Shortly after these races and a few others we get into the meat of the meet with the Girls Mile. This race, with hopefully everyone fresh, will have Rachel McArthur, Libby Davidson, Bonnie Angermeier, and Jen Fleming. One matchup to watch is McArthur and Fleming as Fleming got walked down by her up in Philly on a bad day for her. If Fleming has a great race like we have seen a lot of this season then she could be one of four or five girls to dip under 5 minutes. This one is going to be fast and involve at least six girls right in contention with one lap to go.
Our prediction: Libby Davidson 4:51 (if she doesn't run 4x800).
Next for the big races is the girls 4x100 featuring Elizabeth Seton and Penn Relays Small Schools Champions Nansemond River. NR enters with the fastest seed of 47.36 just ahead of Seton's 47.60. Both of these teams will also be the teams to beat in the 4x400 where NR is US #3 at 3:45.
Once they take away the baton we have a different story but one that could go just as fast with the girls 400m dash. In this race we have four girls or half the field under 56 seconds! Leading the way is sophomore sensation Lauryn Ghee (Grassfield) who has run 54.38 just ahead of Kerr and Harris. Ghee has consistently improved race after race and we are still waiting for that big moment where she goes from being a state-wide name to a national name. This could be the week for that.
India Lowe (Atlee), double hurdle champion at Dogwood last week, will be on the track next in the 300h as the favorite. She will go against a tough duo in Scott and Babashak who can win state titles in their own right. On the boys side of things Holloway leads with Jaylen Banks (Hermitage) and Isaac Agyemang (Woodbridge) keeping him honest. All three of these guys are the real deal when it comes to 300h.
Following suit from last year, this year's boys 800 looks to be a big one as well. Leading the way this year is Christopher Short (Warhill) with Devin Barnes, Jacob McCoy, and quite a few others coming for him. This race will have the 3A indoor 1000m champion, 5A 500m and 1000m champion and many more! The girls race will also be top notch with Emma Call (Maggie Walker) chasing Candace Jones (Patriot) who ran the 1200 leg on the Patriot DMR team that won the Championship of America at the Penn Relays.
Our prediction: Jacob McCoy 1:52.3