The 2006 Keydet Invitational will be hosted on Saturday at the Virginia Military Institute\'s fieldhouse, commonly known as \"The Pit\". Starting at 9:15 in the morning, the Keydet Invite will have a total of 45 teams in attendance on three lane 200 meter banked track. MileStat.com will be on-site with coverage from Brandon Miles with photos, video clips, interviews, and stories. Meet preview is below and meet performance list can be found here.
Sprints:
Patrick Henry senior Joseph Mesadieu will be the favorite in the 55 meter dash as he has the top time this season among all boys entered at VMI with a 6.53 F.A.T. clocking from the Wally Gilbert Invitational at Liberty in December. Mesadieu will be skipping out of the 300 meter dash though as he won the event at Liberty with the state\'s fastest F.A.T. time thus far this season in 35.73.
Monticello junior Brenna Johnston is the lone entrant in the girls\' 55 meter dash that has dipped under 7.50 this winter as he posted a 7.47 at the Wally Gilbert Invite. The time currently ranks her tenth in the state and second in Group AA.
Several competitiors have strong chances at taking the win in the hurdle event with a few under eight seconds already this season. Mountain View\'s DeShun Whitaker posted a 7.92 clocking earlier in the season at VMI at the Walt Cormack Relays, while Adams Abdulrazaaq of Highland Springs (7.93) and Kendal Booker of Northside (7.96) are not far behind in their season bests. James Wood\'s J.T. Painter is competing in his first season of indoor track along with his teammates as Painter was a fourth place finisher in the 110 meter hurdles in last June\'s 110 meter hurdle finals at the AA State Meet.
Shaundra Cook of Franklin County comes in with the fastest time in the girls\' 55 meter hurdles this season among all entrants with a 8.88 to her credit from Wally Gilbert. The junior is a returning AAA state qualifier in the event. Cook\'s biggest challenger should be Annie Grant of Blacksburg as one of AA\'s best hurdlers competed against Cook at Wally Gilbert and was defeated with a 9.04 clocking.
Another battle may be revisted in the 300 meter dash between William Fleming\'s Brittany Cabler and Patrick Henry\'s Natalie Woodford. Woodford pulled out a close 1:19 state best win over Cabler at Wally Gilbert in the 500 meter dash. However, the 300 meter dash is Cabler\'s stronger event with her 40.71 best. Cabler\'s biggest challenge may come from Sherando senior Latasha Watson as the two sprinters finished 1-2 respectively at last March\'s AA State Indoor Meet. Watson has a 41.72 best in the event.
Osbourn\'s Julian Hooks has the fastest personal best in the 500 meter dash with a 1:07.69 best from last year in which he qualified for state meet competition in the event. Harrisonburg\'s Adam Shroades has ran under 1:10 this season and Adams Abdulrazaaq posted a 1:08 last indoor season.
With a 1:16 best from last year\'s AAA State Meet as an All-State performer for 500 meters, Atlee senior Mansfield Murph should pick up an easy win in the event at the Keydet Invitational with no entries under 1:20.
Distance:
The mile run for the boys will feature two returning outdoors state champions for 1600 meters with defending Group A champion Nathan Brame of Radford and Ryan Witt of Sherando. Brame looks to be the pre-race favorite with the fastest personal best as well as coming off a strong cross country season, which included a state championship. Also featured in the field will be a past Group A state champion in cross country and track in Simon Biddle-Snead of Clarke County as well as Fork Union\'s second fastest Polish stud in Szymon Rola and Atlee\'s underclassmen middle distance star Ben Dejarnette.
Catherine White will be doubling in the mile from the morning fast section of the two mile run. At last year\'s Keydet Invitational, the Northside senior clocked a swift time of 10:48 at VMI and will be looking to better her time from 2006 in 2007. A returning All-American in both the mile and two mile, White will be racing the clock with no serious threat in either distance events.
William Byrd\'s Alisha Royal has the next fastest in the mile this season with her 5:19 clocking for 1600 meters at Wally Gilbert, while Cave Spring\'s Rachel Travitz has the superior personal best as the second seed with a 5:11 from last spring. Wally Gilbert 3200 meters winner Laurel MacMillan of Blacksburg will be competing in the 16 lap event again at VMI with her 11:21 season best, while Royal, Patrick Henry\'s Kate Norbo, and John Handley\'s Anna Cote also look to be in the mix.
