2018 Coaches Invitational Preview

COACHES INVITATIONAL MEET PREVIEW

1600:

It's going to be quite interesting to watch which frontrunner will emerge in this four lap race! This year's field of distance girls will be a premiere race to watch. The 2018 Coaches Invitational will enter eight girls under the 5:10 mark. Leading this competitive field is will be Woodstock's Brynne Sumner. Sumner is coming off of an impressive 2017 sophomore season finishing as the  7A 800 State Runner-up and 5th in the 1600. She will be pushed closely by Kaylee Dupont, a senior from South Forsyth, who finished 6th this fall in 7A XC and was the 800/1600 champion at the Longhorn Stampede in 5:21, Woodstock's Anna Burnett, 4th 2017 7A 1600/5th 2017 XC  and Abigail Robertson of Walton, 4th 2017 800.    Other standouts to watch are Kira Stanley  of Harrison High School and Sophia West of Paideia .

100 Meter Dash 

On the girls side, Fayette County has another athlete leading the way.  Sidney Sims qualified for the state meet in the 100 last year with a season best of 12.23.  She also returning to the Coaches Invitational this after having qualified for the finals last year, so we will be looking for her to be here on Saturday again.   Another 2017 state qualifier joining the meet this year is Kyla Lestagez from North Atlanta who as a career best of 12.35.  The number 3 seed heading into the meet is junior, Tytiana Shaheed, from Whitewater High School who posted a 12.36 at the sectional meet last year.  And rounding out the top 4 is host, Pope High School's very own Denise Issah.  Denise was also at the 2017 state meet for the 100 where she posted a 12.39.  Denise was also the anchor of the 2017 6A 4x100 state champion relay team.  Other's to pay close attention to are South Forsyth's Louise Tocays and Paloma Jaramillo-Henderson, as well as another Fayette County sprinter, Na'ilah Moor

100 hurdles

Numerous quality athletes will compete this year in the 100 hurdles. The  fastest seed time at the Coaches Invitational belongs to her Walton teammate Elasia Campbell, third in last year's State 7A Championship. Other athletes to watch for include Mill Creek's Morgan Iverson, and two talented sophomores, Laney Kronz of Forsyth Central and Sarah Goins of Starr's Mill.

Long Jump, 

 This year's Coaches Invite the girl's long jump competition will be closely contested by the following athletes.  Leading the field will be Na'ilah Moore of Fayette County with a seed mark of 19'2 and Tia Jones of Walton with a seed mark of 19'0.   Carlie Turner of Brookwood, Ariel Lawrence of Dunwoody, MyCheri Onwuz of Hillgrove, and Kylie Gagnon of Marist have all jumped 18 feet or better and will be competing for top honors as well.  Other vying to place will be Nyasia Greenof  Lakeside-Evans, Ansley Jenkins of Creekview, Camryn Bourne of Paideia, Paloma Jaramille of South Forsyth, Meggie Hudson of Pope, Chloe Cobbett of West Forsyth, Laney Krontz of Forsyth Central, and Adiyah Warner of Brookwood are all entering the competition with a 17' jump or better.  

Girls Shot Put - The girl's shot put event includes 27 throwers. There are three throwers who have thrown over 40 foot. The favorite heading in the Girls Shot is Morgan Johnson from Whitewater with a PR of 44-02. The other two throwers who are over 40 foot are Jazmin Robinson from Grayson with a PR of 41-06.50, and Taylor Smith from Creekview with a PR of 40-02.50. This event is going to be extremely close and it will be exciting.  This event kicks off at 11:30 am on Saturday morning AND ALL Competitors will receive 4 throws.

Girls Discus - The girl's discus event includes 29 athletes, and 7 athletes throwing over the 100 foot mark. The favorite coming into the meet is Rikkelle Miller from Fayette County with a PR of 127-04. The other 6 throwers are all in the hunt with Karena Grigenas from Gryason throwing 121-6, Kailani Serapion from Starrs Mill throwing 109-3, Carolyn Deady from Pope throwing 106-7, Rachel Clarke from Sprayberry throwing 105-1, Savannah Richards from Grayson throwing 104, and Hannah Judge from Walton throwing 101-3.  THIS EVENT WILL START ON FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2018 AT 4:30 P.M. COMPETITORS WILL RECEIVE 4 THROWS.

