Justin Harper could do some damage for Dutchtown this weekend in their pursuit of a team title
GHSA 5A State Meet Preview
Track and Field is often thought of as an individual sport. Now, I would agree it is not a team sport in the sense that football or soccer is a team sport. In those sports, you are depending on your other teammates to be in position and do their job so you can be successful. In track and field, your individual performance has a lot to do with you any only you. So, from that perspective I can understand why track and field gets the reputation of being an individual sport. However, any coach or athlete who has won a team state championship knows that it takes a true team effort to do so, and they have experienced the sport in a way that not many have had the opportunity to experience. In this preview, I hope to bring some of the team drama to light and give a different perspective for you to follow this weekend!
Boys Team Preview
In the race for the boys 5A team title, it looks like it is Dutchtown's race to lose. The Bulldogs are the favorite to win the team title this weekend as they have the pieces to score 80+ points. The team is well-balanced, scoring in all event disciplines except for distance. Nasia Lee will look to represent in the hurdle events where he is the top seed in the 110 hurdles at 13.88 and the 3rd seed in the 300 hurdles at 38.71. Christian Dixon is projected to score in both throw events. He is the top seed in the discus by almost 15 feet with a PR of 172-3. He is not as strong in the shot put but should still manage a top 6 finish. Other athletes looking to add to the point total are Lamone Hill Jr in the shot put, Davarri Barthell in the long jump, Justin Harper in the 100 and 200 and Tyler Dixon in the 100. Add to the mix their 4x100 and 4x200 that are ranked 1st and 2nd respectively and you get a team that is favored to win the team title.
Midtown boys will be chasing Dutchtown but it does not look like they have the firepower to take them down. However, they have the potential to score 60+ points which puts them comfortably in 2nd place. Ricardo Lewis will look to lead his team as he is projected to score in 3 events. He is the top seed in the triple jump at 46-10, second seed in the 100 at 10.57 and the 4th seed in the 200 at 21.58. With the potential to score 20+ points, Ricardo is a key piece to the puzzle. Kyron Parker will look to add points in the 300 hurdles where he is projected to finish second. Other athletes looking to contribute are Jordan Taylor in the 800, Malachi Kadle in the 200 and Xzavian Blackman in the 300 hurdles.
The battle for the last 2 podium spots might be the closest competition of the meet. Chapel Hill, Decatur and Tucker are all projected to score 36-39 points.
Chapel Hill and Decatur are both projected to score 39 points and are the slight favorites to grab the last two team trophies. Chapel hill will attempt to do it with a more balanced line up while Decatur will rely heavily on their distance program. Chapel Hill does not have any athlete who is projected to score in multiple individual events but they have 7 athletes with the potential to score - Finn Herlihy in the 3200, Kah'mani Zachery in the high jump, Miles Collier in the 110 hurdles, Rubin Huggins in the 100, William Herlihy in the 3200 and Jabari Bempah in the 800. They also add to the mix 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400 relay teams that can score. Decatur on the other hand, will be leaning on William Carlton and Zakariye Abdulahi who are scheduled to bring home 24 points in the 1600 and 3200. William is the top seed in the 3200 and the second seed in the 1600 while Zakariye is looking for a top 6 finish in the 1600 and 3200. Royal Washington is the second seed in the high jump at 6-7 and Jake Westing will look to sneak in some points in the 1600.
Tucker HS right behind Chapel Hill and Decatur at a possible 36 points. Ian Hodge leads the team in possible points as he is the top seed in the high jump at 6-9. This is not just the top mark in 5A but one of the top marks in the entire state. Joh Pacely has the chance to score in both the shot put and discus and they will need his points in both events if they want to remain in the team trophy conversation. In the end, this team might lack a few points, but at the state meet anything can happen and this team has the potential to be in the mix Saturday afternoon.
