it just keeps getting better. Leading the charge for PA is Horn, who cleared a PR of 13-6 at F&M two weeks ago. Horn was fifth at Millrose last year. She's at US No. 2, but she will face off against US No. 1 Leah Pasqualetti from New York, who went over 14-3 over the weekend (she also went over 14 feet on another occasion this season). Recce is the next best PA vaulter in the field with a season best of 12-9.
Boys Pole Vault (11:56 P.M.)
What to watch for: Franco, a Georgia recruit, sits atop the state rankings with a season best of 15-9, which he cleared at last week's meet at Philly Jumps Club. He's 28th in the country, entering the weekend. The favorite is New Jersey's Bradley Jelmert, who has cleared 16-10 this season and is US No. 2
Girls Triple Jump (1:24 P.M.)
What to watch for: It's been a great season so far for the junior Taylor, who has sat atop the state rankings in the triple jump for most of the winter. All three times she's contested the event, she's leapt 38 feet or better, including a best of 38-10.5 at the DVGTCA meet last Friday. She's usually busy with a number of different events at meets, but on Saturday, she'll have just the triple to focus on. A pair of New Yorkers -- Alissa Braxton and Nadia Saunders -- have both jumped 41 feet this season and will be the ones to beat.
Boys 4x800m Relay (1:44 P.M.)
What to watch for: The Lions will look to better their own PA No. 1 in the 4x800 as the state's only representative in the field. Penncrest ran its state-leading time of 8:02.78 at the New Balance Games on January 18. Now they return to the Armory with a very good chance to be the first PA squad under 8 minutes in the relay. They will be up against a large number of teams that have run sub-8 already -- led by NJ's Kingsway -- so Penncrest will definitely be pushed in this field to a quick time.
Girls 60m (1:54 P.M.)
What to watch for: Last year at Millrose, Abinusawa shined on the big stage. As just a freshman, she ran away with the 60m win in 7.33 (among the fastest times in state history). Now she'll return to Millrose in hopes of defending her title. The sophomore is undefeated this season so far, racing to a 55m win at the Hispanic Games (6.94) and then a 200m win at the New Balance Games (24.98). She is currently US No. 3 in the 55 meters Abinusawa will go for the repeat and let's see if she can better her PR (7.32) and make a run at Thelma Davies' state record of 7.30.
Boys 60m (1:58 P.M.)
What to watch for: Dunbar, a junior, has been one of the season's biggest surprises in Pennsylvania, emerging onto the scene and holding down the PA No. 1 spot in the 55 meters. At the Wesner Invite, Dunbar dropped a state-leading time of 6.37 at Kutztown. Now he heads to the Armory for what will be his first major test in a fast 60 meter field. Dunbar's full potential remains a bit of a mystery, but how he performs on Saturday afternoon could give us a good indication of what he's truly capable of.
Girls 4x800m Relay (2:02 P.M.)
What to watch for: Pennridge leads the way for PA this season. The Rams dropped a state-leading 9:23.28 at the Kevin Dare Invitational and now the squad will head to Millrose at US No. 5. The girls from Neumann Goretti won the indoor national title last year at the Armory. While some pieces to that squad have graduated, the Saints have a talented crop of middle distance runners that should make them a factor in this race. They have run a season best of 9:37, but expect a much quicker time on Saturday. CB West, meanwhile, will be looking to take back the PA No. 1 spot. After a quick early season time of 9:29 at Ocean Breeze, West is now at PA No. 2 and has the half mile depth to be in the mix. They are currently US No. 15, but could certainly move up with a strong race.
Union Catholic (NJ) enters the race as the top seed and US No. 1 in the relay.
Girls 300m (2:28 P.M.)
What to watch for: It's been a great indoor season so far for the senior Diggs, a Florida signee. She's been getting better and better with each meet and she will look to shine once again on Saturday. At her last race, she dropped a time of 23.79 (PA No. 3 all-time!) to win at Ocean Breeze. Here, she'll race the 300, which she ran a PA state record and US No. 3 time of 37.99 at the VA Showcase last month. She'll be the favorite in this field and it will certainly be worth watching for. Her own state record is in jeopardy.
Boys 300m (2:33 P.M.)
What to watch for: The state's top two 300 meter runners on the boys side will be taking their talents to NYC on Saturday. Sanders sits at PA No. 1 with a best of 34.30 from the Stanner Games earlier this season, while Cummings is at PA No. 2 with his best of 34.37.Cummings will be in the first heat, while Sanders will be chasing from lane 3 in the second section. Look for that state leading time to go down on Saturday afternoon.
Boys Mile (3:26 P.M.)
What to watch for: The junior DiDonato punched his ticket to Millrose with a strong win at the New Balance Games in the mile, going 4:15.78, a time that puts him at US No. 9 entering the weekend. Alex Fluery of MA enters the meet with the best time this season at 4:12.40, but the field looks relatively wide open. DiDonato is a tough racer and he should figure into the mix for a high placing here.
Girls 600m (3:34 P.M.)
What to watch for: LaForest, a sophomore, has been known to throw down quick 400s and 800s in her career so far. She'll meet in the middle on Saturday in the 600 meters at Millrose in an event that suits her ability well. She's a clear PA No. 1 in the event, entering the weekend; she went 1:35.31 to win at Marine Corps Classic earlier this winter, a time that has her at US No. 11.
Girls Mile (5:06 P.M.)
What to watch for: It's the Golden Age of girls' milers in Pennsylvania, which has been headed up by PA's three entries in this mile field set for Saturday at 5:06. Last year at Millrose, Starliper came away with the win in 4:41.66, a meet record. But Parks edged out Starliper at a New Balance Nationals Indoor race for the ages that saw both girls clock times of 4:39.05, the fastest times in state history. Goldstein, meanwhile, in that NBNI race ran a very quick 4:46.44 (PA No. 7 all-time).
Saturday will be the latest matchup in the Parks-Starliper list of showdowns. It should be a very competitive race with Maryland's Juliette Whitaker (US No. 1), Tennessee's Jenna Hutchins (US No. 3), Ohio's Taylor Ewert among the other strong talents in this field.