Triple Jump 

The triple jump should be an exciting event in this year's Coaches Invitational hosted by Pope HS.  The girls triple jump boast a deep field, with five athletes over 38 feet, three of whom have also eclipsed the 39 foot barrier. Leading contenders are the duo from Fayette County, Sidney Sims and Na'ilah Moore, the defending State 5A Champion and Runner-Up respectively. They will be challenged by Pope's Denise Issah, second in last year's 6A State Championship. Other athletes who figure to be in the mix are Morgan Bentley, the talented Brookwood sophomore who jumped 38-9.5 last year as a freshman, and Peachtree Ridge's Paityn House.

High Jump

The girl's high jump is stacked with talent and certainly a great start to the Invitational. Top 5 jumpers include Sterling Lester from Marietta, Kendall McDaniel from Grayson, Alana Simpson from Harrison, Reagan Pasonski from Lambert High School, and Cassie Markle of North Forsyth - all jumping over 5 feet consistently. Following these elite athletes are nineteen more talented young ladies - including our own Hayley Benson -  who have posted jumps between 4-10 and 5-02. 

Distance Relays

The girl's distance relays are going to be another incredible set of races between several teams with depth, early season speed and strength from their 2017 XC seasons!  Marist is the top seed in the 4X1600 and should have a solid team after coming off another State XC Championship this fall.  South Forsyth, 2017 State Runner-up in XC and always strong on the track has already boasted quality performances, most notably going 1-3 in the 1600 and 1-2 in the 800 at the Longhorn Stampede.   Marietta, 2017 XC 7A State Champions,   currently has the 3rd best 4X800 All Class and comes in as the 3 seed in the 4X16.  Milton's girls had a solid 2017 XC campaign and will only be helped by the addition of transfer Nyah Hernandez this spring. 

 Sprint Relays

The 4X400 top teams will need to practice some strategy as Marietta,4th in 7A, is armed with ELITE talented Sterling Lester on the relay squad who has run a 52.69 open 400.   Walton will also be dangerous, Anchored by Amara Onyeukwu who is the 3 seed in the Elite 400 (56.17) Fayette County , Amara Nwajagu (57.25) and Starr's Mill, Bree St. Julian (58.42)

Fayette County, Starr's Mill and Pope (2017 6A State Champs)  and South Forsyth will battle for the podium in the 4X100.  

BOYS

1600 

Senior William O'Rielly of Marist State Runner up in XC, has the fastest PR however he will definitely be challenged by numerous other runners

Nick Nyman, Starr's Mill has had an impressive start to his 2018 campaign where he has already run a 9:23 at the Panther Relays and a 4:21 at the Kowboy Invite.  He has the experience in big races as he was the   5A 2017 State Champion in the 3200/ 2017 5A XC State Champion

Senior James Cragin, Archer, has had an impressive start to the 2018 season, highlighted by his win in the 1600 and the 3200 at the Archer Invitational

The senior from Lambert  Tyler Fox  has also had a quality start win double championships in the 800/3200 (9:25/1:59) at the Longhorn Stampede.  

Senior for Lambert  Lee Kell, Sam Cooper of Walton and Griffin MacCauley of Paidea could also contend for a place on the podium.  

100 

This year's 100m race will be an impressive one to watch! But don't blink, cause you might just miss it.  We have our top 7 athletes all posting times of 10.84 or better.  Leading the way is Seth Holloway, a senior from Fayette County High School, and a 2016 state qualifier in the 100.  Seth placed 6th with a 10.99.  In 2017, he narrowly missed the state meet with a 10.91.  So far this year, he has already posted a big win at the Nike Panther Relays with a 10.67.  Seth is also coming off of a good showing last weekend at New Balance Nationals Indoor. With 6.87 in the 60m.  The number 2 seed in the prelims is Yadon Johnson, a junior from Grayson.  Yadon is a 2017 state qualifier and podium finisher in the 100 with a best of 10.75.  Another top sprinter returning to the Coaches Invitational is Creekview High School's Chase Burr, who placed 5th in the 100 at the state meet last year with a best of 10.8.  Other's to pay close attention to are Lakeside Evans' Grandon Jones and Marietta's Kuunemuebari Mini.

110 Hurdles  

Talented multi-eventer Myles Marshall of Lassiter, 110hurdles 3rd all class 14.26,  Wilson Mclain of Peachtree Ridge just Pr'ed this past weekend at the Jerry Arnold Classic 14.48 and  Julian Martin-Rogers, currently 5th All Class, 14.43,  should battle for the top spot this weekend.  

