Photo by: Jackson Polin
It's officially championship season, and I, for one, cannot be more excited to see what some of the top athletes in the state do when it matters most, with team and individual titles on the line.
Boys Preview:
The boys' 100m title is looking like it's going to Jonathan Wert of Garnet Valley after he just ran 10.44 this Saturday at Delcos. Some other names that are in contention for the title are Derrick Bradley and Marcus Ali-Tucker, who both also hold PRs under 10.80 seconds.
The 200m looks like it will also go to Jonathan Wert, who just ran 21.08, also at Delcos this past weekend. The other name in contention for the title looks to be Derrick Bradley, coming off a 21.25 PR at Delcos.
The boys' 800m might be one of the fastest races of the day, with Josh Sharp of Upper Darby entered to run. Could we possibly be the first sub-1:50 from a PA athlete this year? We think there is definitely a chance of that if the race is honest from the gun. 9 total athletes come into the race with PRs under the 2-minute barrier, and it will definitely be a competitive and must-watch race for the day.
The 1600m is definitely going to be a great race with both of the Mazzeo twins entered and 3 total athletes already running under 4:20 this year. If the race is truly honest, we could see a sub-4:10 from the twins, with them coming off 8:52 and 8:53 in the 3200m from the Hoka Henderson Invite on Friday.
The 110mh is definitely going to be fast with 3 athletes seeded under 15 seconds and Kenny Virtue Jr. with the top seed of 14.13.
The boys 300mh is looking like it's going to be a Penncrest 1-2, with the only 2 sub 40 second athletes being Ryan Gallagher (38.01) and Nathan Weinrich (39.94)
Girls Preview:
The girls' 100m title looks like it will go to Justine Rimple of Marple Newtown with a PR of 12.16 and being the top seed by .18 seconds.
The 200m title also looks like it will go to Rimple, with her being the top seed by .33 seconds and winning the Delco title over 200m on Saturday.
The girls' 400m looks like it is going to be a fast one with Paige Evans being the top seed, holding a PR of 55.71, and being the top seed by just over 3 seconds, it's looking like she will run away with the title.
The girls' 1600m looks to be a very competitive race with many athletes holding PRs close to one another. The top seed is Coco Connor with a PR of 5:11 and 3 total athletes under the 5:20 barrier.
The girls' 4x400m relay will definitely be one of the best races of the day, with 5 teams under the elusive 4-minute barrier and the top seed being Upper Darby with a 3:54.37 seed time.
The clear and overwhelming favorite in the girls' pole vault is definitely Viola Wilent with a PR of 13-2.5 feet, which is just over 2 feet higher than the 2nd best seed.
Team Preview:
The boys' team title favorite has to be Stath Haven, with them having depth in almost every event, and it's looking like they can score in almost every event, if not every event. Haven really excels in the field and more specifically the pole vault, with what looks like a 1-2 finish to be in order and a huge 18 points to help with the team title in the process.
The girls' team title is looking like it will go to Ridley with the depth to do it, but also the top-end talent to win some events, too.