By Steve Underwood

The nine young men who will line up for Saturday’s Boys Dream 100 will include:

• A defending champ who also happens to be coming back from injury and is the event’s only 3-time qualifier
• A son of an Olympic Gold Medalist and former world-record holder who hopes to earn the Lone Star State’s first victory in the event
• A Florida-Texas dual meet feel with seven of the finalists being from those two states
• And a mix of six seniors and three juniors in the race, as well as some who favor the longer sprints mixing it up with pure short dashmen.

Let’s break the nine finalists down (in alphabetical order):

Trayvon Bromell (Gibbs H.S., FL)

Bromell had good credentials as a junior, running a best of US#9 10.40 and placing high in the Florida 3A state and Golden South meets.  But the first indicator that he would rise to a new level in 2013 came in the Jimmy Carnes Indoor when his 6.33 55 was just .01 behind established star Lavonte Whitfield.  Outdoors, he notched new legal PRs of 21.07 (Steinbrenner Inv.) and 10.34 (Fla. Relays prelim), the really opened eyes with NWI marks of 20.86 (conference) and 10.14 (region).  At state, he split with fellow 3A star and Dream 100 competitor Kendal Williams in the dashes.  Finally, at last weekend’s Golden South, he had his biggest and best win to date with US#1 10.27.  That doesn’t necessarily make him a big favorite, given how close the rest of the field is, but he has as good a chance to win as anyone.

College: Baylor University


Cameron Burrell (Ridge Point H.S., TX)

Being the son of a former world-record holder and Olympic gold medalist (Leroy Burrell, 9.84 in 1985) and the subject of a major New York Times piece this week, Burrell has plenty of attention directed his way this weekend.  But it was in February in Seattle where he really put himself in position to be one of the favorites, beating an indoor Brooks PR 60-meter dash field at least equal to this Dream 100 – and blasting to history’s #2 performance, 6.61, to boot.  That was a huge breakthrough for Burrell, and he backed it up with a wind-aided 10.07 100 at the Texas Relays, the fastest all-conditions time this spring.  He has been an outstanding, if not entirely consistent performer during the balance of his sprinting career, but this year has reached a new, steadier level.

College: University of Houston


Kenzo Cotton (Papillon-La Vista H.S., NE)

In 2012, Cotton won the Kansas Relays qualifier for the Dream 100, but was unable to attend the event.  This spring, however, the junior repeated as Kansas Relays 100 champ, earned a second invite and will be in New York this weekend.  He’ll be one of just two athletes in the 9-man field that is not from Florida or Texas, and also one of just X non-seniors.  Cotton added mightily to his credentials last weekend with a state record 10.41 100 in the Nebraska Class A meet, part of a 100/200/4x100 triple – the relay also setting an all-class mark.  He ran a 10.40 at state last year, but it was wind-aided.  Another major triumph came last summer when he took the USATF Junior Olympic Intermediate Boys national 100 title.

College: NA


Trentavis Friday (Cherryville H.S., NC)

Friday wasn’t exactly on anyone’s radar to run in the Dream 100 before last weekend.  The junior competes in North Carolina’s smallest classification and in 2012 was a 400 man with a very solid best of 48.12, which claimed the 1A state title.  Dropping down to run some 100s and 200s this spring, he ran a 10.55 in his region meet, but didn’t have a national-class wind-legal time until his 10.48 at state two weeks ago (part of a 100/200/400 triple).  That got Friday into the Golden South meet, but again, he was hardly a favorite.  But by coming through in the clutch with a US#5 10.37 PR and taking second only to Bromell, who’d already been invited, Friday secured a final slot into Saturday’s big race.

College: NA


Kyle Fulks (Katy H.S., TX)

Coming into 2013, Fulks had legal sprint bests from his junior year of 10.38 and 20.86, with good prospects of moving up to the next level and, hopefully, winning titles.  Battling the likes of his Texas Dream 100 mates Burrell and Eli Hall-Thompson has proven difficult, as has catching a break with the wind.  The result has been runner-up finishes to Burrell at Texas Southern (10.39w) and Texas Relays (10.21w), and to Hall-Thompson (10.29w) at 5A State.  Still, being #3 in a trio of challengers to the Sunshine State’s supremacy in this event isn’t a bad thing.  Fulks, who was also 6th in the Brooks PR 60 this past winter, is scant hundredths away from beating anyone out there and, who knows, this could be the weekend.

College: Baylor University


Elijah Hall-Thompson (Morton Ranch H.S., TX)

Like Friday, Hall-Thompson almost never ran the 100 before this year, though he was a very good 200 man (as opposed to Friday being a 400 guy).  As a soph, Hall-Thompson was a 20.76w/21.12 performer, then missed the 2012 Texas season before sizzling in the summer with a US#9 20.86 win at AAU JOs.  This year, he clocked a 21.44 in his lone indoors race, then established himself as a 100 threat with his 10.32w at Texas Relays behind Burrell and Fulks.  At 5A state, he pulled off the monster double, highlighted by his US#1 20.60 200, but also with a 10.26w victory over Fulks.  The 200 is still Hall-Thompson’s best event, but the 100 is catching up fast.  He will join Burrell at University of Houston in the fall.

College: University of Houston


Ceolamar Ways (Nease H.S., FL)

Ways is another sprinter who is probably better at not only the 200, but the 400, too.  But he’s probably best described as a triple threat man, having done all three dashes most of his career and with the 400 being the more recent addition.  In fact, he’s the only prep in the top 10 in each with 10.44, 20.78, and 47.01 bests.  He rocked The Armory this winter when he claimed a US#2 21.37 title in the 200.  At state, he qualified for both the 100 and 200 finals, but an injury developed that kept him out of the finals.  That left Golden South to earn his golden ticket and while he was just third in the 100 with 10.57, he must have impressed enough with his 20.78 PR for second behind Kendell Williams in the 100 and was tabbed for one of the last spots.

College: University of North Carolina


Kendal Williams (Stanton Prep H.S., FL)

Williams, another who shines bright in the 200, has been one of the nation’s top young talents since his prep career started.  He was already down to legal times of 10.51 and 21.16 as a frosh, then down to 10.37w/10/48/20.89 as a soph with a pair of 3A state titles.  This year, he blasted a 6.71 prelim in the Brooks PR 60 as his short game came further along, then got big windy bests of 10.18 and 20.63 early outdoors while splitting two Bob Hayes Invite battles with Whitfield.  At region, the junior reached a legal then-US#1 10.28 in the 100 at this regional meet (still US#2).  After settling at state for another split – this time with Bromell – he dropped his legal 200 best down to a very impressive US#2 20.64 to win Golden South.

College: NA


Levonte Whitfield (Jones H.S., FL)

Hamstring problems may have squashed his state title hopes, but until someone beats him, Whitfield is the Dream 100 King of New York.  Not only is he defending champ, but “Kermit” is also the only sprinter to compete in all three Dream 100s.  As a soph in 2011, he was fourth behind cousin Marvin Bracy.  It hasn’t been an easy senior year for him, though, as he prepares to join Bracy at FSU.  Indoors, he was beaten in his bid to defend his Brooks PR 60 title (4th, with Burrell winning).  He had a windy PR of 10.15 to beat Williams at Bob Hayes and then held US#1 in the 100 after his 10.28 at the Florida Relays.  But then came the injury that took him out of state qualifying.  At Golden South last weekend, he ran the 200 prelim in 21.08, then sat out the final to prepare for this.

College: Florida State University