Top 10 Boys' Storylines for 2013 NBNO
By Steve Underwood
With so many events and so many prep track and field stars from almost every state, it can be hard to wrap your head around the biggest events and stories, and exactly who the key athletes are. So here’s one take on what to keep your eye on most closely:
1. Burrell-Bromell Rematch
One supposes that in order to have a conversation about a Cameron Burrell-Trayvon Bromell rematch in the New 
Balance Nationals Outdoor 100 this weekend, one has to acknowledge that there was a “match” in the first place. But in reality, the adidas Dream 100 three weeks ago that included both speedsters was a case of Burrell dominating a well-balanced field that happened to include Bromell in a well-beaten fifth. Yes, Bromell – who was at the time, and still is the event’s US#1 (wind-legal) performer by .01 at 10.27 – was just .02 out of second, but Burrell was a big .19 ahead of everyone.
But Bromell has to be looked at in a different light after his Great Southwest triumph last weekend. Though he was aided by a big 4.0 breeze and benefitted from Albuquerque’s 5,355 feet of altitude, his 9.99 – fastest all-conditions FAT time by a prep, ever – was still crazy, crazy fast. Is it as good as the 10.07w (+3.2) that Burrell ran at the Texas Relays? Probably not quite. And Burrell is the man to beat until he’s beaten, thanks to a fantastic year that goes back to his #2 all-time 60 meter dash win at the Brooks PR meet. But this race has to be considered one of the best of the meet, also due to the fact that the field includes four more sub-10.40 guys, led by 10.18w/US#2 10.28 Kendal Williams, the Stanton Prep (Florida) junior.
The other reason this event is a big deal is this: How often does NBNO – or other recent incarnations of the NSAF’s outdoor champs – get the top 2-3 100-meter men in the country? In most cases the past several years, these top dashers are either focusing on USATF Juniors or have traded their spikes for football cleats (spring practice or summer camps) at this point. Major props to the NSAF for scoring a killer field for the boys’ century.
2. Humphrey-Brown Showdown
It’s hard to argue against any race including a 9.99 100-meter man – no matter what the wind and altitude – as 
being the leading storyline of a prep championship track meet. But serious track fans would point to this, the boys’ 110 hurdles, as the meet’s best showdown and storyline of storylines. Still need some convincing? How about this: Marlon Humphrey is on his way to being the best prep combo hurdler ever, and few preps in history can match Tony Brown in pairing the 110s and the 100 meter dash. They are currently tied for US#1 and #10 all-time at 13.38.
Both have been relatively quiet since their mid-spring state meets, so let’s reintroduce them to you. Humphrey, the Hoover (Ala.) junior who’s considered a top 10 overall national football recruit as a cornerback, was the top 300H soph in 2012 at 37.12 and #2 in the 110s at 13.96. This spring, after an outstanding indoor season that yielded a US#2 7.76 60H on the short end of his range, he blasted out a 36.05 300H, then a US#1 35.60 at the Mobile Challenge to move to #10 all-time. He ripped a 13.30w at Mobile, as well, then the 13.38 legal later on.
Brown had also run 7.76 for 60H indoors, but false-started the NBNI semifinal while Humphrey went on to get second to Freddie Crittenden. Outdoors, he ran his 13.38 at the Texas Relays, where he also clocked 10.45w for 4th in the 100. At 4A state, he hit 13.40 for the win and 10.53 for second behind Burrell. He was the first in 17 years to make the state final in both Texas 4A events.
Brown will run both events here, while Humphrey will make his 400H debut after racing the 110s.
3. Montoya and McGorty shoot for 2M supremacy
No, there is no Ben Saarel (US#1 3,200 and Dream Mile champ) or Ed Cheserek (NBNI 2M champ and indoor USR holder). But the good news is that the great wealth of talent in the boys’ distance ranks is still such that the NBNO field still has a championship showdown field. Thank you, Bernie Montoya and Sean McGorty. The Cibola (Yuma, Ariz.) senior and the Chantilly (Va.) senior both qualify as guys who can beat any prep out there on a given day and make this race one that has potential for performances in the low-8:40s or even high 8:30s.
