MileStat.com Elite Track Gala Preview

The excitement is building for this year's MileStat.com Elite Track Gala as the fourth annual post-season meet once again has drawn quality fields to Sports Backers Stadium in fun close to the outdoor season for some, while a tune-up for others as they press on into the summer for national competition.

 

There are several events in the meet of particular interest starting in the field events with a deep boys pole vault competition which should take center stage as the lone field event still underway as the running events take over in the evening. AAA state champion and NSIC indoor national champion Matthew Armentrout of Deep Run leads a group of six vaulters with season best clearances over 15 feet at his 15'9" best followed by four from out-of-state including two from North Carolina (Aaron Zakula & Kevin Calhoun) and one each from Delaware (Darwin Gibbons) and Maryland.(Erick Artusio).

 

The discus meet record should be seriously threated with Virginia and Maryland's best facing off with AAA state champion Quintin Fortes of South Lakes at a 180'10" season best and Marcus Brown from Gaithersburg, Maryland. Brown has thrown over 170 feet in the discus and is also knocking on the door of a 60 plus foot throw in the discus, where he is capable of achieving a new meet record at the Gala.

 

Karimah Shepherd of Grassfield will attempt to garner two wins and two meet records on the runways of Sports Backers Stadium as the NC State bound Shepherd is coming off an outstanding AAA state meet with a state title in the long jump and state runner-up performance over 40 feet in the triple jump. She will be challenged by a group of talented sophomores in Sibohan Ford-Holland of Thomas Dale, Nefertiti Smith of Norfolk Collegiate, and Montasia Golden of Lee-Davis along with Henrico senior Elaine Derricott.

 

There are way too many girls sharing the current meet record of 5'6" in the high jump, so 2007 Gala champion Pearl Bickersteth of Potomac figures to change all that if she can approach anywhere near her season best and state leading height of 5'11".

 

On the track, the hurdles will be exciting events to watch in particular with the girls 400 meter hurdles featuring the debut of Marlena Wesh in a hurdles race. Wesh won a historic three state titles last weekend in the sprints, but will be stepping into unfamilar territory in a race against established hurdlers including teammate Taylor Wheaton who ran fabulous times last weekend to win both hurdles state titles including a sub 42 performance in the 300 meter hurdles. Also in the race will be two outstanding athletes in Yvonne Amegashie of Potomac Senior and Becca Sinichko of Lake Braddock as the top four seeds all have the potential to run at 60 seconds or faster in the 400 hurdles. Wheaton is the defending Gala champion in both the 100 and 400 meter hurdles.

 

The boys hurdles should have some swift times and meet records threatened with Vincent Brown of South Lakes in the 110 meter hurdles and Ben Majors from Fayetteville, North Carolina in the 400 meter hurdles. Brown was a close runner-up for the AAA state title and is closely approaching a sub 14 second time after his 14.05 performance last weekend, while Majors has clocked a 36.84 time in the 300 meter hurdles and will be pressed by North Stafford's Reynaldo Radlin for a time faster than the existing meet record of 54.59 in the 400 hurdles.

 

James Taylor is another star from the AAA State Championships slated to compete at the Gala as his focus looks to be on the 400 meter dash and the Nansemond River star's pursuit of a sub 47 clocking as he ran a 47.12 in the state finals last weekend as his fifth race of the weekend.

 

The 800 meter run always produces fast times at the Gala for both genders and this year is no exception with more than a handful of boys ready to dip under 1:55 and likewise for girls under 2:15. Group AA's presence is strong with the boys in having five of the top eight seeds led by Ryan Hagen of Potomac Falls leading the field at 1:53.54. Potomac Falls may make it a sweep of the 800 as AA state 800 champ Christina Lee is back after finishing as a runner-up in the 2008 Gala at 2:13.09. She will be in a seeded section of 8 runners who are aiming to run 2:15 or faster including one of the Eastern Region's best Natalia Kuhn of Ocean Lakes.

 

The 5000 meter run was contested last year in a very humid and warm conditions at last year's Gala, but it appears race conditions will be pretty ideal this year with a later start and much cooler weather for this year's event. Group A state cross country champion and 1600 meter record holder Ben Veilleux of Clarke County will be ready to roll a fast time well into the 15 minute range and approaching 15 flat, while a pack of girls led by Julie Strange from Loudoun County are aiming for times anywhere from 18 flat to 18:30.

 

The girls steeplechase is out-of-state dominated with the top four seeds including a pair from North Carolina and New Jersey, while the a trio of Hidden Valley girls will attempt to mix it up with them. Dan Nafziger of Harrisonburg is back to defend his Gala title in the steeple after winning one year ago in hot conditions with a great time of 6:20. Cooler temperatures and later start should bode well for Nafziger and others to drop their time and not do well for Daniel Callan's meet record of 6:15 to stand another year. Thomas Baker of Louisa and John Holt of Jamestown are capable of running under 6:20 as well.

 

A 100 meter head start should help the runners in the 1500 meter run build confidence in running an equivalent time which would best their current times in the 1600. A trio of girls are fit enough to test running a sub 5 equivalent in the 1500 including Maraya Slatter from North Carolina and Kaitlin harman and Maura Linde from Maryland as the three runners come in with 1600 bests just over 5 minutes this season. Zach Tennant is one of the best milers ever to come out of the state of West Virginia and he will be coming down to Richmond as the favorite in the boys' 1500 meter run with a 4:13 1600 under his best this spring.

 

The All-Star DMR are always a highlight for each Gala and this year is no exception with some notable DMR anchor legs including recent Charlottesville Dream Mile winner Taylor Gilland coming with his Chapel Hill boys squad to run up against All-Star teams from Virginia as well as Foot Locker Nationals champion Solomon Haile, who will be running on the Montgomery County (MD) All-Star team.

 

Look forward to a great meet with a fun and festive atmosphere including some colorful play-by-play annoucing from Dustin Yudowitch, music played throughout the day to keep things rocking, Nike Truck on-site giving free gait analysis and footwear recommendations, and most importantly some great performances and track & field action to get the crowd pumped!