McEachern Invitational Preview
By Danny Potts
Look for the usual fast times at McEachern this weekend as some of the speediest athletes in the state go head-to-head. Representatives from 29 schools will compete this Saturday on the blue and gold track in Powder Springs.
Field events will be up first and the boys’ discus will feature #2 ranked Burke McCarty of Marist, who has thrown 176’ 5.5” this year, #7 ranked Xavier Mollette of Rockdale County and McEachern’s #20 ranked Tarik Milner. Also competing will be Kennesaw Mountain’s Daina Levy, who is ranked #2 in the girl’s discus. The girls’ pole vault will feature Brook Colson, also of Kennesaw Mountain, who is currently the #3 ranked vaulter in the state. In the girls high jump, the battle looks to be between Hillgrove’s Melanie Mainor, currently ranked #8 and Kell’s Kendell Williams.
The girls’ 4x100 will see #1 Stephenson and #2 Westlake battle it out, with the McEachern girls poised for a fast time as well. The boy’s 4x100 shouldn’t be too shabby, either, as 7th ranked Westlake and 9th ranked McEachern meet. Add #13 Miller Grove, #14 Sprayberry and #19 Campbell and it should be a really exciting race.
The boys’ 1600 meter run will feature three of the top 20 in the state: Allatoona’s Henry Stevens-Carty, Etowah’s Alex Merrall and Antonio Carter of Miller Grove. In other distance action, the #2 ranked Marist girls will be going after an all-time state ranking in the 4x800, with #12 Alpharetta and #15 Etowah in pursuit. The boy’s 800 meters will feature the #1 ranked Stevens-Carty running against #3 ranked Miguel Velasquez of Berkmar, Miller Grove’s #15 Antonio Carter and #18 Jevonte Ezzard of Banneker.
The girls’ 400 meters will feature five of the state’s current top 20 in #7 Maderia Toatley of Stephenson, #10 Aubrielle Wright of Westlake, #11 Amber Bryant-Brock of McEachern, Campbell’s #14 Kelli Hardnett and #19 Elexis Guster of Berkmar.
The boy’s 400 meters may be the race of the day, however, as eight of the top 20 go at it, featuring #1 Michael Newton of Sprayberry, #4 Robert Brantley of Banneker, #8 Cory Ashbourne of Campbell, South Gwinnett’s 9th ranked Kevin Gary, Westlake’s 10th ranked Shaquille Winn-King, #11 Jaron Roberson of McEachern and the #12 and #13 in the state in Stone Mountain’s Tamaric Johnson and Octavious Andrews.
The girls’ 100 meters will see Jackson’s #1 ranked Jasmine Smith go against #6 Aminah Blount of Westlake, #16 Deja Williams of Duluth and Alpharetta’s #17 ranked Keturah Williams. The boy’s 100 will feature #5 ranked Chris Royster of Rockdale County and 17th ranked Jonathan Krause of South Gwinnett racing five other athletes with sub-11 entry times.
The girls’ 100 meter hurdles will be another race to watch as it features five of the current top ten in the state, led by #1 ranked (and #3 nationally) freshman phenom Kendell Williams of Kell, #2 Shani Chandler of Westlake, 5th ranked Victoria Hines of Berkmar, 8th ranked Keoshia Washington of Stephenson and McEachern’s #9 ranked Darnisha Stevenson. Mariah Ransom of Berkmar could also be a factor as she is the #14 hurdler in the state at present. The boy’s 110s will see #10 ranked Cornelius Savage of McEachern going against #12 Edward Ponton of Westlake and #15 Dorian Harris-Powell of Rockdale County.
#1 ranked Maderia Toatley of Stephenson will headline the girls’ 200, with #8 Aminah Blount of Westlake, #13 Jasmine Smith of Jackson and Campbell’s Kelli Hardnett, ranked #18. The boy’s 200 will see #5 Chris Royster of Rockdale County face #10 Robert Brantley of Banneker, #16 Brandon Terry of Alpharetta and 17th ranked Brian Randolph of Kell.
Amber Bryant-Brock will compete as the #3 ranked 300 meter hurdler against #4 Ama Larbi of Alpharetta, #8 ranked Monti Willis of Campbell and 11th ranked Shaquavia Porter of Westlake. #2 ranked Brian Holmes will try to outrace #8 Cornelius savage of McEachern, #16 Edward Ponton of Westlake, 18th ranked Tony Warren of Riverdale and Rockdale’s #19 Dorian Harris-Powell in the boys’ 300 hurdles.
The final races of the day should be even more exciting than usual as the girls 4x400 relay will showcase four of the state’s top 20 (and four sub-4:00 teams): #1 Westlake, #4 McEachern, #7 Campbell and #12 Marist. Finally, the boy’s 4x400 should be spectacular, as seven of the top 20 and nine of the top 25 teams in the state compete, led by #1 Banneker, #4 Westlake, #7 Stone Mountain, #10 Riverdale, #12 McEachern, #15 South Gwinnett, #18 Decatur, #21 Alpharetta and #24 Campbell.