2024 PIAA Championship Preview: Sprints and Hurdles

The PIAA State Championship is this weekend. What can we expect out of this year's final and who are the contenders in each event?

AA Boys 100m Dash

Writer's Prediction: Dejuan Croumbles will seal the deal in a new personal best of 10.65 

Dejuan Croumbles (The Neighborhood Academy) is the top seed at 10.73. He is fresh off running this mark to claim the District 7 Title last weekend. If he keeps up this momentum through the qualifying rounds, expect to see him take gold in the finals.

Zion Chamberlain (Mastery Charter Pickett) can challenge Croubles for the win. Chamberlain is the District 1 Champion and flexes a season best of 10.77.

Camden Bryant (Mercyhurst Preparatory), Xavier Diaz (Mount Carmel Area) and Josh Stolarski (Penn Cambria) are among other strong competitors who you can expect to see in the finals. 

AA Boys 200m Dash

Writer's Prediction: Josh Stolarski is going to run 21.65 for the PIAA Title.

Stolarski is the top seed at 21.73, a time he clocked last weekend to win the District 6 Title. He should be able to run away with the race if he can conserve his energy through the early rounds of the 100m, 200m and 400m dashes. 

Don't count Xavier Diaz and Robert Williams (Bethlehem Catholic) out. Both boys have run 21.89 this season, tying for the second seed. 

AA Boys 400m Dash

Writer's Prediction: Josh Stolarski will gap the field in 48.25 to defend his PIAA Title.

Compared to his other events, Stolarski should win the 400m dash with ease. The defending champion is seeded at 47.91, well over a second and a half faster than the rest of the field. 

It will be a close fight for second place, with six boys separated by 0.29 seconds. Alek Gorski (Nativity BVM), Jerry Davis (Greensburg Central Catholic), Shakille Ferguson (Bishop McCort), Jude Mugerwa (Richland), Corey Domiano (Dunmore), and Da'Karri Williams (Beaver Falls) will all be fun to watch.

AA Boys 100m Hurdles

Writer's Prediction: Josef Book will run 14.45 to snag the PIAA Title in a close race.

Josef Book (East Juniata) is the top seed at 14.40. He won the District 4 Title in 14.49 after running 14.66 in the prelim. His season-long consistency makes him the favorite going into the state championship.

However, Jaydon Witman (Hamburg Area), Levi Prementine (Slippery Rock Area) and Davin Gartley (Quaker Valley) should make it close.

Witman is the victor of District 3 and is seeded at 14.48. Prementine won the title in District 10 and is seeded at 14.55. Gartley won District 7 and is seeded at 14.56. 

AA Boys 300m Hurdles

Writer's Prediction: Josef Book will upset Levi Permentine for the PIAA Title in 37.90.

Book also has the potential for double gold as the 300m hurdle favorite. He ran an impressive personal best of 37.89 to win the District 4 Title, making him the top seed at the state meet. 

Permentine will have his work cut out so he can defend his state title. He is the number three seed at his season-best mark of 38.57. Cole Bradley (Central Columbia) is seeded just ahead of Permentine at 38.50. 

AAA Boys 100m Dash

Writer's Prediction: Shaun McCoullum is going to pull away from a historically deep field for the PIAA Title in 10.30.

There's no ignoring Shaun McCoullum (George Washington) after the season he's been having. From his indoor 60m dash state title to the 10.24 he ran in the 100m dash this outdoor season, McCoullum has established himself as the standard for PA sprinting in 2024. 

Gabriel Scott (Central Dauphin) and Jesse Myers (State College) are other individuals who will make the finals. Scott won the District 3 Title in 10.45, while Myers won the District 6 Title in 10.56.

Scotty Coffi (Harriton), Chase Marshall (Pennridge) and Jayden Johnson (Conestoga Valley) are among a list of six other boys who have all run sub-10.70 this season. Pay very close attention to the 3A Boys 100m Dash this weekend. 

AAA Boys 200m Dash

Writer's Prediction: Jayden Horton-Mims runs 20.92, upsetting defending champion Jesse Myers in a close race. 

Jayden Horton-Mims, the 400m dash favorite, has the potential to earn two titles this weekend. The indoor 200m dash state champion ran an incredible wind-aided 20.56 (3.4 Wind) to secure the top seed. 

Horton-Mims and Myers will undoubtedly put on a show for the 200m dash gold. Myers dropped an ultra-impressive 20.91 to win the District 6 Title last week. 

Shaun McCoullum is another individual in the mix for the title. McCoullum dropped a wind-aided 20.88 (Wind 3.4) for a second-place finish to Horton-Mims at the District 12 meet. 

These three boys will get the crowd on their feet during this weekend's final.  

AAA Boys 400m Dash

Writer's Prediction: Jayden Horton-Mims continues unbelievable season with PIAA Title in 46.23.

Horton-Mims needs little introduction. The US No.5 400m dash runner has been making headlines all spring, posting a 45.82 season best. After getting caught at the line by Ade Lloyd (Harriton), Horton-Mims has been on a tear, finishing second in just one 400m race. 

Horton-Mims in the 400m dash is a race you won't want to miss this weekend. 

There will also be a close second-place battle between Lloyd, Jesse Myers and AJ Glavicic (Strath Haven). Luke Coleman (Abington), the defending 400m dash state champion, is another top seed in the event. All four boys have run sub 48 seconds this season.

AAA Boys 110m Hurdles

Writer's Prediction: Tyler Burges upsets Tyrese Washington for PIAA Title in 13.92.

Tyler Burgess (Palmyra) is hitting his peak this season at the perfect time. He won the District 3 Title with a massive personal best of 13.88. This is the kind of momentum needed to overtake the returning state champion.

Tyrese Washington (Pottstown) started the season off with a promising 13.76 personal best but was upset just last weekend by Lucas Band (West Chester Rustin) and Grayson Riggins (Upper Perkiomen) at the District 1 Championship. 

Band won 14.13, followed by Riggins in 14.47. Washington was third in 14.48.

Danny Schikel (Cardinal O'Hara) and Xavier Williams (Altoona Area) are other notable contenders. 

AAA Boys 300m Hurdles

Writer's Prediction: Tyler Burgess goes 36.75 to win the PIAA Title.

The momentum Burgess is carrying right now will be difficult for anyone to stop. He won the District 3 Title in a monster personal best of 36.82. 

If anyone else can contest for the win, though, it's going to be Andrew Beers (Parkland). Beers, the number two seed, ran a personal best this season of 37.12. 

Dominic Harvey-Sheppard (Wissahickon) and Grayson Riggins (Upper Perkiomen) are others to have on your radar.