It looks like Harry Parone Stadium in #famouslyhot Columbia, will be surprisingly cooler than usual for this year's Taco Bell Track Classic. Typically, sprinters and throwers love hot weather, so this may be the year the distance events really shine. Don't be surprised if the sprinters and hurdlers don't throw down either. I know John Jones will have his top 10 list on hand, not only to see who cracks the top 10. How many records fall this year?
Twenty events this year have seed marks at or faster than the current meet records.
Rankings: State | National
Where to start? I think the matchup that everyone in Harry Parone is waiting for is Anna Cockrell of Providence Day (N.C.) vs Brandee Johnson of Nansemond River (Va.). Both girls will are entered in the 400-meter hurdles.
Cockrell is the defending Classic champion in both hurdle races, but she will have to do some work to defend her titles. Johnson is currently U.S. no. 1 in the 300-meter hurdles,. Don't count out my girl from my alma mater. Imagine Patterson of Summerville, currently U.S. no. 5 and defending South Carolina Class AAAA champion.
The boys race to watch will be the 110-meter hurdles because this will be the year for the oldest meet record of the Classic to fall. Who's going to do it you ask? Marcus Krah of Hillside (N.C.). Seeded just off the meet record, Krah is more focused than ever to show what he is made of come Saturday morning.
In the boys sprints Maxwell Willis of Archbishop Carroll is the top seed in both the 100 and the 200. Willis will be challenged by Cravont Charleston (N.C.) who placed second in the 100 at North Carolina Class AAAA Championships. Willis will have his work cutout Friday night in the preliminaries as sophomore Elija Godwin Newton is seeded just behind him. Last year we saw an amazing 200 trials with Ryan Clark crushing our meet record. Could this happen a second year in a row? Sophomore Elija Godwin Newton (Ga.) is seeded just off our meet record that dates back to 2004.
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Alexis Willams of Fort Mill and Zykeria Williams of Baldwin are not twins, but they sure are fast. Both are flirting with the meet record. Which Williams will cross the finish line first? Sammy Watson Rush-Henriet (N.Y.) may say "fugetaboutit" when she crosses the line breaking Palmetto State legend Briana Nelson's (Mann/Texas/Nike) 400 record.
Rick Crumpler (Spring Valley throws coach) is waiting for the Tower of Pisa to fall, so Crumpler's Corner can finally be listed as one of the 10 Wonders of the World. Though, not on the list yet it is a staple of South Carolina track and field. If you happen to be down their make sure you have Crumpler show you where Burke alumna Raven Saunders' national high school record landed.
Kayla Dawson of Olympic (N.C.) and Carisma Holland of Seneca will have their own battle of the Carolina's in both shot put and discus as they are our top seeds in each event. While Daniel McArthur of Mooresville (N.C.) will try to hit the 60 foot barrier in the shot. Coach Crumpler doesn't even have to move the wall back, he just keeps it past the 65 foot mark.
It's been a while since Sara Young went 12 feet, seven inches in the pole vault. Carson Dingler of First Presbyterian (Ga.) and Chesney Ward of Ragsdale (N.C.). Both have posted marks well above Young's 2003 meet record and we look forward to seeing this matchup come Saturday.
Make sure you have a good seat for the Friday night girls high jump. The girls oldest meet record has a chance of falling, and by a sophomore. Kenya Livingston of Rocky River (N.C.) won North Carolina Class AAAA Indoors this past February and keeps reaching new heights.
How high can top seed Elijah Cole of Millbrook (N.C.) vault as he's progressed since his junior year? Jeremiah Holloman of Newton (Ga.), Shameek Miller of Berry Academy (N.C.) and Marcus Krah Hillside (N.C.) could push each other toward that 50 foot barrier in the triple jump.
Friday night is always exciting having the high jump under the lights. It will be a Midlands and Piedmont battle between Frankie Thomas of Mauldin and Javondi Myers of Spring Valley. This could be a preview of the South Carolina State Championships in May.
The distance events this year are loaded with young talent. I know Coach Jim Kilbreth (retired Spartanburg/Summerville) and I are ready as usual for those 800s to start, but we are going to have to wait. Lindsay Billings of Northview (Ga.) is going for a mile and 3200 double this weekend, a good year for the attempt. Billings and Ana Marian Bloch of Athens Academy (Ga.) are seeded faster than the record in the mile. They will have to fight off some stiff completion.
Anna Vess of A.C. Reynolds (N.C.), a two-time Class AAA cross country champion and Foot Locker qualifier. Luckily Billings runs the 3200 Saturday morning, but again will have to race a stellar field Libby Davidson of E.C. Glass (Va.), the defending Taco Bell event champion, and Logan Morris (Clemson signee) of Spartanburg Christian who is fresh off her Raleigh Relays 3200 win. The girls 800 is going to be epic.
Sammy Watson of Rush Henrietta (N.Y.) will attempt the mid-distance double and reach for that 800 meet record. The 400/800 double win is usually very tough due to the heat, but this year the temperature will be on Watson's side. The only thing in her way is the defending Classic champion Laurie Barton of Daniel who ran the fastest time by any female in state history.
The boys 3200 could be very interesting since the top three just raced each other two weeks ago. We may see a time in the low nine-minute range, especially with the cool temperatures Saturday evening. Zachary Marchinko of Jess C. Carson (N.C.) who placed ahead of Matthew Conner of Weddington (N.C.) and Ben Savino of Apex (N.C.) at Raleigh Relays will look to fight both of them off. Also, keep an eye on Matthew Thornton of Cary (N.C.) who has preformed well on the big stage, not to mention the creator of the "Taco Bell Lap."
Malik Epps of Byrnes and Thomas Moore of North Oconee will also attempt the challenging mile/800 double this year at Classic. Devin Dixon of Eagle's Landing (Ga.) will have something to say about that as our defending 800 champion and current U.S. no. five. The question Coach Kilbreth and I have, is this the year we see sub 1:50?
Last, but not least is our relays. Last year's 4x100 kick of the century by Classic alumnus Ryan Clark let me speechless, leaving spectators and meet management anticipating another similar race. We could very well see this in the Boys 4x100 as Newton (Ga.) is U.S. no. 5 and seeded faster than the current record. On the girls side of the relays Bullis (Md.) are just flat-out fast. They have enough to field two 4x100 teams for a first and third seed.
There is something magical about running the 4x800s on Friday under the lights at Harry Parone Stadium. In the girls race we have nine schools under 10 minutes with the favorite being E.C. Glass (Va.), seeded very close to the meet record. The top four seeds have multiple state champions running. A battle you may want to keep your eye on is the boarder clash with Cardinal Gibbons (N.C.) Class AAAA cross country champions and in-state Riverside Class AAAA cross country champions.
The boys 4x800. Newburgh (N.Y.), Cardinal Gibbons (N.C.), Weddington (N.C.), and Asheville (N.C.) are all under the eight-minute mark.
scrunners is joined by our ncrunners.com team this weekend for complete coverage. 