A year ago, Montoya was on top of the world as the 2012 Dream Mile victory with a 4:01.32. Having done that as a junior and having beaten almost everyone that mattered in the deepest prep mile ever, a lot of folks thought of him as clearly the best prep distance runner in the country coming into this school years. It hasn’t quite worked out that way, though Montoya has still been very, very good. He won the Brooks PR 2M indoors, had a killer state meet triple, and ran a 4:01.71 mile at Pre two weeks ago. He was also second in the Arcadia 3,200 (8:47.07) and 4th in the Dream Mile (4:05.65), while Saarel won both and basically became the current prep distance star of the season.
McGorty wasn’t at the super elite level yet as a junior, but got there last fall during XC as he was unbeaten save for a runner-up finish to Cheserek at Foot Locker. His biggest win in track has been the Penn Relays mile, while he has also been the NBNI 2M runnerup to Cheserek and 5th in the Dream Mile. His 8:46.07 3,200 best outdoors was a solo effort in a state-level invite that basically told everyone he’d have been in the thick of it at Arcadia had he competed there.
Montoya (800) and McGorty (4x1 mile relay) are both entered in Sunday races, too, but will be fresh for the deuce. While the field also includes standouts like last fall’s NXN champ Sam Wharton, NJ MOC 3,200 champ Kyle Levermore, and others, look for these two to battle for the victory in a very fast race with an exciting finish. If there’s a difference between them, McGorty might have slightly better endurance, while Montoya (1:50.19 800) has better speed. So look for McGorty to make a move before the final stage.
4. 800 is deep, deep, deep
If you’re looking for the distance race with the deepest concentration of talent and the most unpredictable finish, then the boys’ 800 is your race. There are seven runners who have run sub-1:51 and a dozen more who have run 1:52 or faster. Six of the best 10 from the outdoor list are here and while fast-rising John Crossley of West Cateret, N.C. has the best PR coming in at 1:49.99, it’s not really fair to call anyone the favorite.
Remember the NBNI 800? A wild finish in the fast section there saw three runners within 0.12 seconds, with Chris Ibarra of Texas pulling out the victory ... except it wasn’t really a “victory” overall, since Westfield (Chantilly, Va.) senior Nathan Kiley had run a faster 1:51.37 in the morning section. He had hung around and, sure enough, he earned an unlikely title.
Ibarra’s back in the field. So is Kiley and he will run the fast section this time. Then there’s the Clark twins from Pleasantville, N.J. were 1:49 bookends for the school’s winning Penn Relays 4x800 effort. At the NJ MOC last week, they went 1:50.12 (Isaac) and 1:50.73 (Jacob). At NBNI, however, they finished third (Jacob and fifth (Isaac) in the fast heat. Then there’s Montoya, Great Southwest champ Blair Henderson (1:50.04 best), and much more.
5. Stillwaters run fast
Stillwater’s boys distance program, in terms of XC and distance relays at the national level, hasn’t been a major player at recent national meets like NXN and NBNO. But a very strong tradition exists there, with alums like Luke Watson and Ben Blankenship, who became sub-4:00 milers in college and beyond, and with XC teams in the late 1990s that were considered the country's best.
This spring, however, a peaking group of seniors that includes Wayde Hall (4:10.42 1,600/9:06.71 3,200), Eric Colvin (4:15.69/9:03.86) and Sean Bjork (4:18.68/1:54.64 800) have made significant improvements. But even more amazingly, a talented frosh named Eli Krahn – a 4:26 1,600 as an 8th-grader last spring and a 16:00s 5k runner last fall – has become one of the best freshman the country has ever seen, with his state meet 8:58.67 3,200 (2nd all-time) and 4:09.38 1,600 (frosh USR) double making national headlines. Stillwater now has dizzying relay possibilities. Unfortunately for Stillwater, there is no 4x2 Mile at NBNO, but the 4x1 Mile will do nicely, too. The national record of 17:06.6 beckons, though it has done so for many years to other talented squads who haven’t been able to match what South Eugene, Ore. did in 1976.
It also beckons to Southlake Carroll, a squad that HAS been known as a powerhouse at NXN (2nd in 2011) and in NBNO relays (won DMR in 2008). These guys have the NBNI mile runner-up in Trevor Gilley and a nation-leading 10:03.59 DMR in their pockets. It’s no surprise at all that they’d be contending for this title.
