With over 60 teams, some of the best athletes in the state (and surrounding states) will be competing at the Park invite this Friday and Saturday. The most notable out-of-state team is St. Anthonys from New York. They have a very strong distance team and will likely have many of their athletes in the lead pack for those events. Friday is a little more geared for distance events as there is a frosh mile and 5k events. Saturday is a typical meet schedule. The meet has almost doubled in size from last year due to its position in the schedule, 2 weeks before Penn Relays, as well as being known for a well-run, efficient meet. (Ledos Pizza at the concession stands doesn't hurt either!)
We have listed the top 10 races to make sure you watch below! Also, MileSplit will be on-site with coverage including Live Stream!
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Boys Elite Mile: You know it will be a fast race when 4:29 is too slow to make the cut. Many of the state's top milers will be in this race including 800m Indoor National Champion Tinoda Matsatsa (St. Andrews). Antonio Camacho-Bucks (Centennial), Sebastian Martinez (Centennial), Cameron Davis (Calvert Hall), and Charlie Butler (Mt. St. Joe) have all run under 4:20. The race is projected to be led out in roughly 2:03 for 800 and 2:34 for 1000, which means this could result in VERY fast times for all involved.
Girls Elite Mile: There are 10 girls who have run under 5:20 entered into this race. Victoria Ketzler (Thomas Wootton) is the top seed at 5:00.5. She was the indoor 1600 4A Champion and will be looking to break 5:00 in this race. Lexi Ensor (Severna Park), Riley Herdson (Centennial) Mary Gorsky (McDonogh), Kaylee Jenish (Severna Park), Kiley Mann (Howard High), Genevieve Cowawan (St. Timothy's) and Riley Griffith (St. Anthony's) can all contend in the lead pack and should make this a very exciting race!
Boys 100m Dash: There are several boys who will look to run under 11 seconds at this meet. Antoine Spencer (North Point), Andie Kollie (Magruder), Trevin McHargh (Oakland Mills), and Shane King (Oakland Mills) have already broken the 11-second barrier this season. Ryan Moriarty (Walkersville), Gordan Neal (La Plata), and Brandon Finney (McDonogh) will also look to do that on Saturday and contend for a medal.
Boys 5000m Run: Several athletes will be looking to run in the low 15's for this special track 5k that the park invite offers. Spectators will be allowed to stand on the track in the outside lanes to cheer their 5k runners on. The top seed is 3A Cross Country Champion Henry Hopper (Wilde Lake) at 15:18. Christopher Nunn (Severna Park), James Partlow (Thomas Johnson), Sean Cunniff (Walt Whitman), Ethan Aidam (Oakland Mills) and Jackson Kodenski (Loyola Blakefield) will all be trying to run in that top group.
Girls 800m Run: The cutoff for the fast section will most likely be around 2:25. Lindsey Yakaboski (Saint Anthony's) comes in with the top seed of 2:13 and will be looking to inch closer to 2:10. Chasing her and trying to pull the upset will be Grace Tate (Mt. De Sales), Mary Gorsky (McDonogh), and Victoria Ketzler (Thomas Wootton) who all have the ability to run 2:15.
Boys High Jump - There are 6 boys entered at 6 feet or better and another 9 entered at 5-10 which should make for an exciting competition. Yule Pieters (Thomas Wootton) has the top seed at 6-5 followed by Abdur Hassan (Oakland Mills) who has jumped 6-4 and qualified individually for the Penn Relays.
Girls 400m - There are 10 girls entered under 60 seconds and another 6 under 61 seconds. The top seed is Elise Cooper from McDonogh who is seeded at 57.5 and has the talent to run faster than that. Chasing her will be Chloe Williams (Hammond), Cohren Corbin (North Point), Kahlia Smith (William Penn), Ella Cooper (McDonogh), Boluwatito Ogundairo (Oakland Mills) and Gianna Dawson (Bel Air).
Girls 4x800m Relay - With this being the last weekend to qualify for the Penn Relays 4x800 and DMR, some teams are loading up the 4x800 at the Park Invite to make a run at that qualifying time, which for the girls will be around 9:40. The top seed is St. Anthony entered at 9:30. They ran 9:37 during the indoor season. Severna Park is entered at 9:40, Centennial and Wootten are both entered at 9:50, and Hereford is entered at 10:05. With 5 teams having the ability to run under 10 minutes, it should make for an exciting race.
Girls Long Jump - There are 7 girls who have jumped farther than 17 feet. Arayana Ladson (Mt. Hebron) tops the list at 18-8.5 and will be closely chased by Aniyah Toppin (Long Reach), Kymia Bridgett (Dunbar DC) Shania Staats (Wilde Lake) Miya Green (Crofton), A'Marah Parrish (Westlake), Charlotte Defrost (Crofton) and Alicia Hall (Oakland Mills)
Boys 110m Hurdles - 5 boys are entered under 15 seconds and another 5 are entered under 15.5. Roberto Terrell (Quince Orchard) is the top seed and has run 14.24. Christian Do (Howard) has run 14.57 and won the Scorpion Invite last weekend. Ragiariki Lewis (Northern), Brandon Finney (McDonogh), and Trey Montgomery (Marriotts Ridge) have all run under 15 seconds which should make for an exciting final.