Long jump

Top seeds in the Long jump include Davis Smith of Milton, from  LKEV (22-10.00)Grandon Jones, Creekview's  Chase Burr (23-00.50 ) and the top seed from  THSN (24-02.0) Marcus Cade. 

Triple Jump 

In this year's Coaches Invitational hosted by Pope HS, the boys' triple jump should be fun to watch. This year's Coaches Invite Boys' Triple Jump event will be led by Khalil Hasan of Brookwood with a seed mark of 43'9.  There are several athletes who will chasing Khalil for top honors.  They are Micheal Williams of Peachtree Ridge, Joshua Dotson of Starrs Mill, Arkenzio Hayes of Bleckley County, Harry Coppredge-Reaves of Pope, Antoine Peck of Peachtree Ridge, and Michael Zabetak of West Forsyth.  All of which are entering the event with a 42' triple jump or better.  Others vying to place will be Jacob Rosecrans of Whitewater, William Wideman of Pope, and James Carr of Fayette County.  All of these athletes enter the triple jump event with a 41' triple jump or better.

Boys Shot Put - The boy's shot put event will include 32 competitors. This field is very competitive and will include a lot of elite talent. 7 of these competitors have a PR over 47 foot. The top 3 throwers are all real tight. Eric Davenport from Starrs Mill has the best PR of 52-07, but Justin Loper from Whitewater is right behind him with a PR of 52-05, and Ridvan Kazimov from South Forsyth currently has the third best PR of 51-08.50. That does not mean the other 4 throwers with PR's over 47 foot can't come out on top. Kyle Brown from West Forsyth has a PR of 49-02.50, Devin Smades form Creekview has a PR of 48-01, Marco Guillen from Pope has a PR of 47.10.50, and Treveonta Epps from Lakeside Evans has a PR of 47-08. THIS EVENT WIL, START ON FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2018 AT 6:30 P.M. COMPETITORS WILL RECEIVE 4 THROWS. 

Boys Discus - The boy's discus event will include 31 competitors. This field is very competitive and will include a lot of elite talent. 5 of these competitors have a PR over 140 feet. The favorite in this vent is Jacorey Gates from Thomson High School with a PR of 154-01. Erin Donevant from Starrs Mill should also be a contender to win the Discus event with a PR of 149-06. You better not fall asleep on these 3 throwers either. Kyle Brown from West Forsyth has a PR of 146-10, Clinton Wallace from Lakeside Evans has a PR of 145-08, and Ridvan Kazimov from South Forsyth has a PR of 140.   THIS EVENT WIL, START ON SATURDAY, MARCH 17, 2018 AT 9:30 A.M. COMPETITORS WILL RECEIVE 4 THROWS.

High Jump

The boy's high jump includes a competitive field - you don't want to miss this! Top jumper Torenio Davis from Bleckley County is just shy of joining the 7-foot club, with Marcus Cade, Luke Hale, Sydney Stokes, and Samuel Sherman posted leaps of 6-04 and above. But that's not all: This elite group of athletes also includes eleven more jumpers who have recorded jumps of 6-00 and above. 

Distance Relays 

The boys 4 x 1600 should be a huge battle with 8 teams posting times sub 18:30.  This annual "bragging" rights race highlights some the State's top Distance programs.  Marist, State 4A XC Champions comes in with the top seed while Blessed Trinity, Lambert, Milton (2017 State Champions 7A), Starr's Mill (5A Runner up in XC 2017, Grayson, Pope (XC State Runner Up 6A) and St Pius (State Runner-up 4A) are all distance powerhouses who will not disappoint on the track. 

Sprint Relays 

SMR  Fayette County should be the team to beat in the SMR (1,1,2,4) where they have Holloway (top meet seed in the 100 and Indoor Nationals Champ and plan to anchor with Trey Johnson who won the 400 at last year's Coaches Invitational (47.23) and was the 2017 400m State Runner-up in 5A. Marietta is currently ranked 4th in the 7A 4X100 and lead the way followed closely by Milton and Grayson. 

Grayson who is currently ranked 5th (3:21) All Class in the 4X400  should also be competitive  however they could be challenged by Starr's Mill, 10th All Class.  Other top seeds include Marietta, whose anchor leg is Jarel Terry, 3rd seed in the Elite 400 (48.47), Lambert  and Pope.