Weekend recap: Taco Bell Classic, Furman Invitational

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Taco Bell Classic: Boys Results / Girls Results / Meet Page
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Saturday highlights

A slew of national top ten performance highlighted the second day of the Taco Bell Invitational. In the night section, the girls hurdle events really stole the show. Superstars Jacquelyn Coward (Sr., Knoxville West, Tenn.), Ryann Krais (Sr., Methacton, Pa.) and Jasmin Stowers (So., Pendleton, SC) all ran the 100m hurdles, which saw all three break 13.70 seconds. Coward used her top end speed to beat Krais and Stowers with a finishing time of 13.26, while Krais finished second in 13.50 and Stowers third in 13.67.

Krais returned the favor to Coward in the 400m hurdles however, beating the Tennessee star 58.96-60.76, using a strong second half of the race to pull off the win. Both Coward's 100m hurdle win and Krais' 400m hurdle wins are U.S. #1 marks currently.

In the girls 100m and 200m dashes, Newnan (Ga.) junior Chalonda Goodman (pictured left in navy blue Newnan jersey, photo by gomavs.net) beat out in-state rival Brittney Long (Sr., Therrell, Ga.) in both races. Goodman ran a 11.37w (+4.4) in the 100m, while finishing in the top spot at 200m in 23.55w (+2.3). Long finished second in both races by running 11.53w and 23.88w.

A few evening field events attracted some attention. In the girls discus throw, Aslynn Halvorson (Jr., Butler Matthews, N.C.) and Britney Waller (Jr., J.L. Mann) staged a classical battle of skill, both throwing extremely well but Halvorson won the dual 148-09 to Waller's 147-05. In the boys long jump Stephen Hill (Jr., Miller Grove, Ga.) won with his leap of 23-08.5, giving one more stellar athlete to the amazing class Georgia has this spring.

Meanwhile on the boys side, Marcus Rowland (Sr., Dorman) and William Wynne (Sr., McEachern, Ga.) put on a show for the crowd in their respective events. Rowland won the 100m and 200m dash events, winning the shorter ran in 10.28 and the longer in 21.10w. While the wind was a factor in helping many performances throughout the weekend, Rowland's 100m dash time was wind-legal. In the hurdle events, Wynne won the 110m hurdles in 13.67w and the 400m hurdles in 52.04.

A few distance highlights Saturday evening came from the boys 800m dash and 3200m run. In the 800m race, Dylan Ferris (Sr., East Forsyth, N.C.) won in 1:53.37, making him one of the top rated athletes in the event this outdoor season thus far. What made the performance even more amazing was that he ran 1:51 the night before in the 4x800m relay and ran 4:21.18 to beat Luke Lovelace (Sr., Chapin) after Saturday's 800m race. Lovelace beforehand placed second in the 3200m run against Ryan Hill (Sr., Hickory, N.C.). Both Foot Locker qualifiers battled from start to finish, with Hill showing strength over the second half of the race, picking up the title 9:04.87-9:08.85.

While the finals of most events take place later in the day, a few early morning prelim results helped wake up the crowd. Chalonda Goodman (Jr., Newnan, Ga.), who ran 23.71 for 200m the night before, kept her momentum going as she won her heat in the 100m prelims with a 11.31 (wind +4.3) time that ranks her tops in the prelims. On the boys side of the event, Marcus Rowland (Sr., Dorman) ran 10.19 (wind +4.5) to easily establish himself as the finals favorite later in the day.

Early hurdle action also saw William Wynne (Sr., McEachern, Ga.) take the top spot in the 110m hurdle prelims with a 13.84 (wind +2.7)effort. On the girls side, Ryann Krais (Sr., Mecathon, Pa.) led three athletes under 14 seconds with the high winds at their back, winning her heat with the fastest times of the prelims in 13.75 (wind +4.3).

The top field event during the morning session came in the girls triple jump, which saw Searra Jones (Sr., Fort Dorchester) leaps 40-10, beating Gabby Brooks (Jr., Cedar Shoals, Ga.) who finished in second place with an exceptional leap of 39-01.

Friday highlights

While most of the top action at the Taco Bell Invitational takes place Saturday, a few performances really stood out Friday evening. One of the top highlights came from Dylan Ferris (Sr., East Forsyth, N.C.), who led his squad to the boys 4x800m relay title in 7:59.56. What was most impressive was Ferris' 1:51 lead-off leg, which gave the squad a huge lead to work with over their competition. The Stanford-bound senior has run ok this season, but not nearly as impressive yet as he was as a junior. This relay split definitely sets him on the right track. In the girls 4x800m relay, Collins Hill (Ga.) ran 9:21.11 to win the event by over eight seconds.

In preliminary action, Chalonda Goodman (Jr., Newnan, Ga.) ran 23.71 (wind +1.4) for 200m, winning her heat by a large margin and running one of the fastest times of the season thus far. Goodman's rival, Brittney Long (Sr., Therrell, Ga.) was nearly as impressive with her 23.99 (wind +2.1) heat victory. These two are creating quite a match-up for the final Saturday. In the boys 200m dash prelims, Marcus Rowland (Sr., Dorman) ran 21.09 (wind +1.0) to win his heat in 21.07. The final race Saturday should be exciting as six runners broke the 22 second barrier.