SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- On the other side of the country five of Florida\'s
finest high school athletes will compete today in the 43rd Golden West Invitational
held at California State University.
They will be going up against the other greats from around the nation in an all out battle of the bests. There will be no prelims, no team scores, just an all-out war to see who will rise to the occassion and who will crack under the pressure. Only the cream of the nation\'s high school crop are invited.
Bershawn Jackson is Florida\'s finest hope for national reknown; he will be running the 110 and 300 hurdles. The primary focus of those two races definitely will be on the 300 where Jackson is seeded first and has a shot at a national record. His personal best time of 35.39, which came at the GMAC Finals in Miami, was just a few ticks off of the national record of 35.32. He will have some elite peers and should be primed to make a mark on the history books.
The record-crazy mentality may have us looking toward Jackson, but let\'s not forget Florida\'s other superstars. Kevin Marion will have three attempts at a title. The junior is seeded in first place in two of those events the 100m (10.30 at Ed Wells) and Long Jump (25-5 at State), and will also compete in the 200m. In the 110HH Arsenio Corbin, who is ranked first in Florida in the event, will be in great company to improve on his 13.70--he is seeded second. In the girls equivalent look out for Shantia Moss of Pompano Beach, who ran her personal best time of 14.01 at the State Meet last month.
And finally, Florida\'s lone field competitor, Garrett Johnson, will be attempting to cross the 200\' mark in the discus. Two-hundred has been a goal for him all season long, but as far as a Golden West championship the shotput may be much more likely to occur. Johnson currently has a fairly comfortable lead in the Florida rankings for both events.
The Golden West Invitational marks the second-to-last major track meet of the season. Next weekend is the Adidas Outdoor Nationals in Raleigh, which is considered the national high school championship by most. Let us wish all of our Florida athletes good luck today in California and next week at Adidas!
They will be going up against the other greats from around the nation in an all out battle of the bests. There will be no prelims, no team scores, just an all-out war to see who will rise to the occassion and who will crack under the pressure. Only the cream of the nation\'s high school crop are invited.
Bershawn Jackson is Florida\'s finest hope for national reknown; he will be running the 110 and 300 hurdles. The primary focus of those two races definitely will be on the 300 where Jackson is seeded first and has a shot at a national record. His personal best time of 35.39, which came at the GMAC Finals in Miami, was just a few ticks off of the national record of 35.32. He will have some elite peers and should be primed to make a mark on the history books.
The record-crazy mentality may have us looking toward Jackson, but let\'s not forget Florida\'s other superstars. Kevin Marion will have three attempts at a title. The junior is seeded in first place in two of those events the 100m (10.30 at Ed Wells) and Long Jump (25-5 at State), and will also compete in the 200m. In the 110HH Arsenio Corbin, who is ranked first in Florida in the event, will be in great company to improve on his 13.70--he is seeded second. In the girls equivalent look out for Shantia Moss of Pompano Beach, who ran her personal best time of 14.01 at the State Meet last month.
And finally, Florida\'s lone field competitor, Garrett Johnson, will be attempting to cross the 200\' mark in the discus. Two-hundred has been a goal for him all season long, but as far as a Golden West championship the shotput may be much more likely to occur. Johnson currently has a fairly comfortable lead in the Florida rankings for both events.
The Golden West Invitational marks the second-to-last major track meet of the season. Next weekend is the Adidas Outdoor Nationals in Raleigh, which is considered the national high school championship by most. Let us wish all of our Florida athletes good luck today in California and next week at Adidas!