MEN’S PREVIEW
Much of this meet obviously depends on who runs what.... but regardless, this meet will be loaded, and some great battles will no doubt occur. In the 110 Hurdles, the matchup between Asad Maiden of Mason vs. Joey Wilkin of Westerville North and the ever-improving Leonard Staten of Wayne should be a great start. The 300s should also be fun with 8 athletes coming to the meet all under 41, and a few under 40.
The 100 dash is likely to have great fireworks with Vince Turnage of Mount Healthy up against Riak Reese of Gahanna Lincoln, the 200 Dash will likely see the same pair go at it, along with Alston of Sycamore and Peters of Wayne. The open 400 should see a good fight between Turnage of Mount Healthy (depending on what he runs) and Gentry of Moeller as both have gone well under 50 seconds this year.
In the sprint relays.. don’t count out anyone. The 4x100 should be tight with 7 teams under 43.50 and a few under 43. The 4x200 should also be tight with only 1.5 seconds separating the top 8 team’s best times on the year. In the 4x400 it appears everyone will be chasing Westerville North, as their best time is well over 3 seconds better than the next team, however, this race is always epic and it could be a fun show on the track with the team title on the line.
In the distance races, it really depends on who chooses to run what race. With Reynoldsburg in the house, everyone will have to wait and see what Hiluf does. After his impressive showing at the Eastern relays, everyone will be chasing the next big gun in Jacob Dumford from Westerville North. The 800 field has great potential with over 8 athletes who have split or recorded sub 2:00 minute times, and the 3200 field should have great parity (after Hiluf ) with 10+ athletes who have been at 9:45 or better this season. The big show could be the 1600. This field has great potential for a throw down. Hiluf @ 4:11 and Dumford at 4:13. This could be a great battle with the rest of the men trying to hang on for PRs. The 4x800, all eyes will be on Westerville North coming off their impressive state leading time of 7:54 at the Wayne Invitational just one week earlier.
On the field end of things, the Long jump could take 20’6” to make it back to finals, and a jump of well over 22 to win with Jared Montgomery of Mount Healthy the big favorite with a mark of 22’7” this season. The shot and discus events will be led by Lavonne Gauthney of Reynoldsburg in the shot and Lovell Peterson of Wayne in the discus. High jump looks like it is anyone’s to win with all of the top athletes within a few inches of one another . And don’t forget the pole vault as this meet will feature the state leader from Gahanna Lincoln, Jacob Blankenship, who has vaulted 16’8” this season already with a lifetime best of 17’5”.
WOMEN'S PREVIEW
The girls side of the Mason Invite is clearly a showdown between the big guns of Mason and Reynoldsburg. In the 100 /200 dash, the races are clearly favoring Reynoldsburg’s Destinee Gause, with Autumn Heath (Lakota East) and Khara Walker (Mason) chasing behind. In the 400, Gause is favored as well, but Rhodenbaugh (Sycamore) and Walters (Kings) may make a run for her if she doubles with the prelims and relays all run before this final race even goes down.
In the 800, the girls of Mason have 4+ at 2:23 or better, but Lowry of Walnut Hills leads the way with a time of 2:18. The 1600 could be the showdown of the night. Siler of Sycamore and Lake of Mason are only separated by one second on their season best times, and 6 other girls have times within seconds of their season bests. The word is that Lake nor b will run the 3200, but the field should still have some strong runners Menyhert (Sycamore) and Childers of Northmont, both of whom have been at or under 11:00 minutes.
The hurdle races will see great battles between Faith Washington from Reynoldsburg and Taylor Reid of Mason.
The relays have great potential if the Mason and Reynoldsburg load them up. The 4x100/4x200 of Reynoldsburg are clearly the favorite, but Mason may have something up their sleeve for their home invite, especially in the 4x200 relay. The 4x400 is Reynoldsburg’s to lose, but after that, 7 teams are all within a few seconds fighting for second place. With St. Ursula in the house, the 4x800 could see some fireworks, especially if the Mason girls falter, the door may be opened.
The shot and disc appear to favor Lauren Buck of Lakota East, who has the top marks coming in. The long jump looks to be close with Angela Harris (Sycamore) leading the way, and Mbah of Lakota East, a GMC foe, not far behind. Lastly, the pole vault should be quite a show, with an 11’3 vaulter from Wayne leading the way. Courtney Ballard is among the state leaders and could best many of the boys at the meet. Overall, it should be a great meet, with great sprints, great distance and very competitive field events.