Kenzie Henderson will look to defend her 300m hurdles state title from last year in class 2A
This week we're going to preview the upcoming track and field seasons for each GHSA Classification. We've got the boys and girls projected team scores and season previews below for class 1A Division 1.
Note - The relay team scores are based on last year's performances, so they could vary from what is listed. For a breakdown of the individuals, check out the returners rankings for Boys and Girls
The 1A - division 1 boys race should be a very tight, high scoring affair. Really there are anywhere from 6-8 schools who could have a chance at winning this thing. But most likely it will come down to a 3 way battle between Oglethorpe County, Whitefield Academy, and Mount Pisgah. Although, given their history and the fact that they've won 6 team titles in the last 12 years, I wouldn't count out Athens Christian either. These four teams are all fairly balanced and none of them have a true weakness, which means literally anything can happen.
Oglethorpe is mostly led by field events with Thrower KB Bonds leading the way in both the Shot Put and the Discus while Michael Fleming will hope to get big points in the 110m hurdles and long jump and Elijah Hood will attempt to replicate in the High jump. They also have sprinters and distance runners projected to score which means they'll probably have some points in the relay as well. They come in as the very slight favorite, but have the power up front and the depth to win this thing by more if they have a good season.
Whitefield Academy is projected to be the closest challenger at this point, but it's very early. Whitefield is led by their distance runners and sprinters, which also likely means a good emount of relay points. Taylor Wade is their big front runner who could put up some big points for them in the 1600 and 3200 while Ayden Duncanson will look to get just as many or more in the 100 and 200. Their other star is pole vaulter Brendan Vanderpool who will look to defend his title.
Mount Pisgah and Athens Christian could still challenge for sure. Mount Pisgah is led by Makael Carter in the long jump and Max Tucker in the 400, 800, and high jump while Athens Christian has potential big points coming from Nathan Smith in the distance events and the duo of Zack Colquit and Clarke Byram in the pole vault.
For sprints you've also got some returning stars with Jamal Sanders and D.J. Rogers who return as the top seeds in the 100 and have both already broken 11. The favorites in the 200 and 400 are Duncanson and Tucker but don't count out Nagari Tophia. In the hurdles Fleming should do well and so should Nathan Anderson, Brody Cooper, and Phillip Baynes.
For distance look for some fireworks. We've got the aforementioned Wade and Smith who can challenge, but Luke Churchwell comes in with the fastest returning PR in both the 1600 and 3200 after winning the state cross country race as well. Tucker is the favorite for the 800, but will he be too tired when he gets to the final on that 3rd day? If so look for Eli Vaugh or Ryan Glass to challenge.
In the field, many of the big points will come from teams in the mix to win it. But keep an eye on Willie Goodwyn and Metayer Maclann to challenge Tucker for the win in the high jump. Ty Adams is the slight favorite over Carter and Fleming in the long jump. LJ Green is the favorite in the triple jump, but look for Baynes and Fleming to challenge him. All of the favorites have been mentioned in the vault, shot, and discus already, but Gus Gammage could challenge in the shot put while Ramontei Dardy could go for it in the Discus.
For the girls team scores things appear to be a little more cut and dry. At least in pre season projections. Oglethorpe could run away with this thing. Their biggest points come in the relays, so if they lost a lot of depth to graduation they could come back down to reality. However, they don't appear to have any weaknesses and should score points in all six disciplines. They're projected to score the most points in Jumps and distance with Denim Goddard looking to do some damage in the long jump and triple jump and Kenzie Henderson as the top seed in the high jump. Henderson is also a very strong 300m hurdler as well and her (twin sister?) Sydnie Henderson is the favorite in both the 400 and 800. You figure they'll both be factors on at least one relay as well. Lizzie Wadsworth will also look to get them some points in the 1600 and 800. And as if that wasn't enough firepower they've also got two thrower projected to score with Zy'Kieria Edwards favored to win the shot put and Amber Watkins projected to do well in the discus.
If Oglethorpe doesn't dominate, the most likely teams to contend for the win are Galloway and Mount Pisgah, with Armuchee, Heard County, and Athens Christian lurking. Galloway will be led by Sydney Glee in the 100 and 300m hurdles as she's favored to win the 300 and take 2nd in the 100. But she's also projected at 4th in both the 200 and 400, which would be a very heavy load. They're also projected to get a win from Carlin Adair in the pole vault and Allison Hoffmann in the high jump. Mount Pisgah has Maddy Childress projected to win both the long jump and the triple jump as well as take 2nd in the 100. Savannah Simmons is also supposed to get some points in the sprints for them and if you put those two together on a relay it will be tough to beat. Natania Nasieku could get them points as well in the hurdles.
For other sprints points, look for Audrey Vandagriff as the favorite in the 100 to try to hold off the challenge from Childress. Jada Hyman and Olivia Jackson are set to duke it out in the 200 and Hyman could also challenge Henderson in the 400. Kiera Simmons could also be a threat in the shorter sprints. De'Ana Albert is the on paper favorite in the 100m hurdles along with the already mentioned Glee and Henderson.
In the distance events I assume we will see Ella Gibbs, Marissa Kimple, and Shelby Green run it back from their epic 3 way battle at the state cross country meet. Sophia Cook is also very strong in the 1600 and 3200. But in the 800 look for Tristen Crosby or Kennedy Reynolds to try to break up the 1-2 projected finish from Oglethorpe's Henderson and Wadsworth.
And most of the top field event contenders have already been mentioned, but look for Savannah Prince to perform well in the high jump, Vandagraff to also challenge in the long jump, Olivia Clark to jump high in the pole vault, and Makenlie Lasseter, Marika Glaze, and Maddie Denney to throw their implements the farthest.
