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1. Will Georgia see it's first ever sub 10?
This one tops my list because we have not one, but two athletes who could possibly do this. And it's the marquee event in Track and Field. Maurice Gleaton of Langston Hughes ran a wind legal 10.14 and Dwight Phillips of Pebblebrook ran a wind legal 10.24 last year. And to make this story even better we've got two years to keep an eye on this time as Gleaton is only a junior this year. Gleaton was the fastest sophomore in state history and Phillips was the fastest junior (and 2nd fastest sophomore) in state history. Gleaton was also the fastest sophomore in US history while Phillips was the 23rd fastest sophomore and 14th fastest junior in US history. That means Phillips is getting better with age. There's obviously reason to believe they could both go under Gleaton's current state record of 10.14 this spring and when you're that close to 10, might as well keep an eye on that time as well, right? Both athletes kind of came out of nowhere as sophomores. Phillips won the Cobb County meet as a sophomore in his first high school meet. And Gleaton ran as a freshman but didn't even break 11. We had no idea this is what we would be talking about in 2024 and that's exciting.
Now just because these two are superstars, doesn't mean this thing is a given. Don't forget that Jaylen Slade ran 10.22 as a freshman and he didn't break 10 for us here in Georgia. It's also fair to point out that neither of them won their state 100m title last year. That's not a knock against them as both of them have been amazing and lost to real studs at state. But it's more to point out that in a race that short, you have to be absolutely PERFECT every step to achieve your best. There is no room for error. In fact they've only raced once, at McEachern in 2023, when Phillips won the race and Gleaton was 4th. It's also fair to note that you can run a PR and not have it count if it's not within the legal wind limit. There's just so much working against you and the stars have to align. There's a reason that only 3 boys have ever broken 10 in high school, and only one of them did it with legal wind.
But times are getting faster and faster. So if we can get them to race each other when they're fit, we could see a special time. There's just something about having a top competitor right next to you that allows you to dig just a little bit deeper and go just a little bit faster. So while I would love to see them race in March, I think the best thing for all of us is if we don't see them line up until Wingfoot Night of Champions. Sure, they'll probably both have some more outdoor races after that. But if we can see the sub 10 on Georgia soil, it'll make it that much sweeter. I'm sure the ATC is already recruiting both of them for the meet and I hope they make that event the highlight of the night this year.