Races To Watch
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Race To Watch Boys - Division 1 Boys 400
As soon as they begin to line up the Division 1 Boys 400 meter dash, all eyes should firmly be on what insane thing Thomas Worthington sophomore Justin Braun does.
Heading into the weekend with the top quarter-mile mark in the country, Braun has been turning heads all year in the 400 and Saturday's race should be no exception.
Braun already boasts several impressive accolades in his short career. As a freshman, he earned a Division 1 state championship outdoor after finishing 4th indoor, running a US No. 6 all-time freshman mark indoor (48.96) and US No. 5 all-time freshman mark outdoor (46.76). This season, his 47.36 sits just ahead of the second best performer in the country and has him fourth all-time among sophomores.
On Saturday, Braun will challenge the 47-second barrier on the 300 meter track at the SPIRE Institute. Only two sophomores have ever broken 47 indoors in US history, but Braun has a very good shot at becoming number three.
Also be on the lookout because the Ohio indoor record is 47.13 set way back in 1990.
If anyone can challenge Braun for the individual win, it will be Canal Winchester's Korbin Martino or Pickerington North's Steven McElroy.
The juniors are the only two others under 49 seconds so far this winter and will be looking to pull off the upset. Martino's 48.41 came at last month's Spire Showcase and he boasts a 47.16 lifetime best from last spring's outdoor state championship. McElroy busted onto the scene last spring with his 48.47 mark in his first track campaign. Now a junior, McElroy is challenging the 48 second barrier and looking to ride the Braun wave to such a mark and, potentially, a victory in his first trip to a state meet.
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Race To Watch - Division 1 Girls 1600
At last year's OATCCC Indoor State Championship, Beavercreek's Taylor Ewert cruised to the victory with her OH No. 2 all-time 4:49.07 mark. This weekend, she'll get another chance at the state record of 4:48.40 and has a very good shot at taking it down.
So far this indoor season, Ewert has walked a 6:34 mile and national record 13:00 3k. She's also posted personal bests in the 1500 (4:30.98), Mile (4:50.07), and 2 Mile (10:18.34). After a runner-up finish at the Nike Cross Nationals meet and 6th place finish at the Foot Locker Cross Country National Championship, Ewert appears to be enjoying her best indoor campaign yet.
What should we expect from the senior on Saturday? It would seem likely that Ewert clears the state 1600 record. Her Millrose Games 1 Mile converts to 4:48.39, a tick faster than the state record, and her UK High School Invitational 2 Mile says she could go as low as 4:40.
Ewert will most likely have company for the first few laps on Saturday as Ohio still boasts one of the deepest stables of distance runners in the country.
Toledo Notre Dame's Lauryn Mick enters with a 4:55.27 seed time based off her 4:56.99 1 Mile from the UK High School Invitational. Hilliard Davidson's Lindsay Stull, still only a junior, is seeded third with her 4:56.53 from the Rubber City Open. Stull has run 4:49 on the outdoor track and has 2:09 800 speed so she has shown she has the chops to compete with Ewert. Mentor freshman Savannah Dennison (4:58.83) and Thomas Worthington senior Lydia Miller (4:59.71) make it five girls sub-5:00 heading into the Division 1 competition, making it one of the spiciest races of the weekend.
Race To Watch - Division 2/3 Girls 200
The Division 2/3 Girls 200 is one of our three races to watch this weekend because of how hotly contested it will be. According to the posted heat sheets, the third and final heat will feature eight girls within 1.34 seconds of each other.
Beachwood's Ashley Perryman leads the way with her 25.16 season best. Perryman is probably the favorite heading into the event. In her senior campaign, she has already dropped her lifetime best by nearly a second and appears ready to break under the 25 second barrier.
Perryman will see challenges primarily from Buchtel's Nevaeh Lewis (25.43), who has a little more experience running in the 25's than Perryman over her career, and Geneva's Tayler Jamison (25.87).
The girls 200 will be very hotly contested with several girls in the mix to take the win this weekend and you won't want to miss it.