The 2017 FSU Relays is the headline event for the weekend with over 150 high school teams in attendance in addition to six college programs. Blaine Thomas tells us what to watch for.
Pre-Meet Coverage
- Girls Virtual Meet
- Boys Virtual Meet
- Girls Best Of The Last Decade Rankings
- Boys Best Of The Last Decade Rankings
- Performance Lists
Top Matchups to Watch
-Katia Seymour vs Karimah Davis (Girls 100 and 200): It will be a showdown of two girls that are hoping to be future Seminoles together next year. But for now it will be Seymour, the senior from Palatka HS against the senior from Palm Beach Central HS. You can expect a shootout between these girls, statistically Seymour holds the advantage but when they go head-to-head you can throw stats out the window.
-Nykeria Lee vs Tytavia Hardy (Girls Triple Jump): the biggest rivalry you don't know about comes from two very good Pensacola triple jumpers. Lee who competes for Pine Forest and Hardy who competes for Booker T. Washington both have a PB of 11.71 meters in the triple jump. Both girls will bring the competition to Tallahassee as they attempt to break a meet record at FSU Relays.
-Joseph Storey vs John Rivera (Boys 800): the boys 800-meter invite is going to come down to these speedsters, as it will be Storey from Creekside and Rivera from Lakewood Ranch. Storey comes into the meet with the fastest outdoor PB of 1:53.60, while Rivera comes in with the fastest 800 time in the field as he ran a 1:51.90 at New Balance Nationals Indoor.
Girls Individuals to Watch
-Alyson Churchill (3200 and 1600): the local Freshman from Tallahassee will be looking for the 3200 and 1600 sweep as she is the favorite in the 3200 and has the potential to move up the seed list and win the 1600 as well. The favorite in the 1600, Caitlin Collier from Bolles is not registered, which gives Lincoln High School's Alyson Churchill the opportunity to be the favorite to get a distance sweep. She will be running in her hometown and in front of her family and friends.
-Javonia Ellis (LJ): the jumper from Lake Minneola is the favorite to win the girls long jump that will take place on Saturday morning. Ellis leads the field by a whole foot as she will be looking to break the long jump meet record on a big platform.
Boys Individuals to Watch
-Lavonte Valentine (100 and 200): arguably one of the fastest guys in Florida, it will be the junior from East Ridge HS that will be looking for the sprint sweep. He enters with the fastest time in the 100 with a 10.44 and will have a lot of competition to push him faster than that. As for the 200, Valentine may not be the favorite but could definitely walk away from Mike Long Track being a 200-meter champion.
-Trey Cunningham (110H): probably the biggest athlete in Tallahassee this weekend is the hurdler from Winfield City High School in Alabama. The FSU signee will be competing in the 110 Hurdles and you can expect a pretty magnificent performance. Cunningham is hot off of winning the 60m Hurdles at New Balance Indoor Nationals and will be looking to break the meet record at his new home.
Records that Could Fall This Weekend at Mike Long Track
BOYS
Event 2017 Challenger/school/PB Record-Holder/school/mark/year
110 Hurdles Trey Cunningham/Winfield City/13.35 Pablo Alvarez/Belen Jesuit/13.84/2010
800 John Rivera/Lakewood Ranch/1:51.90 Otniel Teixeira/Lake Brantley/1:52.28/2012
Joseph Storey/Creekside/1:52.59
4x100 East Ridge/41.52 Wekiva/41.57/2011
4x400 Lincoln/3:16.63 Fort Walton Beach/3:17.15/2010
Long Jump Jacore Irving/Sneads/23-8 Lavorrie Johnson/Godby/23-6.5/2010
High Jump Jaasiel Torres/Sarasota/6-11.5 Mario Hooks/Melbourne/6-10.25/2010
GIRLS
100 Ka'Tia Seymour/Palatka/11.26 Teona Rodgers/Wharton/11.63/2007
Karimah Davis/Palm Beach Central/11.49
Sophia Falco/Lakewood Ranch/11.59
400 Karimah Davis/Palm Beach Central/53.98 Abby Hani/Lake Mary Prep/54.97/2013
Ken'naria Gadson/Steinbrenner/54.57
800 Bryanna Rivers/Wharton/2:11.87 Lauren Archer/Ransom Everglades/2:12.80/2016
Ken'naria Gadson/Steinbrenner/2:12.93
1600 Rafaella Gibbons/Winter Park/4:45.85 Olivia Ortiz/Lakewood Ranch/4:56.55/2012
4x100 IMG Academy/47.12 Lincoln/47.36/2016
Stockbridge/47.18
High Jump Jessica Stever/IMG Academy/5-7.75 Danielle Williams/Pensacola/5-7/2008
Pole Vault Carson Dingler/Mary Persons/13-11.25 Erica Sergeant/Lake Mary/12-7/2014