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Preview - New Balance Nationals Indoor - Boys - DyeStat

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DyeStat.com   Mar 13th 2015, 12:47am
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Boys: Grant Fisher has a shot at history in mile

 

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

 

Grant Fisher, Paulo Benavides and an exciting group of 400-meter contenders top the bill for the the 2015 New Balance Nationals Indoor Championships, which begin a three-day run at The Armory on Friday. 

 

Much of the eastern U.S. (read: indoor track and field country) has been through a long slog through an icy cold winter. That weather has impacted training. But it has also revealed who has the desire to press through it and not give up on preseason goals. 

 

For Fisher, a two-time Foot Locker champion and returning NBNI mile champion, the mission may be another repeat. But with a Michigan state record 4:04.46 in the 1600 at the MITS Championship meet the easy question to ask his how close can he get to the four-minute barrier?

 

It is unlikely that anyone is going to go out in 2:01, like Fisher did, so it could amount to a solo effort. When Alan Webb ran 3:59.86 at The Armory in 2001 he was on the track with a professional field. 

 

The pole vault features one of the most eagerly anticipated showdowns of the entire season. Deakin Volz and Paulo Benavides both broke the indoor high school record on Feb. 7. Benavides finished the day one centimeter higher and is the current owner. 

 

It may take a first-ever indoor clearance of 18 feet for one of these guys to win. 

 

In the 400 meters, the field includes defending NBNI champion Richard Rose of Boys & Girls (Brooklyn). Rai Benjamin NY, Josephus Lyles VA, Taylor McLaughlin NJ, Izaiah Brown NY and current national leader Will Allen KY promise to make this event quite a show. 

 

Here is a closer look at every championship event for boys:

 

60 Meters: Ryan Clark from Georgia has been the dominant straightaway dash sprinter in the country, with US#1s in the 55 (6.25) and 60 (6.68). However, Darryl Haraway from Maryland is the highest returning finisher after taking third in 2014. Marcus Taylor of Virginia is the only other returning finalist and was eighth last year. One of the hottest sprinters in the country right now is Noah Lyles of Virginia, who just ran 6.27 for 55 meters on Tuesday. Jaron Flournoy of Michigan has had a breakout season as well.

 

200 Meters: Some of those top 60 guys will be trying to double back in the 200 the same way Trentavis Friday did last year. Clark, Flournoy and Lyles will also have to contend with Rai Benjamin and Taylor McLaughlin, who both ran 21.37 at The Armory a little over a week ago at Eastern States.

 

400 Meters: This is perhaps the marquee event of the entire meet. Rose (signed with Texas A&M), Benjamin (UCLA), McLaughlin (Michigan), Izaiah Brown (Rutgers) and juniors Josephus Lyles and Allen are all big talents. And yet one of them won't even make it to the fastest section of the finals. It's possible that whoever gets Lane 5 in the second-fastest section of the finals could win this.

 

800 Meters: Donavan Brazier from Michigan is the NBN Outdoor champion in this event and he may be poised to grab the indoor title as well. James Asselmeyer from Arlington NY has raced at The Armory lots this season and is also a contender, along with Terrell Jackson from Tennessee and Kendall Muhammad from Kentucky. 

 

Mile: Grant Fisher of Grand Blanc MI is the class of this field and his 4:04.46 in the 1600 puts him in rare company historically. As strong as Fisher is at 5,000, he is a miler at heart and has a very potent kick. Millrose Games HS mile champion James Burke NY and New Balance Grand Prix mile champion Logan Wetzel MI are in the field and could give Fisher some company. Jack Salisbury RI and Sam Ritz PA are very strong as well. 

 

2-Mile:  This is one of the best fields in the meet and it's got more geographic diversity than most of the other events. Levi Thomet from Kodiak, Alaska is here and he's traveled probably farther than anyone else. Additionally, this field has Zach Dale IL, Ben Veatch IN, Mike Brannigan NY, Alex Ostberg CT, Aidan Tooker NY and Andrew Hunter VA. 

 

Look for a fast, honest pace to this race. Ostberg and Hunter are both very talented but rely on their ability to hammer out a quick tempo rather than break anyone with top-gear closing speed.

 

5,000 Meters: Elijah Armstrong from Idaho, third in this race a year ago, has the best credentials in the field. He was third at the Foot Locker cross country finals. The extra distance could be good for someone like Mike Brannigan, who won the NBN Outdoor title in the 2-mile last June.

