Girls 400m Hurdles
Montverde Academy junior Michelle Smith, the national leader in the girls 400 meter hurdles and state record holder in the event will be attempting to be a double winner this weekend in the 800 on Friday and come back in the 400 meter hurdles on Saturday.
Smith made it all the way to the finals of the World U20 Championships last summer representing the U.S. Virgin Islands and should dominate this event and try and better her season opening 59.02 nation's best performance from last weekend at the Bob Hayes Invitational.
It will be a battle for second place behind Smith with last year's 4A state champion in the 300 meter hurdles in Niceville's Jasmine Dereje leading that group of chasers as currently ranks fifth fastest in the state of Florida at 1:02.53.
Seniors Ellis Weekley of Berkeley Prep (1:03.43) and Kayden Engel (1:03.92) of Pensacola Booker T. Washington are both among the top 20 ranked in the state, while there is an incredible group of frehsmen hurdlers in the field with East lake's Avery Chatman, Montverde Academy's D'Asia Duncan and Chiles' Kyra Swart who will be leaders of the event for years to come.
Boys 400m Hurdles
Another event with Montverde Academy's Kai Graves-Blanks as the top seed and certainly if he is at full health then would be clear favorite, but his health status creates a lot of unknown and opens door for other top contenders in the race to compete for the win. Graves-Blanks was the California state runner-up in the 300 meter hurdles last spring with a 37.33 personal best
There is a logjam of hurdlers in the event who have run in the 54 second range that can make this a fierce battle to the last hurdle set between Spanish River's Nicolas West (54.01), Chiles' Cade Swart (54.09), George Jenkins' Rey Hernandez (54.21), and Niceville's Eon Morris (54.87) all ranked among the top 10 hurdlers in the state of Florida.