The field is set for the 2011 Golden South Classic. Boone superstar Marvin Bracy will take on Alabama state champion Aaron Ernest in a battle of the top two sprinters in the country and that is just the beginning of a star studded lineup.
Breaking Down The Competition
Perhaps the most exciting event of the day will be the 100 meters. On the girls side, Octavious Freeman of Lake Wales, ranked number one in the country will face off against Boyd Anderson junior Shayla Sanders. Freeman is the top seed at 11.11 while Sanders is entered at 10.45. Freeman has not run 11.11 since the postseason last year, but that mark was wind-aided. Will this be the day she breaks the national record a goal she is been wanting her whole career?
If that matchup doesn't get you geared up for a fun exciting day of track and field then this one will. The boys 100 features two athletes who were ranked number one in the nation during the course of the year. Homewood, Alabama senior Aaron Ernest who has clocked a wind-aided 10.17 will face off against Boone junior Marvin Bracy whose fastest time is a wind-aided 10.26. Bracy has ran 10.28 this year as well. Neither of these athletes has lost a race all year, but that will change Saturday night. Mississippi state champion Devante Nichols and North Carolina state champion Harvey McSwain II join Florida 2A state champion Levonte Whitfield in a star studded lineup with 12 runners seeded under 10.6.
The 200 meters will feature the top sprinters in the 100 in another sizzling battle. Freeman and Sanders will duke it out on the girls side, while Ernest and Bracy go at it on the boys side. Freeman is ranked second in the country (23.33), Ernest is currently third (20.86).
The girls 400 meter dash features two state champions in Robin Reynolds (3A) and Kyri Tabor of Hallandale (2A). Reynolds is ranked number one in the country and is seeeded nearly two and a half seconds ahead of Tabor at 53.10. Also, in the field is Olympia senior Shadaey Campbell who finished third in this event in 4A.
Dr. Phillip's sophomore Reggie Glover is the favorite on the boys side. He comes in with the top time of 47.44. INK Speed teammate Jose Santana of East River is seeded fourth at 48.34. Lake Weir senior Isaiah will test his hand in the quarter-mile. Weir is the reigning state champion in the 800 meters in class 3A.
In the 800 meters, Pope John Paul II and Villanova bound Stephanie Schappert leads a pack of quality runners that includes Maclay's Stephanie Kurgatt and Estero's Kacy Smith. Schappert's personal best is 2:10.81.
On the boys side, it will be the Charlotte trio of Tyler Cardillo, Ryan Schnulle and Bryan Hilgar leading the way much like they did in the 4x800 at the 3A state championships. Isaiah Smith is also entered in this race and won the open 800 state championship just past Schnulle earlier this month. Countryside senior Ricy Brown is coming off of his best finish of his career winning the 4A state title in 1:53.46. Watch out for Lake Brantley's Otneil Teixera who is always dangerous as well. Eight guys in this race are under 1:54 with Hilgar right at that line seeded at 1:54.04.
The girls 1600 meters features eight runners under 4:58 led by Kacy Smith at 4:52. Smith has a powerful kick but will she be able to out run sixth grade phenom Daesha Rogers as well as Carmen Carlos of Alabama who has several state titles to her name as well. Stephanie Schappert the winner of the 1600 in 2A will also be in the field as well as Kaitlin Flatmann of Louisiana and Emily Dunn from San Antonio who finished second in this event at the prestigous Texas Relays.
On the boys side, the challenge will be to see if the Charlotte's boys led by Tyler Cardillo and Ryan Schnulle can hold off Douglasville, Georgia senior Wade Voyles who has the fastest time in the field at 4:11.21. Cardillo ran a 4.11.27 to capture the 3A state championships. Trinity Prep senior Whitner Chase is also entered in the field of sixteen.
The girls 100 hurdles are led by top seed Ashley Favors of Tampa Riverview with a time of 14.16. Jamika Glades of Dillar will be her biggest competitor. Glades won the 3A state championship in this event. Hailey Nnenya of Kennesaw, Georgia is also a strong contender, She has ran a 13.82 and has been successful on the AAU and national scene. Victoria Abnathy and Westminster Academy's Kayla Gardner, the 1A state champion, will also give them a run for their money. Favors and Nnenya who is the top seed in the 400's will look to upset last year's champion in that event, Ansley Gebben. Gebben, who has had a stellar high school career, winning the 300 hurdles all four years, will once again run on her home track at First Academy in what could be her last ever high school race,
The boys 110's will be the ones to watch. Miami Northwestern sophomore Artie Burns, the top hurdler in the nation in this event, is the top seed at 13.69. Palm Beach Lakes seniors Emarkis Gunn (last week's Warrior of the Week) and Malik Lewis are entered along with Washington D.C.junior Demetrius Lindo, who placed first at Nike Indoor in the 60 meter hurdles, and Wekiva senior Jovan Davis. This will be the first time back for Davis who injured his hamstring in the postseason. Burns, Gunn, Lewis, and Davis will also compete at the college level distance, 400 meter hurdles.
Field Events
In the girls pole vault, 1A state champion Lindsey Enders is the clear favorite. She looks to break the elusive 13 feet barrier something she says she has done in practice. The jumps are led by Georgia junior Mimieux Land. Land is the favorite in the triple jump, high jump, and second seed in the long jump. Land swept these events in the middle of the month at the Georgia 3A State Finals. West Orange's Der'Renae Freeman is the favorite in the long jump. Freeman's jump of 20-00.25 at the 4A state championships is the second best jump in the country and only the second over the 20 feet mark. The shot put competition will come down to three Miami Northwestern EXpress teammates; Sgehara Palmer, Lloydecia Cameron, and Amber Monroe. All three are capable of launching the implement over 40 feet. Monroe and UCF signee Kalen Hambrick are the top two seeds in the girls discus.
There is a strong contingent from Florida in the boys pole vault, but Georgia senior Nikita Kirrilov is at another level. Kirrilov placed second at Golden South last year going 15-6 and has gone 17-2 earlier this year. Garrett Scantling of Episcopal, Alex Kazanski, and Eddie Galan are also entered. Daniel Forgony of Dwyer is the top seed in both throws with marks of 56-00 in the shot put and 186-00 in the discus.
Meet Information
Performance List
FLRunners.com will be on scene withvideos and interviews courtesy of Todd Grasley and photos by John Calderon.