The end of February holds a special place for athletes.
It's the time and space reserved just before national competition. For others, it's the days and weeks before the outdoor track and field season.
Few would doubt it's a time for peaking.
As the indoor season heads toward its conclusion, athletes and teams from around the U.S. are now rounding the corner and could yield career best performances this weekend.
And so, this week all eyes should be on the Ocean Breeze Elite Invitational.
More than a few races and events should live up to the hype. Check below for analysis, and check back on MileSplit tomorrow and Saturday for full coverage.
Related Links:
Ocean Breeze Elite Invitational meet page
5. Archbishop Carroll Is Eyeing Up Multiple U.S. No. 1s
It's been a wildly successful season for Archbishop Carroll's (DC) top sprinters thus far.
In January, junior Nyckoles Harbor ran the nation's fastest time at the Texas Tech UA High School Classic, clocking a 20.79. Meanwhile, his teammate, Drew Dillard, owns a top 20 triple jump.
Both are looking to improve on those performances on Saturday.
While Dillard has yet to break 8 seconds in the 60mH or 7.7 in the 55mH, his coaches believe in him enough to seed him under those parameters.
And then there's Harbor. He's entered in the 60m and will matchup against New York's top short sprinter, Shenendehowa's Carter Cukerstein, in the 60m.
Both Harbor and Cukerstein can back up the hype, with Harbor owning a U.S. No. 4 time of 6.73 and Cukerstein at U.S. No. 9 in 6.77.
But really, where Archbishop Carroll could make some real noise is in the 4x200, where the program enters with a U.S. No. 4 time of 1:28.74.
At this point, you have to believe the team is eyeing up the nation's top time of 1:27.80, which is owned by Calvert Hall (MD).
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4. Four Girls Enter A Super-Competitive 800m Field Under 2:16
Four girls enter the 800m field under 2:16, which would put each athlete inside the nation's top 50 performances.
And so, if the race lives up to the billing, then this could be one of the fastest races of the season.
Leading the charge will be Union Catholic's Peyton Hollis, who has clocked a 2:14.37, though Saratoga Spring's Alycia Hart -- who will also feature in the team's 4x800 and DMR -- shouldn't be far behind.
This will be Hart's first open 800m of the season.
William Floyd's Zariel Macchia will tag along in her debut 800m, while Wheatley's Julia Schriefer, who owns New York's second-best time of 2022, owns a 2:15.30.
If this group keeps the early pace honest, it has the potential to be a very fast half-mile.
3. Gary Moore Is Heading Toward A Big-Time Throws Double
Ranked seventh nationally in the shot put and fifth in the weight throw, Gary Moore Jr. is in a class of his own.
That's never been the question.
Perhaps a better one might be this: Just how far can Gary ultimately throw?
Nearly 10 feet separates Moore from the top mark in the weight throw, while he's just under five feet shy of the U.S. No. 1 in the shot put.
The Hillhouse (CT) senior and Baylor signee owns personal best marks of 64-1.25 in the shot put and 72-11, respectively, in the weight throw. Combined, he's among the country's top 20 best two-way throwers of all-time.
On Saturday, he has 12 total throws to elevate his season even more.
2. Could Juliette Whittaker Surprise With A National 1K Record?
Never doubt Juliette Whittaker in a big race.
If you've watched her enough times over her career, you've probably come to that conclusion.
Even though the Mount De Sales (MD) senior hasn't run a 1K since her sophomore season, few would doubt her ability to go after a national record on Saturday. The Stanford recruit is simply one of the nation's preeminent forces in distance running.
There's also this: She's coming off a U.S. No. 3 performance of 2:01.69 in the 800m at the Garden State Track Club Invitational, in a race that featured both men and women.
No matter the challenge, Whittaker typically answers it.
This weekend, she'll be paired with a quality field, too: Cicero-North's Kate Putman and Saratoga Springs' Ella Kurto are among the entrants.
And yet, her sights are likely looking beyond just the race itself.
Two years ago, Whittaker ran 2:45.49 as a sophomore, which entered her into the top 10 performances of all-time.
A little older and a little wiser, perhaps that time of 2:40.72 is well within reach.
1. Can Saratoga Springs Capture A DMR National Record?
Just two weeks ahead of Nike Indoor Nationals, where Saratoga Springs is expected to compete for a final time this indoor season, the Blue Streaks' top athletes are entered in a variety of individual events on Saturday.
Emily Bush is scheduled in the 3K, Alycia Hart is in the 800m and Ella Kurto is in the 1K.
But a larger question is looming in the DMR: Will the Blue Streaks go after the national record?
With a squad capable of challenging the record time of 11:34.54, which was last achieved by Lake Braddock (VA) in 2017, now seems as good a time as ever to make a move.
The reigning No. 1 team from the cross country season has the star power to realize that potential. Bush, Hart and Kurto all own nationally-relevant times in the 600m (Hart, No. 121), 1K (Kurto, No. 17) and mile (Bush, No. 18).
And then there's recency to think about, too: Just two weeks ago, Ann Arbor Pioneer dispatched a team that ran 13 seconds faster than the national record at the SVSU Distance Festival -- though they did it on a 300m track.
Indoor records are reserved for 200m tracks, which ultimately opens a door for Saratoga Springs.
The Blue Streaks are a team that's no stranger to history.