Parkview Invitational Preview

Feb 22, 2018

Parkview Invitational by Coach Matt Henson

Girls Field Events:

Long Jump-Skye Gross (Parkview) has already jumped 17-7 and has gone over 18' as a freshman, and four other girls have gone beyond 17-0. Good thing the pit is deep!

High Jump-White County has two girls over 5'.

Triple Jump-White County's Rachel Gearing has gone 39-1-potentially could be top 10 all-time in GA history before the end of this season. Look for a monster debut in the 2018 season out of Gearing.

Girls Vault-A HUGE event for an invitational opener, with Pitram of South Gwinnett and McNamara of Winder-Barrow both clearing over 10 feet last season. North Gwinnett sends their lone athlete for this meet, Kelsey Worthington, who has cleared 11-7 indoor and looks to better her attempts getting ready for Indoor Nationals in a few weeks!

Running Events:

Girls 1600m:

Perhaps the signature race at the Parkview Invitational is the girls' 1600m run which features four girls who have broken 5:10 in their careers. Headlining is Naima Turbes of Westminster who has already broken 5:00 twice this season (and within four days of each other!). Teammate Bronte Bachhetta, Sophia West of Paideia, and Reagan Mahoney of Atlanta International School have career bests ranging from 5:06.98 to 5:07.98. Watch out for some early season fireworks!

Girls 400m:

Top four in the fast heat are under 60 seconds, led by White County's Rachel Gearing at 57.1

Girls 100m/200m:

North Oconee's Sheleah Harris has gone 11.66 & 24.37 last season, both nationally elite times!

Girls 800m:

Naima Turbes will look to win the 1600/800 double as she takes her 800m talents (2:14.18) and squares off against the likes of teammate Bronte Bachhetta (2:19.54) and Jaelen Alexander of White County (2:17.62).

Girls 3200m:

Should be a duel between two athletes in their second events - Sophia West of Paideia (11:05.37) and Reagan Mahoney of AIS (11:17.43).

Boys Field Events:

Boys Pole Vault:

Parkview's Brian Hauch (16-0.5) has already unofficially broken the Gwinnett County all-time record, but needs to accomplish it during the outdoor season for it to count. South Gwinnett's McKine (13-0) and Apalachee's Gordon Keadle (13-7) look to challenge for medals. Several kids have cleared 12-0 in this field, making the boy's vault a feature event for the meet.

Boys High Jump:

Featuring the top returning jumper in 7A (Brandon Harvey, Parkview-6-6 and recently offered by Western Carolina), will be challenged by Westiminster's Paris Howland (6-4.75)

Boys Running Events:

4x100m Relay:

Parkview debuted last week with a state-leading time of 42.24, and will be challenged by an always talented South Gwinnett and speedy McNair. Look for Parkview's B team to be solid early, too.

Boys 1600m:

The boys' 1600m features four athletes with career bests of sub-4:35. This should be a hotly contested event featuring Griffin McCauley of Paideia (4:27.38), Will Wallace of Westminster (4:28.26), Brady Kalessa of North Oconee (4:30,76), and Jordan Perez of St. Pius X (4:32.67).

Boys 100m:

FEATURE EVENT-The slowest time in the fast heat is 11.11 seconds, but Terrell Smith (10.32 PR) is the clear favorite going into the season. Dutchtown's Joseph Lester (10.82), Parkview's football star Christian Malloy (10.91) and Justin Long (10.93--normally a 400/200 specialist) will duke it out for a tremendous race early in the season.

Boys 800m:

The Boys' 800m field features six athletes with career bests of sub-2:05. Alex Thomas of North Oconee (1:58.50) and Rowan Wiley of St. Pius X (1:59.37) headline the field and will be chased by the likes of Kendall Peyton of Westminster (2:01.36), Griffin McCauley of Paideia (2:01.36), Keith Williams of Parkview (2:03.38), and Erran Bradley of South Gwinnett (2:04.67).

Boys 200m:

South Gwinnett's Terrell Smith (20.84) is head and shoulders the favorite, and Parkview's Justin Long (21.45 PR) has already opened up in 21.7 seconds.

Boys 300m Hurdles:

Two kids (Jones of Dutchtown) and Matthew Harris of St. Pius are capable of big times, both being under 39 seconds last season.

Boys 3200m:

The boys' 3200m should be competitive as there are seven athletes in the event who have broken 10:30 in their careers. Will Wallace of Westminster will be doubling, so his 9:41.43 seed could be tough to replicate, leaving space for a variety of athletes to contend for the win. Among those are teammate Zachary Roe (10:11.24), Alec Tubbs of Paideia (10:12.48), Caleb Hall of North Forsyth (10:20.33), Tristan Autry of Parkview (10:24.29), Jake Martinez of Winder-Barrow (10:24.55), and Nico Fontova of St. Pius X (10:29.94).

Team Preview:

16 schools competing

Girls: Westminster (3A) on paper appears to be the favorite. They've got talent in a variety of open running events (200, 400, 800, 1600) along with the 300 hurdles, the high jump, and the pole vault. This along with nice star power up top makes them the legitimate favorite for the title spot on the girls' side. Watch out for Dutchtown (5A), White County (4A-one of North GA's best kept secrets), and North Oconee (4A-always strong) though, as they all feature talent in critical areas that could dethrone Westminster depending on the day.

Boys: On the boys' side, it appears to be a showdown between Parkview (7A) and St. Pius X (4A). While both sides seem to be resting some studs and spreading the wealth, plenty of talent will be showcased with these two teams. For Parkview, watch out for talent in the sprints, the 3200m, the relays, shot put, triple jump, and high jump. On the Pius side, they could sweep the throws and also have strength in the distance events and both hurdles. Dutchtown (5A), South Gwinnett (7A), Westminster (3A), and North Oconee (4A) could challenge if all the cards fall correctly.

Parkview Invitational

Parkview Lilburn, GA

Feb 24, 2018

Last Year's Meet