Boys Sprints/Hurdles Preview By Damion Thomas
Boys 100m Dash
The boys 100m will see two of the top 8th graders in Miami Gardens Xpress' Tyrese Cooper (pictured above) and Olympia Track Club's Seneca Milledge go head-to-head for the first time this season after splitting head-to-head victories in this event last year. Cooper is the defending champion and comes in with a top seed time of 11.00 seconds. Milledge was the state runner-up to Cooper last year, but will look to top the medal podium this time around. Milledge will be joined in the top heat by teammate Jadarius McKnight as 5 of the top 8 seed are either from Miami Gardens Express or Olympia Track Club. Miramar Optimist's Taylor Banks (#2 seed at 11.28) is a tough competitor and will provide a strong challenge to the field.
Boys 200m Dash
Cooper and Milledge will square off again here and Jamal Walton's meet record of 22.47 stands a good chance of going down. At the UM Alumni Invitational, Cooper blazed a wind-legal 21.66. According to the milesplit ranking database, Cooper's time sits as the #1 time in the country for a middle school athlete. Milledge is the closest seed to Cooper at 22.49. Lauderdale lakes' Cecil Powell comes in with a solid 22.63. Additionally, Miami Garden's Xpress is well represented in this event, boasting 4 of the top 6 seeds. Overall, the 200m field this year features 8 boys that has already dipped under the 23 seconds barrier.
Boys 400m Dash
Miami Gardens Xpress, led by Mr. Cooper himself in what he admits is his favorite event, will continue their dominance in this event. Cooper again holds the top time of 47.67 from the Miami Hurricane Invitational, which is almost 3 seconds faster than is closest competitor. His mark is one of the fastest times ran by an 8th grader in a long time.
Tyrese had this to say about the meet earlier in the week.
"I set my personal record in the 400 and the 200 this year. I haven't lost a race this year. I'm looking forward to breaking all the records Saturday."
"I'm faster than I was last year. I've been working harder so I could break Jamal's middle school record in the 400 last year I broke the 100 and the 200 record last year I was close to breaking the 400 but I didn't get it so I figured if I work harder this year I would break it."
Joining Cooper as the #2 and #3 seeds are his teammates James Cook (50.53) and Monte Parker (51.43). Judging from the other entries in this event, the trio stands an excellent chance of a sweep. William Dandy newcomer Lovensky Demelien (52.26) and Olympia Track Club's Deismond Davis (52.59) looks to be the only competitors that could come between the talented Miami Gardens Xpress trio. Jamal Walton's meet record of 48.53 is also in jeopardy of being broken.
Boys 100m Hurdles
This race will feature one of the top all-around talent in the state in Robert Ramsay. The Lauderdale Lakes Middle School 8th grader comes in as the class of the 100H field. Ramsay's 13.56, ran at the Bob Hayes Invitational in March, sits atop the state rankings and is more than half a second faster than the current meet record of 14.13 set by Jonathan Dixon in 2011. His strongest challenge will come from Tigers Track Club's Preston Weik, who has already posted a 13.97 clocking this year. Others to watch include Falcon Track Club's Jabari Bryant and Monte Garden from Miami Gardens Xpress.
Boys 200m Hurdles
The longer hurdle event features a showdown between Monte Parker and Robert Ramsay. Both have dipped under 26 seconds barrier running 25.51(Parker) and 25.71(Ramsay) respectively. Expect a close race here with the winner possible setting a new meet record.
Boys Mid-Distance Preview By Denise Spann
Boys 800m Run
In the boys 800m Artise Lewis should run away with first place as his seed time of 2:02.63 from the Florida Elite Invitational is six seconds faster than the nearest competitor. Lewis told us in a feature article, that he is gunning for the meet record of 1:56.65 set in 2013 by Emare Hogan. Lewis's time at the Florida Elite Invite was a new meet record, breaking who else but Hogan's former best.
However 2nd through 4th place is going to be really close, as the times are barely separated by a second or two. Charles Hruda and Alexander Gilliam from Falcon Track are sitting in 2nd an 3rd running 2:08.09 and 2:09.76. Hruda beat Lewis in this event last year finishing 10th, while Lewis was 11th.
Sitting just on the outside of the top three is Luciano Bettocchi of Belen Jesuit running 2:10.40. If all these boys stay together it's much of a possibility that they'll not only be closer to Lewis, but run major personal bests as well.
Boys 1,500m Run
In the 1,500m, Lewis who is competing this season for Miami Garden XPress will have some stiff competition with Clayburn Milford of Maclay School. Milford has run 4:19.99, which is right behind Lewis's 4:19.37. Milford who moved from Georgia two years ago, has competed in the Georgia Middle School State Championships, but will competing in his first Florida MS State track meet. In the fall, he was the MS State Cross Country Champion and is coming off a fantastic track season where he was the 1A Region 1 champion in the 3,200 and finished 11th at the 1A State Finals. Joey Fitzpatrick's meet record of 4:19.09 set last year is certainly in jeopardy. In a battle for 3rd is Gabriel Curtis of Pure Athletics (4:24.69) and Charles Hicks of Bulldog Track (4:24.81).
Boys 3,000m Run
Joey Fitzpatrick, Joshua Collins, Bryce Bell, Trevor Foley, were all dominant in the 3,000m last year and fortunately for this crop of runners, all have graduated and are now running on the high school level. Even though Charles Hicks is ranked 3rd in the 1500m, he is ranked first in the 3000m with a time of 9:19.13. The Bolles 8th grader trains under the direction of Tony Ryan and Dan Dearing two of the top coaches in the state. Hicks was 10th in the 3,200 at the 1A State Finals with a time of 9:56.63 and was one of the top cross country runners for the Bulldogs finishing 31st at the Cross Country Finals in the fall.
In second place is Artise Lewis with a seeded time of 9:45.14, but closely behind him is Gabriel Curtis of Pure Athletics (9:48.59). Syon Lewis of MGX and Gabriel Ortega of Pine Crest Nation are the only others who have broke ten minutes. Lewis is the top returner finishing 9th last season.
Boys 4x800m Relay
For the last of the distance races, the 4x800m relay looks like it's going to be close. Seeded 1st for the relay is Bell High School running a time of 8:54.44. The next fastest times coming in belong to the Central Florida Gliders (9:10.81) and Lauderdale Lakes Middle (9:11.28).