2016 Nike Panther Relays Preview

All-around power teams-  Newton and McEachern look strong in the sprints and field events.  While Whitewater, Saint Pius X, and Starr's Mill battle it out in the distance events with several strong field event performers as well.

Sprint Relays and Open Events.

Showcase 100m  -  6 athletes in the 10.8- 10.9 Range:     Titus Lucas of Heritage, Tyler Simmon of McEachern, Kibren Moore of Pebblebrook, and Shaquawn Vandergrift  have posted strong times already this season.

Sprint Relays:  4x100, 4x200, Sprint Medley, and 4x400:  Newton looks to be the head of the class in all 4 relays-   they are ranked 1st in the state across all classifications in the 4x100m McEachern is ranked #9 in the 4x100 and #14 in the 4x400;   St. Pius X, Newnan, East Coweta has posted top 25 times in several relays.  This looks like an awesome series of sprint relays for the men's events.   Can any of them beat Newton?

Distance Relays and Open Races

4x800 and Distance Medley pit some of the top distance programs against one another.  St. Pius X, Whitewater, Clarkston, Starr's Mill, Union Grove, and Northgate. 

1600m-  4 athletes at 4:25 and another 10 up and comers under 4:38.  Andrew Tuttle of Northgate, Sam Ellis of Decatur, Sam Bowie of LaGrange, and Parker Nail of Whitewater will set the pace for this deep 1600m race.

3200m-  10 athletes have posted times under 10 minutes and another 10 under 10:30.   Sam Bowie of LaGrange, George Meyer- St. Pius, Harry Harp of Whitewater & David Michaels of Parkview lead the deepest field of the meet.  

Hurdles

100m H has 6 athletes in the 15's  Amir Davis of powerhouse  MacEachern, Tre Willians of Langston Hughes,  Gabriel Woods of Northgate, and Christian Scalon of East Coweta will battle of Hurdle supremacy.   

300 H has 6 athletes under 41 seconds:  Tre Williams of Langston Hughes, Jalen Ridges of Fayette County, and Matthew Gentilhomme of Hampton look to push their times even faster. 

Horizontal Jumps

Long Jump- 5 athletes at 22 feet or further:  All around jumper Jeremiah Holloman of  Newton goes head to head with Cedric Williams of McEachern and Adeoluu Adeleke of Heritage.

Triple Jump- 4 athletes at 45-47 feet:  All around jumper Jeremiah Holloman of  Newton battles again with Cedric Williams of McEachern and Marlon Bowen of Langston Hughes mixes it up.

Vertical Jumps

High Jump- 7 jumpers at 6 feet or higher.  Jamaine Chambers of Dutchtown and Mushadi Ibere Newton have both jumped 6' 6".    Can Jeremiah Holloman of Newton pull of a sweep of the 3 jumping events?

Pole Vault-  The Runyan brothers from Starr's Mill are head and shoulders above the rest. Older brother Michael has cleared 14' while younger brother, Ben is at 12' 6"

Throwing Events

Shot Put-  has 4 throwers at 51 feet or further-  State Champion Ryan Spiecha of Starr's Mill defends his home field turf against Jeremiah Russell from Newnan and Marquis Davis of Heritage.

Discus-  has 5 throwers over 140 feet:   Drew Latham of Northgate, Madias Loper of Whitewater, Lex Trujillo of Sprayberry and Marquis Davis of Heritage are within a few feet of each other.  

The Women's Events

All-around power teams-   McEachern with their Sprint depth and strong field events battle it out with Starr's Mill  with their star studded Field eventers, hurdler and strong distance team.  St. Pius X, Fayette County and Union Grove bring well balanced team into the competition. 

Sprint Relays and Open Events

Showcase 100m -  7 athletes under 12.5:     Makenzie Dunmore of McEachern leads the field with a 11.83.  Briah McBride of Jonesboro, Aliyah Whisby of East Coweta, and Myia Dorsey of St. Pius are 12.28, 12.29, and 12.31. 

 Sprint Relays:  4x100, 4x200, Sprint Medley, and 4x400:   McEachern is dominate in all 4 relays. McEachern is the only team under 4 minutes in the 4x 400.  Frederick Douglas, Newton, St. Pius, and Union Grove look to challenge McEachern in different relays.

 Distance Relays and Open Races

 4x800 and Distance Medley-  pit some of the top distance programs against one another.  St. Pius X,  Union Grove, and Starr's Mill will battle it out in these 2 relays. .

1600m-  5 athletes in the 5:20s and another 6 up and comers under 5:35.  Elise Glorvigen of Northgate, Harper Fine of Columbus will go head to head with the two Starr's Mill milers Mary Valli and Sophie Handel.  Who else will break into the 5:20s in this deep field. 

3200m-  5 athletes under 12:20.    Jessica Tardy of St. Pius and Alaina Tomlinson of LaGrange bring the top 2 times.  While Sarah Phinney and Hannah Fertig of Starr's Mill chase in the next pack..

Hurdles

100m H-  has 2 athletes in the 14's: he top 2 teams bring the #1 and #2 together for a head to head match up in the hurdles:  McEachern's Rayna Whyte  takes on Starr's Mill Alexis Farley.  

300 H- has 3 athletes 45 seconds or faster:  Areale Frazier of Sprayberry has the leading time, followed by Rayna Whyte and Jessica Watkins of Fayette. 

Horizontal Jumps

Long Jump- 2 athletes over 18':  Starr's Mill's Alexis Farley brings the best jump with Jessica Watkins of Fayette in 2nd.

Triple Jump- 1 athlete at 39 and 5 athletes over 34':  Starr's Mill Alexis Farley has a stand out jump of 39' 8 ½".  The 5 in the field have leap to 34'+ including Amber Gordon of Hampton, Alexis Gamble of Dutchtown. 

Vertical Jumps

High Jump- 5 jumpers at 5 feet or higher.  Starr's Mill Maddie Hammond leads the field with a 5'6" jump last weekend.  Followed by Jayanna Berry of Hampton and Cierra Fulton- Jonesboro, ALona Glenn-East Coweta, and Anesha Smith of Langston Hughes at 5'0"

Pole Vault-  The 3 vaulters from Starr's Mill plus Northgate and St Pius vaulters make this field.   Abi Dickison of Starr's Mill and Hannah Schaefer of Northgate are our two 10', followed by Jolene Berthold & Sydney Neilsen both of Starr's Mill. 

Throwing Events

Shot Put-  has 4 throwers over 36 feet. -  Megan Douglas of Union Grove, Shelby Myers of Starr's Mill, Katera Boyd of Heritage and Runeshia Williams of Riverdale has established themselves are the clear leaders. 

Discus-  has 3 throwers over 100 feet:   Megan Douglas of union Grove, Rikkelle Miller of Fayette, and Tiondra Grant of Columbus look to extend their throws even further.