Gwinnett County Meet Preview
Mill Creek will host the Gwinnett County Track and Field Championship this Monday and Wednesday March 25th and 27th. 20 teams and 1500 athletes over the two day period will try to bring home an individual or team championship to their respective school. Top eight competitors in both divisions (varsity & JV) will be recognized on the awards stand after each event has concluded. The preview and meet time schedule are posted below.
Girls
Sprints/hurdles- Malashia George of Mill Creek is probably the premier female athlete in the county meet and a heavy favorite in the 200 and 400 meter dashes. She currently is the state leader in both events. Alexis Guster of Berkmar is the current state leader in the 300 hurdles and is also entered in the 100 meter dash. Simone Glenn of Brookwood will be the favorite in the 100 and is also competitive in the 100 meters. The 100 hurdles is competitive with several athletes between 15.15 and 15.50.
Middle distance/distance- Brookwoods Quandra Shanks is the favorite in the 800 meters and 1600 meters having placed 2nd in each at the state meet in 2012. Katherine Yost of Norcross will be very competitive in the 1600 and is a heavy favorite in the 3200.
Relays- Archer, with a stable of sprinters, is a favorite in the 4 x 100 and Mill Creek with George anchoring is a favorite in the 4 x 400. Upsets are seen often in these events with the complexities of hand-offs.
Field events- Malashia George is also the county’s best high jumper at 5’8” and is a heavy favorite. The long jump has 4 competitors that have jumped over 17’ led by Jakael Bush of Central Gwinnett. The pole vault is wide open with several jumpers over 9’ but no dominant jumpers. Casidy Callahan leads the discus competitors with a throw of 135’ plus and she has also thrown the shot a county-leading 45’2” .Bola Hambolu leads triple jumpers with a jump of 36’10”.
Team prospects- Mill Creek is very strong in the field with both of their entrants in most events looking to be in the top 5. They will be hard to catch as they also are strong in running events with Malashia George and others. Brookwood, with a balanced team may be a good choice for second place.
Boys-
Sprints/hurdles- Shiloh seems to have the best aggregate of sprinters- Grant Swinton leads the 200 list at 21.75 and the 400 list at 47.36 and is one of the best male athletes in the County Meet. The 100 field has 6 sprinters who have broken 11 led by Dwayne Smith of Collins Hill at 10.83. Jay Lawson in the 110 hurdles is the favorite with a state-leading time of 14.10. Christian Smith of Grayson leads 3- 300 hurdlers under 40 seconds with a 39.09.
Middle Distance/distance- The boys 800 may be the premier event of the meet with 3 competitors under 1:54- Andres Littig of North Gwinnett at 1:52.14, followed by Jeramey Hampton of North and Tyler Woodrome of Mill Creek. Peachtree Ridge has the strongest entrants in the 1600/3200 with Josh Brickell, a multiple state champion and Kevin Mills. Brickell may not be his dominant self coming off injury. Tyler Woodrome is also highly competitive in the 1600.
Relays- Shiloh, Grayson and Mill Creek have all broken 43.0 in the 4 x 100 led by Shiloh’s 42.28. Mill Creek leads 4 x 400 teams with a 3:25.05.
Field Events- Bailey Vitatoe of Brookwood and Shahid Mitchell of Norcross lead the high jump athletes with jumps of 6’6”. The long jump is a toss-up with 8 athletes over 21’ led by Jacory Lewis of Mill Creek. Okion Agbi of Grayson leads triple jumpers with a leap of 46’ plus. Pole Vault is also close with several competitors over 12’6” led by Matt Intili of Dacula at 13’. John Patterson of Parkview is a big favorite in the discus with a throw of 162’ 3” and Jared Munday of Brookwood leads shot putters with a throw of 52’8”
Team prospects- As in the girls competition, Mill Creek is strong in the field and should carry a good lead into running events. Brookwood with good balance has a shot as does Peachtree Ridge.
MEET SCHEDULE
March 25, 27 2013 @ Mill Creek
Monday March 25, 2013 Varsity field, JV running (girls followed by boys) Varsity 1600m
3:30 3200 JV
3:30 B V DT
G V SP
B V HJ
G V PV-Red Pit
B V PV-Blue Pit
B V LJ-Red Runway
G V LJ-Gold Runway
4:00 4x100m Relay JV
4:30 1600m Run Varsity final
5:00 400m Dash JV
5:30
G V DT
G V TJ-Gold Runway
B V SP
G V HJ
B V TJ-Red Runway
5:30 100m Dash JV
5:50 100m Hurdles JV
6:05 110m Hurdles JV
6:20 800m Run JV
6:45 200m Dash JV
7:05 300m Hurdles JV
7:30 JV 4x800 Relay
8:00 4x400m Relay JV
Wednesday March 27, 2013 JV Field, Varsity running (girls followed by boys) JV 1600
3:30 V 4x800
3:30 B JV DT
G JV SP
B JV HJ
G JV PV-Red Pit
B JV PV-Blue Pit
B PV LJ-Red Runway
G JV LJ-Gold Runway
4:00 V 4x100
4:30 1600m Run Junior varsity Final
5:00 400m Dash V
5:30 100m Dash V
5:30 G JV DT
B JV SP
G JV HJ
B JV TJ-Red Runway
G JV TJ-Gold Runway
5:50 100m Hurdles V
6:05 110m Hurdles V
6:20 800m Run V
6:45 200m Dash V
7:05 300m Hurdles V
7:30 V 3200
8:00 4x400m Relay V