Athletes to Watch
Zion Ragins of Jones County HS will look to score in the 100 and 200. He is the favorite in the 100 with a PR of 10.54. He is the defending state champion in the 100 so I expect him to be ready to defend that title this weekend.
Shavique Bascus of Clarke Central will look to end his high school career scoring in both the 100 and 200. The NCA&T commit is the 3rd seed in the 100 at 10.58 and the top seed in the 200 at 21.20. He had a later start to his season and looks to be rounding in to form at just the right time so don't be surprised if he wins both events this weekend.
Jaylen Marsh of Creekside will look for top 3 finishes in both the 200 and 400. He was 5th in the 200 and 3rd in the 400 at last year's state meet and will look to improve upon those performances this weekend. He is the 3rd seed in the 200 where he has run 21.47 and the top seed in the 400 in 47.58.
William Elder of Chamblee is the top seed in the 800 and the only boy who has gone under 1:55. His PR of 1:54.76 makes him the favorite by almost 1.5 seconds.
Diego Santiago of Chattahoochee will look to build on his breakout cross country season where he was the 5A state champion. He comes in as the top seed in the 1600 at 4:17.99 and the second seed in the 3200 at 9:34.58.
Nasia Lee of Dutchtown HS is the heavy favorite in the boys 110 hurdles. He has a PR of 13.88 and is the only athlete in the field who has gone under 14.0 seconds. Nasia is also projected to finish 3rd in the 300 hurdles.
Dominick Lawshea of Cambridge HS will look to win his first state title after not qualifying for the state meet last year. He is much improved in the 300 hurdles this year and has the top time at 38.25.
Sammy Brown of Jefferson will be the one to watch in the boys long jump. He has the best mark in the field at 23-3. He has only gone over 23-0 at one meet this season but with 23+ foot potential, he has to be the favorite, especially in an event where it only takes one big jump to win it all.
Jordan Frank of North Springs comes in as the top vaulter in 5A and one of the best in the state. His PR of 15-0 puts him 8 inches higher than second place. He finished second at state last year so there is no doubt that the state title is his one and only focus this weekend.
Dylan Robbins of Loganville will look to be a force in the throws. He is the favorite in the shot put at 55-7 which is almost a foot better than second place and he is the 5th seed in the discus.
Girls Team
The girls team race looks to have a slight front runner in Lithia Springs. They have the potential to score close to 70 points which makes them the favorites heading into 1this weekend. The only event discipline they lack points in is the throws. Destiny Jenkins has been leading the team all season and this weekend will be no different. She is the 3rd seed in both the 100 and the 200 with teammate Neveah Shedrick the 4th seed in both events as well. Dasia Nails will look to tackle the challenging 400/800 double to bring home valuable team points. Other athletes looking to contribute will be Emanni Roberts in the triple jump, Gabrielle Lankford in the 800 and Taylor Daniels in the 300 hurdles. With a strong team in the individual events, you can expect good relays and that is exactly what you get with Lithia Springs as they have the top ranked 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400. Should this team perform to its potential, they are going to be hard to catch.
Looking to catch them will be Greater Atlanta Christian and Cambridge. Greater Atlanta Christian will be looking to challenge for the state title with 2 individuals and 3 relays. Nia Wilson is the top seed in the 100 at 11.60 and the second seed in the 200 at 24.05. Morgan Collins will look to contribute points in the distance events as she is the 3rd seed in the 800 and 4th seed in the 1600. Add in points from their 4x100 and 4x400 and this team could look to score 55+ points. This might not be enough to catch Lithia Springs but it should be enough to land them on the podium. Cambridge will be looking for a team trophy primarily with their jumpers. Julia Versluis will look to score in the pole vault, triple jump and high jump. The trick will be managing the competition schedule to be fresh enough to excel in all three events. Her sister Lilah Versluis is the top seed in both the high jump and triple jump with PRs of 5-9 and 38-2. Should Cambridge grab 40 points from these two sisters, they will be well on their way to a team trophy. Gabrielle Dandridge will look to add points in the 400 and the 200. She is the second seed in the 400 and the 7th seed in the 200. Again, they might not have enough points to catch Lithia Springs but a possible 50+ point team score should be good enough for a podium spot.
