Field - Top Names That Would Have Appeared At NBNI
Jaden Price-Whitehead (Upper Dublin) - Long Jump
Price-Whitehead was having a banner season to this point. The junior sensation became the second boy in PA state history to jump 25 feet with his leap of 25-0 at the TFCAofGP Meet of Champs. Only national record holder Dion Bentley of Penn Hills has jumped further with a 26-6.5 way back in 1989. Price-Whitehead is at US No. 1 and was set to compete for a national title with US No. 2 Johnny Brackins of Missouri (24-6.5) and defending champion Jieem Bullock of North Carolina (24-0).
Sydney Horn (Manheim Township) - Pole Vault
Horn is one of seven Pennsylvania girls that made up the 31 total entries in the championship girls pole vault. Horn is the top-ranked PA girl in the field, entering at US No. 3 with her season best of 13-6. Horn was looking for an opportunity to chase after Katie Jones' state record of 13-9.25, which she set to win NBNI in 2017. New York's Leah Pasqualetti cleared the nation's leading height of 14-3 and also won the Millrose title this season. Liliana Cohen of Germantown Academy, Brooke Corson of Owen J. Roberts, Meghan Hart of Unionville, Erin Kelleher of Padua (DE), Gabriella Recce of Central Dauphin, Chloe Timberg of Central Bucks West were among the other PA residents in the field. Recce was also entered in the long jump, where she is US No. 11.
Maria Deaviz (Souderton) - Shot Put
Deaviz was on fire this winter, getting all the way up to PA No. 3 all-time and US No. 16 all-time in the shot put with her top heave of 51-10.75. She is nearly four feet ahead of US No. 2 and looked to be in the driver's seat to claim her first national title in the event. She hit 50 or better in three meets, including a put of 50-0 at the indoor state meet, where she claimed the PA state title and the meet record. Shenango's Emma Callahan (US No. 2), Germantown Academy's Meaghan Toscano (US No. 7), Upper Darby's Kayla Thorpe (US No. 8), and Council Rock South's Siniru Iheoma (US No. 10) are among the other girls ranked inside the top ten of the nation entering NBNI in what has been a great season for Keystone Staters in the shot.
Jeff Kline (Fleetwood Area) and Connor Vass-Gal (Wilmington) - Shot Put
The two top seeds in the boys shot put entering NBNI hailed from Pennsylvania with US No. 2 Kline and US No. 3 Vass-Gal. The boys shot was set to be a rematch between the two in-state opponents, who battled it out two weeks earlier at the indoor state meet. Kline won that duel with a terrific series that included a best of 64-7.5 to win the state title. Vass-Gal, a junior was second with his season best of 63-11.75. Like the girls' shot, it was not going to be an event to miss.
Brianna Smith (Cheltenham) - Pentathlon
Smith scored 3,667 points to take fifth place in the pentathlon at indoor nationals last year. The senior Duke recruit was set to enter NBNI as the top seed and US No. 1 after putting 3,617 at the Ocean Breeze Invitational. Smith was slated to be among the top contenders in the event, along with last year's third place NBNI finisher Jada Johnson (MA) and current US No. 2 Bryanna Craig (NJ).