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New Balance Nationals Outdoor Girls Preview - 2015 - DyeStat

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DyeStat.com   Jun 18th 2015, 2:43am
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Frazier, McLaughlin, others set to shine

 

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

 

It's going to be a hot one in Greensboro -- and yes, we're talking weather. 

 

The New Balance Nationals Outdoor Championships return to North Carolina A&T this weekend and the forecast is for 90s each day with possible thunderstorms Friday or Saturday.

 

That will undoubtedly affect some of the events -- and some of the competitors. 

 

The entire meet will be streamed live on NBNationals.com | Broadcast Information -- and our little branch of RunnerSpace will be covering the meet with updates, interviews and stories.

 

Here are some in-depth sketches of top athletes committed to running at NBNO, from our weekly Who's Coming series:

 

Week One

Week Two

Week Three

Week Four

Week Five

 

Here is a rundown of some of what we can expect at this weekend's championships.

 

Girls 100 Meters

With reigning champion and US#1 Candace Hill opting to go to Seattle, there is a big opportunity here and lots of potential winners. 

Khalifa St. Fort, who is coached by former Olympian and NBC broadcaster Ato Boldon, was third in the Dream 100 last weekend in 11.62. (Hill ran US#1 11.21 for the win). St. Fort will be lined up in a Heat 3 prelim with Medgar Evers NY's Brenessa Thompson and local North Carolina standout Sydnei Murphy. 

Sophomore Twanisha Terry of Miami Northwest FL (11.44w/11.68), Kiara Parker of Westlake MD (11.51w/11.97), Kate Hall of Lake Region ME (11.41nwi) and Cedrina Singletary (11.47w/11.67) all drew lane 4 assignments. Cassondra Hall of Warner Robins GA is fresh off a victory in Havana, Cuba where she won the 100 in 11.59. Symone Mason of Miami Southridge FL and Katlin Sherman of Parkland NC are also ones to watch.

 

Girls 200 Meters

Diamond Spaulding of St. Thomas Aquinas FL, second in this event last year, comes in as the favorite. She has run US#4 23.21 this season and was second to Hill at the Prefontaine Classic.

Rhode Island and New England champion Quashira McIntosh of Hope RI, Kianna Gray of Fort Knox KY, Dasia Pressley of Levittown PA, and Cedrina Singletary are also lane 4 seeds.

 

Girls 400 Meters

The fifth and final timed section is loaded, with US#2 Sharrika Barrett (52.67) of Oak Ridge FL going up against US#3 Sammy Watson (52.69) of Rush-Henrietta, the newly minted New York state champion, US#8 Makenzie Dunmore of McEachern GA, US#9 Karrington Winters of New Albany OH, US#10 Serenity Douglas of Archer GA and US#14 Destiny Ward of Smith GA.

 

Girls 800 Meters

This event is one of the strongest of the entire meet. New York sophomores Kamryn McIntosh (US#4 2:05.63) and Sammy Watson (New Balance Nationals Indoor champion) will go head to head, along with Sarah Walker of Germantown Friends PA (US#5 2:05.79) and New Englands champion Danae Rivers of Woods Cross CT (US#6 2:05.86). Also in the fast section are Michigan's Ersula Farrow (US#11 2:07.09), and Ohioans Rachel Banks (US#12 2:07.27) and Brittany Aveni (US#16 2:07.48). Canadian Victoria Tachinski (2:07.35) is also in the mix.  

 

Girls Mile

It's hard to bet against Ryen Frazier of Raleigh, especially in her home state. She's the defending champion and the Fraziers always seem to shine at this event. The Prefontaine Classic mile champion will face some heavy hitters in Stephanie Jenks of Linn-Mar IA, Allie Schadler from Rio Rico AZ, Annie Heffernan of St. Ursula OH, Mady Clahane from Cumberland Valley PA, Rachel Dadamio of Birmingham Seaholm MI and New Jersey duo Catherine Pagano and Briana Gess.

 

Girls 2-Mile

Again, it starts with Ryen Frazier, who established herself as one of the top distance runners in the country last fall in cross country. This time the challenge comes from Libby Davidson of EC Glass VA, who won the freshman race last year. Sarah Kettel, the home-schooled Michigan standout and Foot Locker finalist, is also a threat to win this race.

 

Girls 5,000 Meters

Frazier, Kettel and Davidson are entered here as well. In fact, this is the race they'll all do first, on Friday night. So legs will all be fresh. Frazier will certainly know that the meet record is held by her sister Wesley, at 15:54.94 (2013). Another name to add to that mix is Maryjeane Gilbert from Notre Dame IL. She was 12th at Foot Locker nationals. Weini Kelati, who competed at World Juniors last year for Ethiopia, was seventh in the 5,000 meters at New Balance Nationals Indoor.

 

Girls 100 Hurdles

US#3 Anna Cockrell of Providence Day NC has run this race in 13.21 seconds, which is one of the fastest performances of all-time (No. 8). But even with that achievement, this is going to be a tough field to beat. Funlayo Oluwole of Western Branch VA is US#4 with 13.38, Alexis Duncan of DeSoto TX is the reigning national champion and has run 13.25w and US#7 13.45. Tonea Marshall of Seguin TX is US#5 with 13.44.

 

Girls 400 Hurdles

Sydney McLaughlin of Union Catholic, dominant as she was in winning this event as a freshman, is probably even better this year. She has the US#1 time with 57.39. The competition this weekend will come from Cockrell, who ran US#2 59.37 at the CSI meet in Cuba. Alyssa Sandy of Paul Robeson NY is US#5 with 1:00.31.

