5 Events to Watch: Girls Division 1

While every event at the state meet is important and fun to watch and each has its little elements and story lines that interest different individuals, but here are five events that should be labeled "Do Not Miss."  If you are a true fan of Track and Field you won't want to miss these events.

 

1. 800m Run

Saturday at 5:55pm

Epic, this race could be just that, epic.  This race pits Ohio's five best 800m runners against one another, some of the top five may drop out after running the 1600m or some may just not have enough gas in the tank to double, but the top three athletes, McAuley's Danielle Pfeifer and New Albany's Taneisha Cordell and Medina-Highland's Natalie Zidd will all be fresh and ready to go as soon as the gun goes off.  Cordell and Pfeifer  have met five times in their careers with Cordell taking the first three victories, but Pfeifer has won the last two times, most notably, edging Cordell at the 2011 Indoor State Meet 2:20.41 to 2:20.48Cordell holds a little over a second lead on the outdoor personal bests between these two, but Pfeifer has a better lifetime best than Cordell But don't count out Zidd as she is the defending champion by running a 2:10.36 last year to bring home the gold.  Both the state meet and the overall Division 1 record could take a hit when these three juggernauts of the two-lapper meet up in Columbus.

 

2. 300m Hurdles

Prelims on Friday at 6:35pm
Finals on Saturday at 5:40pm

Midpark senior, Kaila Barber, the defending champ in the 300 hurdles, is the clear cut favorite to win this event as she hold nearly a two second lead (1.87 seconds) over her next closest competitor.  What makes this event exciting and one to watch is that Kaila, the 2010 Ohio Gatorade Runner of the Year,  is within a quarter second of breaking Tiffany Flomo's state meet and Division 1 record of 40.79Kaila's current season best of 41.01 seconds is the second best time in the nation for the 300 hurdles.  With a good run on Saturday we could see a nation leading mark out of Kaila if she can run sub 40.94.

 

3. High Jump

Saturday at Noon

Need I say more than Maddie Morrow of Hoover and Taylor Burke of Medina?  Both have personal best jumps of 5'11"Burke is the two time defending state champion and has gotton the better of Morrow more often than not, winnning seven of the nine head to head matches that these two High Jump Queens have squared off in.  Morrow currently leads the nation by clearing 5'11" this outdoor season, while Burke is tied for third with many others with a seasonal clearance of 5'10"Burke even captured the National Indoor title this year in New York, while Morrow finished second.  Just a week after the National Indoor meet, and their most recent meeting, Morrow got the better of Burke capturing the Ohio State Indoor title and flip-flopping their finish at the National Indoor meet.  Will these girls be able to push each other over 6'0" to tie the state meet record?  It may take a division 1 record tying jump of 6'1" just to capture the outdoor crown this year.

 

4. 200m Dash

Prelims on Friday at 6:55pm
Finals on Saturday at 6:05pm

Two time defending state Champion Destinee Gause, a junior at Reynoldsburg will look to make it three in a row.  While she does have the state leading time in this event, she will have challenges from Chanitta Westbrooks of John Hay, Khara Walker of Mason, Brianna Nietzel of Brunswick and a handful of others.  This will likely be Gause's third race of the day and seventh of the weekend, but if she can win on Saturday she will have a rare opportunity of becoming a four time champion in the 200m Dash.

 

5. 3200m Run

Saturday at 6:10pm

Could this be the year that it takes a sub 11 effort in the heat to make it to the podium?  It very well could be as seven girls have already posted times in the 10:40's and 10:50's from their regional meets.  This race pits a fresh Michelle Thomas of Glen Este, the defening 3200m Run and Cross Country champion, against the current Division 1 State Record holder (and fourth fastest time in the nation with a 10:16.10) and 2009 State Champion Hannah Neczypor of North Royalton, who may or may not have run the 1600m Run just an hour before this race.  Hannah also has two third place finishes in the 3200m under her belt, one from last year, 2010, and one from her freshman year in 2008.  This could turn into an all out battle for 8 whole laps as these two girls will go head to head to capture their second 3200m Run gold medal.