Nike Panther Relays Preview - March 3-4, 2017 by Don Livingston
This year's Nike Panther Relays brings together some of the top teams and individuals in the state. It looks like another very fast set of sprint schools and distance teams gathering at Starr's Mill for another quality meet.
The Mens Events
All-around power teams- Newton, Archer, Alexander and Arabia Mountain look strong in the sprints and field events. While Alexander, Pope, Brookwood, Starr's Mill battle it out in the distance events with several strong field eventers.
Sprint Relays and Open Events
Showcase 100m - 9 athletes in the 10.58 - 10.9 Range: Elija Godwin of Newton, Priest Foust of Arabia Mtn, Kibren Moore of Pebblebrook come in with the 3 fastest times; Elija has the fastest time in the state in the 200m
Sprint Relays: 4x100, 4x200, Sprint Medley, and 4x400: There are 4 strong sprint schools, with outstanding times.
In the 4x100m relay: Arabia Mtn is #5 in the state, all classifications, Archer is #6 and Newton #10; Shiloh at #15
In the 4x400m relay: Shiloh is #1 in the state, all classifications with Newton #2.
Distance Relays and Open Races
4x800 and Distance Medley pit some of the top distance programs against one another. Alexander ran 8:00 at Kentucky indoor and looks to go under 8min; Brookwood, Pope, Starr's Mill, Whitewater look to challenge.
1600m- 10 athletes at 4:29. Sam Ellis of Decatur, Starr's Mill duo of Nick Nyman and Harrison Fultz, Archer's duo of James Cragin and John Klima and Alexander's duo, Koi William and Austin Muse, will make this a fast 1600m
3200m- 8 athletes have posted times under 10 minutes and another 10 under 10:30. Harry Harp of Whitewater and Patrick Smith of Brookwood and Wilson Moore of Chapel Hill will lead one of the deepest field of the meet.
Hurdles
100m H has 3 athletes in the 14's and 3 in the 15's: Daetrich Harrington of Alexander, Kameron Jones of Dutchtown, and Jalen Ridges of Fayette Co will battle for High Hurdle supremacy.
300m has 4 athletes under 39.4 seconds: Julian McDuffie of Shiloh, Kameron Jones of Dutchtown, Decovin Norwood of Pebblebrook, and Chase Murry of Shiloh are separated by less than a second, this will be a real thriller.
Horizontal Jumps
Long Jump- 4 athletes at 22 feet or further: Tyler Jones of Arabia Mtn, Fayette County's jump duo of Caelan Filmore and Seth Holloway and Julian McDuffie of Shiloh are within 6 inches of each other and close to hitting 23 feet.
Triple Jump- 4 athletes at 45-47 feet: Tyler Jones of Arabia Mtn has jumped 47-11 with Elija Godwin of Newton and Julian McDuffie 1-2 feet behind Tyler.
Vertical Jumps
High Jump- 3 jumpers over 6 and 7 more at 5'10". Samuel Brown of Archer is the clear favorite with a 6'6" jump with Khalil McClain of Creekside and James Hawkins of Fayette Co jumping 6'. How many boys will join the 6' club?
Pole Vault- 3 vaulters over 13 feet: Ben Runyan, 2nd at state last year will be challenge by Kyle Rowe of Pope. And Daniel Surman of Archer and his 3 team mates all jump well.
Throwing Events
Shot Put has 2 throwers over 60 ft and 3 over 50 feet- Sam Wright of Archer at 64" 02' and Madias Loper of Whitewater at 61'4" are the class of the field. Chapel Hill duo and 5 others could all throw over 50feet.
Discus has 6 throwers over 147 feet: Madias Loper of Whitewater at 172'2", Michael Willingham of Arabia Mtn at 165' and Sam Wright of Archer at 157'3" are the top 3 in this deep event.
The Women's Events
All-around power teams- Chapel Hill, Alexander, Arabia Mountain and Fayette Co with their Sprint depth and strong field events battle it out with Pope, Brookwood, McIntosh and Starr's Mill with strong distance and Field eventers.
Sprint Relays and Open Events
Showcase 100m - 7 athletes under 12.6: Angel Amadi of Chapel Hill, Laniya Rodgers of Newton, Amber Gordon of Hampton and Elan St. Julian of Starr's Mill lead a very strong field in the women's 100m.
Sprint Relays: 4x100, 4x200, Sprint Medley, and 4x400: 4x100: 6 of the top 20 in the state in all classification:
Chapel Hill is ranked #2, Alexander at #7, and Arabia Mtn at #11 and Pope at #16 and Mays at #17 and Shiloh at #20. 4x400m: 6 of the top 20 in all classifications line up on this star-studded relay: Alexander is ranked #8, Shiloh at #10, May at #15, Arabi Mtn at #16, Hampton at #19 and Starr's Mill foursome has not run yet this year.
Distance Relays and Open Races
4x800 and Distance Medley pit some of the top middle distance programs against one another: Fayette County, Pope, Whitewater 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. Pope HS sisters Heather and Hope Thornton, Starr's Mill duo of Mary Valli and Zemmie Steger and McIntosh's Megan Uszynski and Alaina Tomlinson of LaGrange will all go head to head in this strong field.
3200m- 6 athletes under 11:55. Erin Leonard of Jones County, 5A state champion in XC, is head and shoulders above the rest of the field at 11:02. Mary Valli and Megan Dobso of Starr's Mill, Heather Thornton of Pope and McIntosh's Megan Uszynski will be battling for 2nd place in a deep 3200m.
Hurdles
100m H has 4 athletes under 16: Ebony Forbes of Newton and Monica Davis of Alexander are the 2 to watch for.
300m has 3 athletes 46 seconds or faster: Aweng Mawien of Shiloh, Destinee Rocker of Arabia Mtn, and Skylur Taylor of Hampton are with a second of each other. This race is too close to call.
Horizontal Jumps
Long Jump-4 athletes over 18': Na'ilah Moore of Fayette County at 19'2" is the class of the field with Ronje Williams of Shiloh at 18-2, and the Mays High duo of Sydni Gilmore and Chloe Robinson at 18' an 18'1" challenging.
Triple Jump- 2 athletes at 39 and 4 athletes over 36': Na'ilah Moore of Fayette County at 39'2" and Amber Gordon of Hampton at 39'01 are the clear leaders in the field with 4 others close. This is a very talented and deep field.
Vertical Jumps
High Jump- 7 jumpers at 5 feet or higher. With Starr's Mill's Maddie Hammond 5'8" resting this week, the field is wide open for Jump sensation Ronje Williams, Ebony Forbes of Newton, Starr's Mill duo of Kelly Kozusko and Ammeyonne Smith an Arabia Mtn's duo of Cicely Kendrick and Patra Williams.
Pole Vault- With 12 vaulters from 4 schools: Starr's Mill, Alexander, Pope, and Archer, we will see the depth of these programs and could see big points for a couple of schools.
Throwing Events
Shot Put has 3 throwers over 36 feet. - Morgan Johnson of Whitewater, Addie Fraker of McIntosh, and Isis Taylor of Chapel Hill have established themselves are the clear leaders.
Discus has 7 throwers over 100 feet: Rikkelle Miller of Fayette County, Ivory Jones and Chanice Campbell of Alexander have thrown far this year, but 4 up and comers are just a few feet behind them, in this deep field.