PA Boys to Watch at New Balance Nationals Outdoor

By Ian Sherlock

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NBN Outdoor returns to historic Franklin Field in Philadelphia for the second year, granting PA athletes the home crowd advantage. Read along as we break down some of the state's top boys to watch out for this weekend.

Sprinters and Hurdlers to Watch

Jackson Clarke (Danville Area) and Jesse Myers (State College) are the two standouts among entries for the sprints.

Clarke will compete in the 100m and 200m dashes. After finishing 9th in the 200m prelims at NBN Indoor, he should be on a mission to make the podium this weekend. Clarke has the momentum needed to make a competitive charge at the national meet after running 10.56 in the 100m and 21.23 in the 200m earlier this season. He placed 2nd in both 2A events at the state championship meet.

Myers will run the 200m and 400m dashes. After an impressive triple at the state championship in which he won the 3A 200m, finished 2nd in the 400m, and was 4th in the 100m, we are beyond excited to see the sophomore back in action one more time this season. Myers has a lot of potential to turn some heads during his NBN debut.

Tyrese Washington of Pottstown will be running the 110m hurdles. Washington won the 3A state title with a solid PR of 14.01. If he brings his a-game, anticipate him to have a good meet.

Trevon Foster (Pottsgrove) and Andrew Beers (Parkland) are other PA athletes to pay attention to in the short hurdle event.

Beers will also be competing in the 400m hurdle championship along with Perry Addey (West York Area). Both boys are successful 300m hurdlers, so seeing how they respond to an additional 100m in the race will be interesting.

Can't Miss Distance Races

In the 800m run, Aidan Hodge from Hempfield will lead the charge. Hodge has spent his whole high school career as one of PA's top distance runners but solidified a position on top after winning the 3A 800m state title with a 1:52.16 PR from the first section. This is an incredible feat that demonstrates his competitive spirit. He has a lot of potential to surprise us again this weekend.

Jacob Puhalla of Moon Area is in the 800m, too, and he looks dangerous. Puhalla has improved his season best in the 800m every time he's run the half-mile distance since April. If he can continue this trend, it will be no surprise if he leaves Philadelphia as an All-American.

Be aware of Stefon Dodoo of Springside Chestnut Hill Academy in the rising starts 800m. Dodoo is one of the top entries with a PR of 1:52.52 from earlier this season. The sophomore will be a sure contender for a top finish in this race.

 The 1 mile run is the track event with the most depth for Pennsylvania boys.

Are we going to see a sub-4-minute attempt from Brian DiCola of Hatboro Horsham? Time will tell as he is closing in on the mark. DiCola clocked a PR of 4:04.14 at the Hoka Festival of Miles just over a week ago. Shaving off another 4 seconds would be ambitious, but if anyone can pull it off at NBN, it is him.

Drew Griffith of Butler is another top-notch athlete set to run the mile. With a 4:07.31 indoor mile PR and a 4:08.59 outdoor 1600m PR, It will be no surprise if Griffith runs something fast. Griffith is on pace to be one of Pennsylvania's greatest, so pay close attention to what he does this weekend.

Timothy Roden (Central Dauphin), Ryan Pajak (Ringgold), Patrick Lawson (Haverford Township), and Thomas Smigo (Palisades) are other athletes in the mile with a great deal of opportunity to leave their mark. Roden is a 4:10.35 miler with a long list of accolades. Meanwhile, Pajak ran 4:09.64 to place 3rd in this year's 3A 1600m, Lawson ran a 4:11.52 to place 7th in this year's 3A 1600m, and Smigo ran 4:13.05 to win this year's 2A 1600m state title.

As for the 2 mile, Drew Griffith is the name to watch, along with others. In March, Griffith was 4th in this event at the NBN Indoor championship running an insane 8:48.01. He is more than capable of another top 5 finish this weekend.