 

 

Girls 2K Steeplechase

 

All  14 girls in the fast section are from the state of New York, which dominates this event because it's part of NYSPHSAA state meet. Alex Harris of North Rockland, Suzie Petryk of Huntington, Emily Burns of Guilderland and Annamaria Kostarellis of Churchville-Chili are four of the seven girls who have broken seven minutes this spring. 

 

Girls 4x100 Relay

It can be tough to keep a 4x100 relay squad sharp after the state championships are complete, but the dangling carrot of a national title has kept some going. Miami Northwestern is US#3 with 45.61 from Florida state meet back on May 2. Miami Southridge FL (46.15), Mallard Creek NC (46.69), Withrow OH (46.92), Nansemond River VA (47.02)

 

Girls 4x200 Relay

Miami Northwestern FL owns the top time in the nation in this event (1:35.42) and is the clearcut favorite with its A lineup. Clinton MS is US#7 and has Demi Washington on the anchor. Lincoln-Way East IL is entered in both the 4x100 and the 4x200 but the longer event may suit this squad best. Led by Asia Brown and Jasmine Howell, this team could be a contender. Withrow OH and Oak Park MI are also strong teams from the Midwest. Hope RI could have advantage with Quashira McIntosh on the anchor if the rest of the team can keep it close.

 

Girls 4x400 Relay

Union Catholic NJ, led by Sydney McLaughlin's spectacular 51.6 split on anchor, ran US#1 3:38.87 in the 4x400 last weekend in New York. That makes UC the favorite here, but this could be a wildly entertaining race. McEachern GA is US#3, Nansemond River VA is US#4 Miami Northwestern FL is US#6. Those three teams are accustomed to running under 3:44.

 

Girls 4x800 Relay

Oak Park (aka Motor City TC) has Ersula Farrow on anchor and owns the US#1 time of 8:54.29. That's nearly four seconds faster than any other team in the country this spring. West Lafayette IN (US#2) and Wilson PA (US#3) are an additional pair of state championship mettle teams that have gone sub-9 minutes.

 

Girls 4xMile Relay

This is an event where you look for the proven cross country brand names. Watchout for La Salle RI (Eliza Rego on anchor), Saratoga Springs NY, Oakton VA and Carmel IN to put strong squads together here.

 

Girls 800 SMR/1000 Swedish/1600 Sprint Medley Relay

Of the three relays, the traditional 1600-meter sprint medley relay has the best matchup. Rush-Henrietta NY (Sammy Watson anchor) vs. Suffern NY (Kamryn McIntosh anchor) is at the heart of this event, but also throw in Oak Park MI and Union Catholic NJ and this could be a very competitive final.

 

Girls Distance Medley Relay

Suffern NY is the indoor national champion and could be going for the inside-outside double. This team also holds the US#1 position with 11:45.04, which is set at the Loucks Games. North Rockland NY, US#2 and second in that race at Loucks, is also in the field.

 

Girls Shuttle Hurdles Relay

Western Branch loves this event. The girls broke the national record here last year and this time there are three quartets entered. The A squad, which features Funlayo Oluwole and Milan Parks, could be going for another national record. Another team that would love to win this event is Union Catholic, and you can't put anything past Sydney McLaughlin and company.

 

Girls High Jump

Nicole Greene of Ponte Vedra is the only 6-0 jumper in the field. She cleared that height last weekend in Cuba and figures to be the favorite this week as well. 

 

Girls Long Jump

This competition figures to be sensational. US#1 Courtney Corrin from Harvard-Westlake CA is entered and so is New Balance Indoors champion Kate Hall of Lake Region ME. Corrin jumped 20-9.75 last weekend in Cuba. Hall, meanwhile, jumped 20-11 at the New England Championships but officials failed to use a wind guage. Kiara Williams from Homewood AL, Daloria Boone from Baldwin GA and the acrobatic Sydnei Murphy of Apex GA are also close enough to give chase.

 

Girls Triple Jump

Chinne Okoronkwo from Mountlake Terrace WA is the top entrant with a best this season of 41-10.25 (US#5). 

 

Girls Pole Vault

The highest of bars are going up in states across the country, but no one this season has been in the same ballpark as the Weeks sisters. Lexi Weeks of Cabot AR owns the outdoor US#1 mark with 14-2. Then last weekend, at a meet held indoors at the pair's practice facility, Tori Weeks went 14-4 (an indoor national record).

 

Girls Shot Put

Nickolette Dunbar of Whippany Park NJ and multi-talented Sophia Rivera of Brentwood MO are two of the three girls over 51 feet this season. Sophomore Kathleen Young from Warrensburg-Latham IL is US#4 with 50-10.50 and should be able to challenge them.

 

Girls Discus

Kiana Phelps of Kingsley-Pierson IA is US#2 with 172-9 but there are others here who could pull out the win. Oyesade Olatoye of Coffman OH is US#5 with 162-8 and Samantha Noennig of Rubicon WI is US#7 with a best of 161-6.

 

Girls Javelin

New national record holder Madison Wiltrout  is not entered, so the competition is wide open and the leading contenders are Sophia Rivera (US#2 175-10), Katelyn Gochenour of Marian NE (US#3 167-2) and Tairyn Montgomery of Redondo Union CA, last year's champion.

 

Girls Hammer

Haley Showalter is the national leader in this event and she's coming to North Carolina to take on the best. Ten of the top 11 ranked throwers in Gourley's List are entered in the meet.



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