 

60 Meter Hurdles: A great matchup looms here with Chad Zallow from Ohio, the US#1 hurdler in the 60 meters (7.62) taking on Grant Holloway, a junior from Virginia, who ran US#1 7.19 in the 55 hurdles earlier this week. Marcus Krah, a junior from North Carolina, rates an outside chance as well.

 

Relays: La Salle Academy is gearing up to take a run at not only the win, but the record too. With a lineup that goes Matthew Bouthilette, Jack Salisbury, David Principe Jr and Dan Paiva, there is a chance that this group could challenge CBA's 2014 record time of 17:07.17. However, that race had great competition from Gig Harbor WA and a third team, Brentwood TN, also ran under the previous national record. La Salle needs an energetic atmosphere and another team -- perhaps St. Anthony's NY or Davis UT -- to go with them.

 

In the 4x200, Newburgh NY, C.H. Flowers MD, Hillhouse CT, DeMatha MD and Bowie MD are the top contenders. Newburgh ran US#1 1:27.64 to win at the Millrose Games. Hillhouse came up big with its A lineup at Eastern States. ... In the sprint medley relay, US#1 and Pennsylvania state record holder Cheltenham has targeted this event since early in the season. This event is seldom run so the leader board should get completely re-set this weekend. Boys & Girls NY, DeMatha Catholic MD and Western Branch VA are among the leading challengers. ... In the distance medley relay, it's rather telling that US#1 La Salle isn't entered. It's a sign of how badly they want a shot at that 4xmile record. Instead, CBA NJ, Fordham Prep NY and Mansfield MA are on a short list of top contenders. But also, keep and eye on Darien CT, which has Armstrong Noonan (1,200) and Alex Ostberg (1,600) to handle the heavy lifting. 

 

In the 4x800, Arlington NY and Shenendehowa NY get a rematch of their epic race at Millrose, which produced the US#1 and #2 times of the season. The third team to go sub-7:50 this winter, Davis UT, is also here to throw it's collective hat in the ring.  ... In the 4x400 relay, Union Catholic NJ is the two-time defending champion and has a ray of hope to pull off the three-peat. Cheltenham PA has the US#1 time at 3:18.41, but it will no doubt take something better than that to defeat Motor City (Oak Park MI), Clara Barton NY, Western Branch VA, or UC.  ... In the shuttle hurdles, look for Medgar Evers NY and Western Branch VA to be among the leading contenders.

 

High Jump: Of the 16 boys to make 6-10 this year in the high jump, 11 of them are in the meet. Throw in a 6-11 guy from Canada (Philippe St. Hilaire) and this is a competition that could be decided by very narrow margins. Juniors Jaron Brooks of Kentucky and Grant Holloway of Virginia are the lone 7-foot jumpers in the U.S. this season, but Holloway was upset at the Virginia state meet by Bradley Jones after both of them went out at 6-10. 

 

Pole Vault: A year after Devin King broke the national record in this meet, two entrants have already done higher. Volz and Benavides shared a memorable day in early February and have been looking forward to this chance to push each other up and over 18 feet.

 

Long Jump: Ja'Mari Ward of Cahokia IL, a junior, has a chance to make history if he can sweep the horizontal jumps. He should be near the top of both competitions and leads the nation with a 24-7.25 long jump from Feb. 8. The inclusion of Charles Lambert NY, Greg Vann CA, Harrison Schrage OR and Anthony Bravo CT mean that top five ranked jumpers in the country are here.

 

Triple Jump: U.S. leader Marcellus Fletcher of Virginia (51-0), Ja'Mari Ward and Jared Lovelace NY are the only three jumpers over 50 feet this season. Fletcher did not jump at the Virginia state meet and his best jump of the season came in January. Lovelace, who is familiar with The Armory, scored a PR 50-4.50 last week at the New York state meet. 

 

Shot Put: Seniors Willie Morrison KS and Eric Favors NY and sophomore Jordan Geist PA are more than two feet ahead of the rest of the field. Among these three, the competition could be outstanding. Morrison's best national-leading mark is 67-4. Favors got a big PR to break the New York state record last week with 66-1. And Geist has thrown 66-0.75. 

 

Weight Throw: Adam Kelly broke the Rhode Island state record at The Armory earlier this season and will try to creep up the all-time list if he can get another PR. Kelly and teammate Bobby Colantonio have a chance to go 1-2, which doesn't happen very often at New Balance Nationals.



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