The 6th annual Woodlawn Warrior T&F Invitational will host a lot of new teams and see a lot of new faces. Exactly what meet management was hoping for this year. Often when teams are looking for an invitational, they want to see who has competed there before and how was the competition. Well, if you look at the meet records and past results then one has to put the Woodlawn Invite on their schedule.
Quality results coupled by a good mix of competition have always been the signature of this annual spring event. The 2006 edition may live up to those expectations. A total of 36 teams will compete at Woodlawn bringing over 900 athletes to the Baltimore County community.
Scheduled to compete for the first time at the Woodlawn Invite will be:
Sterling HS – New Jersey
Uniondale HS – Long Island, NY
Jefferson HS – West Va.
Columbia HS – Pennsylvania
Dover HS – Delaware
Cardinal Spellman – Bronx, NY
Stonewall Jackson – Virginia
Each team is bringing their best athletes to compete against schools that they otherwise wouldn't face. That's what the Woodlawn Invite has come to produce; match-ups and competition that wouldn't normally occur. And when that happens, then something special may be in store for the spectators and coaches.
As it has been since the first year, DC's best T&F high school teams will travel up the BW Parkway to showcase their talents. HD Woodson, Woodrow Wilson, Spingarn and Dunbar High School will once again be at the Woodlawn Invite. It is that "come one, come all" flavor that attracts the district's traditional T&F powers. That flavor has also attracted a great mixture of in-state teams. Schools from all corners of the state are coming to Woodlawn this year (Harford Co., Montgomery Co., PG County, Howard Co., Frederick Co., St. Mary's County, Charles Co., Anne Arundel Co., Baltimore City and Baltimore County).
The athletes scheduled to compete promises to give the fans their money's worth. If you're looking to see what will be the best events, then you better get there early. From the very start, almost every event gives fans something to look for:
Loch Raven's Kevin Summers is a talented sprinter with blazing speed. Summers sped to a fast :10.90 100m clocking last weekend and will square off against Stonewall Jackson senior Jared Simmons. Simmons also ran great this past weekend running :21.83 for 200 meters. These two speed demons will face each other in both the 100 and 200 meter dashes. Both meet records could well be broken. Uniondale HS will travel from Long Island NY and bring their team's two All-American athletes in junior Ashlea Maclaughlin to compete in the Girl's 400m event and sophomore Ashley Hendrix in the girl's long jump. Maclaughlin placed 5th at the Indoor National Scholastic Championships running :55.66 against some of the nation's best female quarter-milers and Hendrix placed 3rd in the long jump with a national ranking performance of 19-00.75.
Waiting for Maclaughlin will be one of the most talented runner's in MD, Largo senior Michaylin Golladay. Golladay, who has signed a national letter of intent to run for Clemson University next fall, is an accomplished sprinter who will have her hands full with Maclaughlin. Looking for an upset and maybe putting her name on the map will be Aberdeen junior Paris Williams.
The boy's & girl's distance races will feature several accomplished distance runners. Woodlawn's All-Metro distance ace Dwight Parker is looking for revenge against Linganore's Kyle Ryan who defeated Parker last year in the mile at this meet. Ryan, a senior won the 3A cross-country state championship is looking for a big spring season after taking the winter track season off. Looking for an upset and maybe their own revenge against fellow 3A rival Ryan will be Wilde Lake pair Travis Boocher and JP Allera.
The girl's 3200m run can also be considered the match-up of the meet. It will feature three of the top 5 finishers at this fall's 3A cross-country state championships, a great mixture of youth vs. experience as well as an out-of-town contender. Franklin senior Michelle Donadio will square off against Mt. Hebron's Liz McCarter and sophomore Liya Kasimova from Severna Park. McCarter (indoor 800m 3A-2A state champ) was 3rd at the cross-country state meet, with Donadio placing 4th and Kasimova 6th. Add in Pennsylvania junior Katie Shelly of Columbia HS and the drama to see who is the strongest becomes intriguing.
The relay events are always some of the most exciting action at a track meet. At Woodlawn you won't want to miss any of these action packed events. The Girl's 4x100m & 4x200m relays will pit Uniondale vs. Largo as well as Dunbar of DC. Eastern Tech's 4x100m relay will look to upset the favorites. Largo will look to go under 4:00 in the 4x400 and break the meet record.
In the Boy's relays, the best matchup looks to be in the 4x400m relay with a rematch of the indoor 4A race. State Champion Richard Montgomery will try and repel the challenges of 3rd place finisher Woodlawn and Largo. The 4x100 relay could find Kevin Summers anchoring Loch Raven's quartet against Largo who comes into the event with the fastest seed.
Other top performers and their events scheduled to compete are:
Adam Deiseroth (Linganore) – Boys Shot Put and Discus
Monique Hawkins (Newtown) – Girls 100m
Jeremy Hicks (Dover, DE) – Boys Long Jump
Racquel Hairston (Wilson, DC) – Girls SP
Santiato Ennis (Great Mills) – Boys 400m
Marques Pratt (Wilde Lake) – Boys High Hump
Andrew Hyatt (Sterling, NJ) – Boys Pole Vault
The first event is scheduled to start at 10:00am with the dash events trials set to start as well the Girls Pole Vault, Boys Discus, Girls Shot Put and Boys Long Jump.
If you've never been to the Woodlawn Invitational, this year would be a great time to start experiencing what true scholastic athletics can offer to both a veteran and a novice fan.