6. The Union remains strong
If there was a “team” of the weekend during the boys’ New Balance Nationals Indoor this past winter, it was Union Catholic, the New Jersey school that set a national record in the 4x55 shuttle hurdle relay and won the 4x200 and 4x400 relays, as well. Don’t be surprised if they take home a lot of hardware this weekend, too. They are the team to beat in the 4x110H SHR (no surprise), the 1600 sprint medley relay, and they are strong contenders in the 1000 Swedish medley, 4x400 and 4x200, as well.
7. Battle of the 17-footers
Three boys vaulters have cleared 17 feet this year, but they haven’t all vaulted in the same meet outdoors. That will change this weekend as Louisiana stars Devin King and Dylan Duvio, and Texan Daven Murphree will collide this weekend. Duvio wasn’t yet a 17-footer when they all competed at NBNI. Murphree won there at 17-1, with Duvio 2nd at 16-9.25 and King – a new 17-footer at that point – had an off-day with 15-9.25 in 6th.
Murphree has to be the favorite. The Big Sandy (Harmony, Texas) senior won NBNI at 17-1, has the US#1 at 17-8.5 from the Texas Relays and is unbeaten. He also beat Duvio at Great Southwest.
King is unbeaten outdoors. Not surprisingly, the Sumner junior and Duvio, a John Curtis senior, have met several times. The best of those came at the Mobile Challenge, as King hit a PR 17-3 and Duvio had his first 17-footer in 2nd. At his region meet a few weeks later, though, Duvio took over the state lead, and US#2, with a 17-3.5.
Sunday, the progression is set to go 16-11.75, 17-3, and 17-5.75. If Murphree can clear the latter mark, he’s probably got it. But at 17-3 or lower, it’s anyone’s game among the trio.
8. Putters must prove themselves
Throwers Brahame Days, Jr. and Nick Ponzio have racked up lots of victories and honors in the shot put and discus, but coming into NBNO it could be said that both have something to prove.
Fairly or not, doubt has been cast upon Ponzio’s US#1 69-7.5 shot from a May dual meet, as to whether it was accidentally measured improperly. Ponzio has not exceeded 66 feet since ... but he’s also been consistent in the 65-66 range and has been unbeaten, so there’s no doubt he belongs as at least a co-favorite.
As for Days, he’s not only still looking for that first outdoor 70-footer (he did it indoors in 2012), but to bounce back after getting second and hitting less than 60 feet at the NJ Meet of Champs. On the other hand, Days has never thrown the discus better than recently, going over 199 at those same Meet of Champs. There’s no one combining the two like him right now.
So, really, it comes down to this: Can both Days, Jr. and Ponzio get back in the 69s in the shot?
9. Staples for the Wynne
After Union Catholic NJ’s triple, one of the most outstanding efforts from a star and his team at NBNI in March came from Staples, Ct. The school’s DMR quartet rocked a 10:07.01 to take top honors Friday, then anchor Henry Wynne came back Sunday to win the mile in a US#1 4:08.15.
Outdoors, they’ve been relatively quiet – until recently. Wynne didn’t run the Penn mile or 3k, and Staples didn’t run the 4x800 or DMR in that meet. But by May he had heated up and took second in the adidas Dream Mile in US#4 4:05.04. The past two weeks he has lowered his 800 PR to 1:50.63 and then a US#2 1:49.93 at New Englands.
Building on that and considering the schedule, Staples is going short in the relays – hitting the Saturday’s 4x800 and 1600 sprint medley instead of the Sunday DMR. They probably have the best chance to win SMR. Then Wynne has the edge on Sunday’s mile field as he attempts to get the NBNI/NBNO double.
10. 4x800, straight up
If you’ve followed the 4x800 this year, it’s not hard to take a look at the list of entries and know who the top teams are. You don’t have instances of teams with clear talent but have not done the event yet this spring. What you do have is the schools that rank #1 through #4 on the current national list, as well as two others in the top 10.
Two weeks ago, Fort Wayne Carroll opened eyes at the Indiana state meet with a US#1 7:40.14 and, as such, have to be considered the favorites. Last weekend, Chaminade and Syosset, N.Y., ascended to spots #2 and #3 with impressive 7:40.68 and 7:41.01 clockings at the New York state meet. Chaminade was 2nd at NBNI and Syosset 4th.
But the school that a lot of fans are really going to be tracking is Penn Relays champion Pleasantville, N.J. Those Clark twins we mentioned earlier will give you a pair of 1:49-50 efforts. What will be the key for the school is if how far under 2:00 they can get their other two legs.
