King headlines Mobile Challenge of Champs

By ARTHUR L. MACK for DyeStat

Mobile, Ala. will be in the prep track and field spotlight when the 22nd annual Mobile Challenge of Champions gets under way on Friday and Saturday.

 
Friday's competition — the Open Division—will be held at UMS-Wright Prep School and Erwin S. Cooper Stadium; Saturday, the Invitational Division will be held at St. Paul's Episcopal School's E. E. Delaney Stadium.

 
Twelve states will be represented in the two-day competition, with 1,800 athletes from 158 schools. Athletes as far away as Wisconsin will participate in the meet, which undoubtedly pleases meet director Steve Schoenewald.

 
"It should be a pretty good turnout (of athletes)," he said. "But I'm always on pins and needles until after the meet, because there could be some late scratches or no-shows."
Action starts at 3 p.m. on Friday with the Open Division, where there is historically a huge turnout — not only with athletes, but with spectators as well. The Invitational Division, featuring some of the top track and field talent in the nation, kicks off at noon with the field events, while running events start at 1 p.m.

While the Open Division is usually for those athletes who are not invited to run in Saturday's competition, there have been many occasions when athletes who do well enough in the Open Division are invited to return and compete in the Invitational Division.

Schoenewald said that the interest in this year's meet has been remarkable.

"Besides getting a lot of calls from coaches, we've had a lot of inquiries from the media," he said. "We've had eight media outlets call and ask about the meet. That's the most we've had in the meet's history."

This year's Invitational Division competition should be one to remember.

The marquee event is the boys' pole vault. Devin King of Jules Sumner High School in Kentwood, La. recently set a national indoor record of 17 feet, 10 inches. Incidentally, King has the Challenge of Champions' meet record of 17-3, and is shooting for 18 feet.

"King is who everybody is looking at," said Schoenewald. "He has a chance of breaking his own meet record."

King will have competition from several notable vaulters, including Mobile McGill-Toolen Catholic's Sean Collins, who is the top vaulter in Alabama. Collins has already cleared 15-6 this season, and with King in the field, could go over 16-0.

In the girls' pole vault, Collins' teammate, Margaret Ollinger, owns the top mark in Alabama (12-10), and could be a threat to clear 13-0. One of the competitors in the girls' pole vault—Billie Cannon of West Feliciana High in St. Francisville, La. — is the granddaughter of former LSU football great Billy Cannon. Another Louisiana vaulter, Madison Heath of Fontainebleau, comes in with a best of 13-0.

"With five girls over 12 feet or better, I would think this is a pretty loaded field," Schoenewald said.

There are at least four athletes in the invitational boys 100-meter dash who have run career bests of 10.6 or better. Among them are Thompson (Alabaster, AL) High's Jalen Jones (10.51) and McGill-Toolen Catholic's Tony Bridges — the defending Alabama Class 6A champion who was third in last year's Challenge of Champions meet. Meanwhile, national leader Aleia Hobbs from McMain LA tops the contenders in the girls 100.

The boys' shot put will also be competitive. The favorite, Sam Kempka of Houston High (Germantown, Tenn.) has thrown 56-0. He will get some strong competition from Mobile's St. Paul's Episcopal football star and Auburn-bound Tre' Williams, who has thrown a seasonal best of 55-6 at the Lyon Newell Charity Throws Meet just over two weeks ago.

In the relays, Ridgewood (New Jersey) is a team to watch in the boys' competition. Ridgewood ran 7 minutes, 44 seconds in the 4 X 800 and comes in as the meet favorite, challenged by Niceville (Fla.) High; Catholic-Baton Rouge and St. Xavier of Louisville, Ky.
The girls' 4 X 800 will have several Alabama teams, including St. Paul's and UMS-Wright.

Other Alabama teams include Smiths Station, Huntsville, and Pelham.

One of the favorites in the boys' 4 X 400 is Newburgh (NY) Academy. Auburn (AL.) High will present a strong challenge, along with Catholic-Baton Rouge. On the girls' side, defending champion Pine Forest, St. Paul's and Smiths Station will battle favored McEachern of Powder Springs, Ga., which ran 3:45.16.

McEachern is also the favorite in what is expected to be a fast girls' 4 X 100, while on the boys' side Auburn and Central-Phenix City are among the top teams.

In addition, be on the lookout for:

* Sifa Finau of Pine Forest (Pensacola, FL), who has a best of 189-6 in the boys' discus and leads seven competitors who have thrown 150 feet or better.

* Matthew Venable of Catholic-Baton Rouge, Dominick Fillinich of LaFourche (LA.), and Hamilton Phillips of Mobile's UMS-Wright, who will be engaged in a highly competitive boys' javelin battle.

*Dwayne Reed of Thibodeaux (LA), who has a career best of 24-7.50 in the long jump.

* Marcquita Stalbert of New Orleans' McDonough 35, the defending champion in the girls' 400 meters — who is not only the favorite in that event, but also in a loaded 200-meter field.

* Veronica Lyle of Hewitt (Trussville), AL, and Karisa Nelson of Brewton, AL (T. R. Miller), two of the favorites in the girls' mile. Lyle is also scheduled to run the 800 as well.