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. 4x800m Relay
Friday at 1:45pm
This will be a battle between St. Vincent-St. Mary and Woodridge. These two teams currently have the 5th (SVSM at 7:44.44) and 6th (Woodridge 7:45.28) fastest times in the nation. St. Vincent-St. Mary and Woodridge have fought it out for two weeks now with St. Vincent-St. Mary taking the victories and even capturing a Division 2 State Record along the way. Both of these teams are a full 15 seconds ahead of the rest of Division 2 and could be well on their way to re-setting the Division 2 State Record.
2. 100m Dash
Prelims on Friday at 2:25pm
Finals on Saturday at 1:10pm
Buchtel's Nathaniel Harris looks to defend his 100m title from a year ago. Harris' time at his Regional Meet of 10.63 is the fastest in Division 2 and the third fastest in the state right now. Harris' main challenge will come from Canton South senior Eric Thompkins who ran a 10.75 in the Ravenna Regional prelims. Harris is one of only two athletes that have a chance to defend their individual titles this year, and Harris has a chance to do that in the 100m and 200m Dashes.
3. 800m Run
Saturday at 2:25pm
Jacob Swords, a senior from St. Vincent-St. Mary laid down a fantastic time of 1:51.46 two weeks ago at his District Meet. Swords' time is the leading mark in Division 2 and is the second best in the state. Swords will have a challenge though as another seven athletes in the field have all run sub-1:56 this year, and almost all of those times have come in the last two weeks. Swords will have to hold of Vibushan Sivakumaran of Woodridge, Sam Allen of Bay, Swords' teamate, Sean Poholski, Nick Twining of Eastwood, Ethan Leonard of Brookville, Jackson Kirk of Indian Hill and Dunbar's Michael Oheimbor. Swords is in position to challenge Cory Leslie's Division 2 State Record of 1:50.77, and the thing that Swords has to his advantage is that he will be fresh and won't have to worry about any events before this race.
4. High Jump
Saturday at 9:00am
Daren Johnson of Western Resereve - Collins is back to defend his state title. Johnson is one of only two individuals that have a chance to repeat as champions. Last year Johnson won the title by clearing 6'6", this year, Johnson has soared to 6'9" and his closest competitor has only cleared 6'6.5". Johnson qualified in four individual events, the High Jump, the Long Jump, the 200m Dash and the 400m Dash, so he will have his plate full on both Friday and Saturday. Johnson's biggest challengers are Arnaldo Morales of Struthers and Carlton Watkins of Buckeye.
5. 3200m Run
Saturday at 2:40pm
Michael Brajdic has been a pretty big name in the distance running community the last few years, winning the last two Division 2 State Cross Country titles. The one thing he doesn't have though is an outdoor State Title. This is Brajdic's last chance to capture an outdoor State title. While he is qualified in both the 3200m and 1600m Runs, he could very likely drop the 1600m in order to conserve his energy on what is supposed to be a hot day and focus solely on winning the 3200m Run. Although, during the indoor season, Brajdic did win both the 1600m and the 3200m Runs at the Indoor State Championship, so he has shown that he is capable of pulling off the double. Brajdic is just now rounding into form, having not raced for most of the outdoor season, so this will not be an easy task for him to accomplish. Finishing the year with an individual state championship would be a fitting end to a very good high school career.