3 Marks That Get Us Excited About Indoor

Jayden Mims rips a 21.70 flat 200m and a 48.48 400m

Jayden Mims (Imhotep Institute) picked up where he left off in 2023. He had a stellar opening weekend and ran a remarkable 21.70 to win the Franklin & Marshall HS Invite.

Just a junior, Mims could heat the battle on the state level. His 2022 indoor personal best was 21.72, so seeing him already run quicker is exciting. He beat out Shaun McCoullum, who finished second with his 22.01. Last year, those times would have ranked them PA #4 and PA #8 at the end of the year.

Mims also ran a 48.48 400m to start the year. Arguably, that mark is even more impressive. No one in the state ran faster than that on a flat 200m track in 2023.

We have a Race in the Girls 400m

In 2023, Kaddel Howard (Cedar Crest) was outright dominant. She won the PTFCA Indoor State Championship in her freshman campaign, gapping the field by nine-tenths of a second. Her season-best of 55.43 ranked first in the state and 23rd nationally. This year, she opened the season with a 57.22 to win the 2C2W Track Fiesta at Ocean Breeze.

However, this weekend, Ka'Nai Bey-English (Mastery Charter) ran 57.17 on the flat 200m at Alvernia. She shredded the field and ran a time just .12 off her indoor personal best. That should have been expected from the reigning PIAA 2A Outdoor State Champion.

So what's next for these two? What heights can they reach, and how contentious will their showdown be?

The Triple Jump Pit is on FIRE

CJ Simbiri (Delaware County Christian) and Kyle Moore (Emmaus) went toe-to-toe at the Alvernia Holiday Classic in the boys' triple jump. They left Reading on Saturday with US No. 5 and US No. 7 marks, respectively.

Simbiri jumped a monster 47-1 to grab the win, while Moore cleared 46-5. Simbiri won the Indoor State Championship in 2023 with a jump of 46-3.5. He notched a four-inch personal best on Saturday.

For Moore, 46-5 was also an indoor personal best. He finished eleventh in the event at the 2023 PTFCA Championship, but if he keeps jumping like this... he could be a championship contender. This won't be the last time we see these two duel this year.

Moore also jumped 23-8.5 in the long jump this weekend.