The battle for the last team trophy looks to be between 3 teams - Decatur, North Springs and Arabia Mountain.
Decatur will look to use their strong distance program and rack up a potential 30 points from Sophie D'Elena in the 800 and 1600, Anna Blaich in the 3200 and Gabriella Malerba in the 1600. Sophie is the top seed in the 800 at 2:13.77 and the 2nd seed in the 1600 at 5:05.64. Anna has the second fastest time in the 3200 but only 3 seconds away from the top seed and Gabriella has the 5th fastest time in the 1600. Decatur also has the top ranked 4x800 team so if their distance girls can show out, they could grab the last team trophy.
North Springs is similar to Decatur in that they will rely heavily on distance points. The distance races will be key races in the hunt for a team trophy. Lottie Chappell is projected to score 28 points - 10 in the 3200, 10 in the 1600 and 8 in the 800. This will be a tall task considering the number of races she will have to run but if she can pull it off then her team should be in the mix for a podium finish. Other athletes looking to add to the point total will be Layla Keadle in the pole vault, Azarya Plummer in the long jump and Natalie Tully in the 800.
The final team in the mix for a podium spot is Arabia Mountain. Arabia Mountain will rely more heavily on their sprinters and relays. Davenae Fagan is projected to score in 3 events - 10 points in the 400, 10 points in the 200 and 8 points in the 100. Like previously mentioned with Lottie, this might be a tough task given the number of races she would be required to run. Not to mention the sprint events have prelims while the 1600 and 3200 do not. Davenae will be crucial to her teams success but if she can pull off this challenging triple, then her team will be in the hunt on Saturday. Ava Amey will look to add points in the 100 and 300 hurdles. But with such a small margin for error, there is a good chance Arabia Mountain will come up a few points short by the end of it all.
Athletes to Watch
Olivia Cosby of Northside Columbus will look to score in both the 200 and 400. She is the 4th seed in the 200 at 24.99 and the 3rd seed in the 400 at 56.51.
Bella Brick of Flowery Branch is entered in the 800, 1600 and 3200 and is projected to score in the 1600 and 3200. Her 1600 time of 5:11.02 ranks her 3rd and her 3200 time of 11:35.39 ranks here 6th.
Jakayla Campbell of Banneker will focus solely on the 100 hurdles where she is the favorite to win with a PR of 14.24.
Danayja Harper of Midtown is projected to score in both the 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles. In the 100 hurdles she is ranked 2nd with a time of 14.64 and in the 300 hurdles she is ranked 1st with a time of 43.36.
India Thorpe of MLK will try to podium in 2 events - 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles. Her PRs of 14.84 and 44.83 rank her 4th and 3rd respectively.
Kendall Ward of Villa Rica will look to challenge for top honors in the high jump. She has a PR of 5-7 which ranks her 2nd overall.
Mary Rozier of Eagle's Landing is the second seed in the long jump at 19-0. She is only one of two athletes to have jumped 19-0 or further this season.
Naomi Johnson of Northview is the 3rd seed in the triple jump after jumping a PR this season of 37-11.5 and is also the Fulton County runner up in the event.
Ella Kulniszewski of Jefferson is tied for the top seed in the pole vault at 11-6. She was 3rd at last years state meet so she will be looking to make the jump to the top spot.
Tia Roberson of Mays HS is the top seed in the shot put by almost 7 inches after her put of 39-7.25.
Nyla Wilson of Eagle's Landing is the top seed in the discus at 131-0 and the second seed in the shot put at 39-0.5.
Kristan Simmons of Tucker will look to finish on the podium in both the shot put and the discus. She is the 4th seed in the shot put at 37-5.5 and the second seed in the discus at 123-11.