When the Dekalb International Training Center decided they wanted to host an elite meet for local and international talent, they knew that Murray Sanford was the man who could put it all together. That vision has become a reality as athletes from as far away as Guatemala will compete at Georgia Tech on May 28th. We asked Murray a couple of questions about the 2nd annual showcase.
GATFXC: Care to share with me what prompted you to start the meet and what do you envision for the future?
Murray: It actually wasn\'t me..it was through the Dekalb International training center. They contacted me with the idea of starting a track meet in the Atlanta area. They consulted with Joe Newton up at Amherst. The whole idea was to start a premiere track meeet for the high schools. There used to be an old Atlanta Track Classic and the Keebler meet up in Chicago and the meets died out. So now we have a combination of the two, a premiere high school meet for high school athletes...but we\'re looking for quality, not quantity. This meet is a one of a kind experience and we want it to be that if people want to run against the best, they\'re going to come to Atlanta. The difference is that we will continue to make it more international. Entries will be taken up through the 25th. We\'re looking for field event performers, as well as 1500, 3000 and relays to enroll. This is a perfect opportunity for teams to form dream relays. What about a Georgia dream team vs. South Carolina dream team in the 4x100?
GATFXC: What events really stand out on this years schedule?
Murray: Both men\'s and women\'s pole vault look promising. The 400m hurdles for boys really looks good. With Dennis Martin from South Carolina coming in at 52.83 and several hurdlers from Guatemala this one should be interesting. Justin Oliver will run the 100m along with Torric Davis, a state chamion from SC in 10.53. The women\'s and the men\'s short hurdle races look real interesting. We\'re hoping to have Keelan Knox, Tim Grier, Trey Fletcher, Dennis Martin from SC who is a state champion, and Tavares Washington in one race. We have been in contact with their coaches and hope to have these guys all there. William Patterson from Florida has also run a 14.24. We haven\'t received entries yet from all of these guys but we\'re hopeful. Jackie Drouin will run the 1500 along with we hope Emily Reese in what should be a great matchup . EC GIbbs out of Alabama is entered in the 800 and 1500 with some outstanding times. and Ena Leufroy will compete in the 800m. There are some great out of state 400m runners coming down as well so that should be a great meet. We are still looking for a few more 1500 and 3000m runners as well as field event performers.
Credit Murray and the folks at Dekalb International Training Center for a grand vision. The line ups look solid throughout the events and it should be a great day of track and field down at Georgia Tech on Saturday. For meet information, go to http://dekalbclassic.us .