The boys 3200 meter run has no clear favorite, but several names come to mind as possible race winners. Brian Welch of Mills Godwin has the fastest season best among the entries with a 10:02 from CNU in December, but Harrisonburg junior Bryant Clopper might be the runner to beat with a 9:44 last spring as a AA State Meet qualifier in the event. However, another Region II runner in Daniel Alonso of Fort Defiance has a 9:37 to his credit from last May\'s Southern Track Classic. Alonso won the senior race at Footlocker South in November.
The big question is whether Fork Union will load up their 4x800 meter relay with Axel Mostrag and company as they have the potential to become one of the state\'s better relays in the event in recent years with a 1:50 open 800 returnee in Mostrag. Entered at 8:05, if Fork Union can put up a 8:05 on VMI\'s track, it will be a great sign for things to come out of the relay events for FUMA. It could be the case with neither Mostrag nor 2:33 1000 meter runner Jamie Reichlen entered in any individual events at VMI.
Field Events:
The pole vault will feature the state\'s top vaulter in Harrisonburg senior Tim Beierle, who is recently coming off a 15\'3\" personal best clearance at the Spotswood Invite on Wednesday. Beierle has cleared 15 on two occassions early in this season after his junior year best was 14\'9\" in an outdoor state championship. The event will have four more vaulters entered over 13 feet including Alvin Siv of Annandale (13\'6\") and John Intollubbe-Chmil of Charlottesville (13\'0\").
The girls\' vault stays top notch with the state\'s best in Duke University bound Anne Marie Gordon of Mills Godwin. Gordon has been a consistent performer over 11 feet this season including a 11\'6\" clearance at St. Christopher\'s on December 19th. Gordon has never vaulted this well early in the season as she improved over a foot and a half last year from 10 feet in December to 11\'7.25\" at indoor nationals.
There will be great depth in the event at VMI with seven more vaulters with bests over ten feet including a trio of 10\'6\" vaulters from Virginia in Erin Patterson of Franklin County and the Atlee pair of Rachael Hawks and Emma Dejarnette.
Olu Olamigoke of Mountain View and Aaron Ransom of Greenbrier Christian make for two legit long jumpers to make up the top flight as both have leaped over 22 feet this season. Olamigoke won earlier in the season at VMI at the Walt Cormack Relays with the state\'s second best mark this season of 22\'3\". Meanwhile, Ransom put up a mark of 22\'0\" at CNU in December. Expect Rashaad Cannon of Highland Springs to pop a jump over 22 feet and possibly take the win as he leaped to mark of 21\'9.50\" without spikes at the Arthur Ashe Center last Thursday.
Several long jumpers among the girls have best marks close to 18 feet with Mansfield Murph of Atlee as the lone competitior who has leaped over the mark with a 18\'2.50\" best from last year. William Fleming\'s Omni Ashford has the top mark thus far this season among the entrants 17\'2\" from Wally Gilbert, while Buffalo Gap\'s Alisha Jenkins (17\'11.50\") and J.R. Tucker\'s Jasia Richardson (17\'7.50\") have solid all-time bests to put them in contention.
The same four jumpers will be in the fray again for the triple jump with Murph as the top seed. The meet record of 36\'3.75\" should be in serious jeopardy with a handful of jumpers having greater personal bests than then meet mark.
J.R. Tucker senior Marcus Robinson has the second best mark in the state in the triple jump heading into this weekend with a mark of 45\'1.50\" from the Ashe Cener in December. Lace up the spikes and Mr. Robinson could be pushing for the state\'s best mark as well as his own personal best of 46\'9.50\" from outdoors.
Turner Ashby\'s Justin Smith will be heavily favored in the boys\' shot put as the lone 50 plus foot thrower in the field with a 50\'9\" best this season from the Wally Gilbert Invite.
Expect a close contest in the throws for the girls between K\'Lynne Robinson of J.R. Tucker and Katie Cummings of Fort Defiance. Robinson has already thrown 36\'8\" this season in the shot put, while Cummings is ranked right behind her in the state with the sixth best mark and top among Group AA throwers at 36\'1.50\".