Colin Whitaker (Lampeter Strasburg) and Rory Lieberman (Danville Area) could also surprise us in the 2 mile. Whitaker ran 9:00.66 to finish 6th in the most competitive 3A 3200m race in PIAA history. Meanwhile, Lieberman has a close PR of 9:02.88 and is a 2A 3200m state champion. These guys are no joke.

Brian DiCola is set to double with the 5k. We highly anticipate this race as DiCola is one of the top cross-country runners in the nation. The senior ran 14:43.20 to claim the Lehigh Paul Short 5k course record. You won't want to miss his 5k on the track if he can run that on grass!

The Jumpers will Soar

Jumping our way over to the field events, we must talk about JJ Kelly of Chambersburg.

Kelly is doubling with the triple jump and high jump. The three-time triple jump state champion and one-time high jump state champion will take his talent to a national caliber meet for the first time. With Kelly ranking in the US Top 50 for both events (US #35 in the triple jump with a mark of 47'-7" and US #38 in the high jump with a height of 6'-10"), you won't want to blink an eye during his flights.

Along with Kelly in the triple jump is CJ Simbiri of Delaware County Christian. Simbiri won the 2A state title and has a PR of 46'-8.5".

While Robert Allen (Southern Lehigh) is another individual who could fare well in the high jump, Allen was 5th in the 3A high jump competition and has a PR of 6'-7".

The Butler duo of Luke Campbell and Ryan Porch will take on the long jump. Campbell should be hungry to compete after not getting the results he sought at the state championship. The senior has a season-best and PR of 23'-6.5". As for Porch, he could surprise us with the right competition too.

Some of the state's pole vault aces will compete at NBN Outdoor!

Breckin Swope (East Pennsboro) and Drake Risser (Lower Dauphin) lead the charge with the most impressive marks this season, with both boys clearing 16'-0". You also can't overlook 3A state champion Bradon Schneider (Erie) and 3A runner-up Mason Bucks (Palmyra).

Other solid vaulters will be Nathan Lutz (Altoona Area), Solomon Glavach (Wilmington), and Logan Gossard (Richland).

Insane Depth in Throws

The javelin is by far the most profound field event for PA athletes. 

Pay close attention to Peter Bellomo from Jersey Shore Area because he could pull off the javelin win. Bellomo has had a breakthrough year throwing over 200 feet twice. Bellomo won the 3A state title with a PR and US No.4 throw of 214'-3". If he gets in the right groove, we could witness something crazy.

Tyler Arnold (Southern Columbia Area) can compete for an All-American spot. Arnold won the 2A state title with a PR and US No.10 throw of 205'-4". This is an insane throw for the senior.

Keep an eye on Thomas Flud Jr. (Upper Perkiomen) and Branson Krainak (Danville Area), as both boys have thrown over 200 feet this year too. Flud has a season-best throw of 202'-4" and was the 3A 3rd place finisher at states, while Krainak has a season-best throw of 200'-4" and was the 2A runner-up at states. 

If all these national-caliber javelin throwers aren't enough, we got a few more. Joseph Reed (Riverside), Lincoln Huber (Central Columbia), Nicholas Franceschelli (North Pocono), and Collin Niedrowski (Wyomissing Area) are all US Top 50 ranked javelin throwers. PA's depth in this event is insane.

Brady Mider of Berks Catholic will be the one to watch in the shot put. Mider, the 3A state champion, has a PR of 59'-4". Mider was this year's shot put runner-up at Nike Indoor Nationals and will certainly be in contention for a high finish at NBN Outdoor.

Peyton Murray of Hempfield is another solid PA thrower in the shot put. Although the event he has the most potential to surprise us this weekend will be the discus. Murray won the 3A discus title with a strong PR of 185'-9".

Matthew Arnold of York County School of Tech, the 3A discus runner-up, is also set to compete in the discus.

Relays to Watch

Chambersburg's elite 4x100m relay squad will compete with the nation's best. It will be a blast to see if they can improve their state title time of 41.49.

These are some of the top entries, not to mention the countless other PA boys set to compete at NBN Outdoor. Don't miss any of our updates on the action.