Claws Up! Auburn AL wins dual meet tournament

Auburn, Alabama might not be the first place you think of when you scroll through the list of high school track and field centers of power.

But DyeStat’s hypothetical dual meet tournament revealed the Alabama state champions to be one of the truly special teams in the U.S. this spring.

The Auburn Tigers, led by coach Dan Norton, are the deepest and most complete team in the country.

Auburn has a 24-foot long jumper, a 54-foot shot putter, a 14-foot pole vaulter, a 40.74-second 4x100 relay, and solid depth in the distances and hurdles. AUBURN'S SEASON BESTS

It’s rare to find a team that complete.

“It’s by far one of the most well rounded teams we’ve ever had,” Norton said.

It’s also a special group of seniors that led the way. In 2012, when they were freshmen, some of the guys picked up nickel and dime points in Auburn’s first state championship in 25 years. The Tigers haven’t lost since.

But even at Auburn there was no real thought that it could be the best dual meet team in the U.S.

“(Surprised?) I would say yes and no,” Norton said. “Alabama is not a traditional powerhouse state. But it feels good to know we had a team that pulled together and was competitive across the board.”

Sprinter Deonte Tolbert attended the Nike Elite Camp in May. Other standouts on this team included LaQuavious Hunt, Marrell Parker, Triaon Pollenitz, Paul Barlow, Jack Rogers, Robert Moore, Michael Robinson, Hayden Williams and Maurice Randolph.

As they say at Auburn, "Claws Up."

VISTA MURRIETA REACTS BRACKET RUN - 

MICHAEL NORMAN | JORDAN TESTERMAN | COACH COLEY CANDAELE

ROUND OF 32

ROUND OF 16

ROUND OF 8

ROUND OF 4

Below is Mike Newman's assessment of the final matchup between West Region champion Vista Murrieta of California and East Region champion Auburn.

DyeStat – 2016 National Boys Dual Meet Championships – Championship Meet

Auburn AL 71 ½ - Vista Murrieta CA 64 ½

It was closer than we expected in this final. But what would you expect between two balanced teams? The strength for Vista Murrieta in this tournament has been getting to a lead in the field events and then pulling away on the track in the sprints. In this final meet, it did not work out the way the California champions wanted it to as Auburn had a 30 ½ to 23 ½ lead after the six field events. It was the cushion that the Alabama champions needed to capture this inaugural championship.

The two teams traded off 1-2-3 finishes in the first two events on the track as Auburn swept the 110 Highs and then Vista Murrieta followed with a sweep in the 100 Meter Dash. Vista closed the margin down in the next two events as they won the 400 Meter Relay and then led by Michael Norman finished 1-3 in the 400 Meter Dash getting them to within two points (48 ½ - 46 ½).

Auburn took command of the meet in the next two events. Triaon Pollenitz and Christian Brandt finished 1-2 in the 300 Intermediates. Auburn then got a 1-2 finish from Paul Barlow and Jack Rogers in the 800 Meter Run cementing their advantage to 64 ½ - 48 ½ and one that Vista Murrieta could not match. Even though the California school outscored Auburn 21-7 in the final three events, that seven point margin that Auburn earned in the field events proved to be the difference.

Congratulations to both schools on their successes this season.

Congratulations to Auburn HS in Auburn, Alabama as the inaugural 2016 DyeStat National Boys Dual Meet Champions.

Meet Results