We have once again reached the point in the season where we find out if all of the hours of training and effort have paid off.

For 6 Senators, their seeding says that if they can hold up under the pressure and repeat their PR, if luck doesn’t suddenly turn against them and if their competitors don’t suddenly have a breakthrough meet … they should earn a place in the State Track Meet.

One of the beautiful things about this sport though, is that ANY athlete could suddenly find it within themselves to drop those extra seconds, to jump a foot farther, to put it ALL into a throw that goes 3 feet farther then they have ever thrown before. For many athletes, it can all suddenly “come together” in one meet and they will move up to the next level.
This weekend could be that meet!

For the Girls –

Jr- Kai Perkins is seeded 2nd in the Discus having bettered her PR this year to 105′-3″. Kai, who has been throwing the Discus since 2011, qualified for State in this event last year and turning in a solid performance this weekend should earn her a trip back.

Jr- Kelsey Johnson is a threat to qualify for State in TWO events but it won’t be an easy task.
In the 100m Hurdles, Kelsey is seeded 5th, the last qualifying spot. Her PR is only .05 seconds ahead of the 6th seeded girl, however Kelsey is only .17 seconds behind 4th. So the difference of one step could assure her a spot or see her miss out!
In the Triple Jump Kelsey is seeded 8th, 2 spots outside qualifying. However, if she can add just 8″ to her PR she could find herself earning a spot to State!

Gabrielle Griner may be just a Freshman, but she is tied as the best Freshman in the state and has two previous years of experience at the State Track meet! With a PR earlier this season of 10′, she is seeded 2nd in the Girls Pole Vault. She can’t afford any bad luck though as the competition is hot on her heals and anything less than her best could put her in a bad spot.

Then there are the new girls.

8th grader Lauryn Hall has suddenly sprinted onto the 100m dash scene in a BIG way! Her PR performance last weekend has her seeded in the 4th qualifying spot.
The 100m is an amazingly tight race though, just a half second is between the first and 8th place seeded girls in this race. If you don’t anticipate the starting gun correctly or even if you breath wrong in the 12.5 seconds that it takes to run this race … you could be out of a qualifying spot! Lauryn is fast but will lack of experience prove a factor?

Freshman Katelyn Ellif has just taken up the Javelin this season but her PR throw of 86-7 has her seeded just 2 inches behind the 5th place qualifier. If any of the girls ahead of her falter or if she rises to the occasion, Katelyn could earn herself her first trip to State!

For the Boys –

Sr- Anthony Parameswaran has been a force to be reckoned with in the distance runs this year but he may have to step up his game to assure himself a trip to State.
In the 3200m he is seeded fairly comfortably in 4th. In the 1600m he is also seeded 4th but the 5th seeded runner is less than a second behind him and the 6th seeded runner is just 4 seconds behind that. Anthony should qualify in these races but he can’t have bad race.
In the 800m Anthony is currently seeded outside of qualifying, in the 7th position. However, he is less than 1.5 seconds behind the 5th seed! If he can dig deep and find that extra second and a half he could be a triple event qualifier!

Jr- Rob Russell has really asserted himself on the Pole Vaulting scene. Rob only took up this event last year, finishing that season with a PR of 10-6 and failing to qualify for State. THIS year, Rob has set the SHS record in this event at 13 feet and is the TOP SEED in our district! Rob shows a lot of confidence with his vault which is good, as our district is crowded with PoleVault talent. The top 8 seeds ALL have jumps of 12′ or better. To qualify for State from our District, a vaulter will almost certainly have to clear 12-6 and do that with no misses.
Rob looks good for a qualifying spot but he will have to be spot on!

Other outside possibilities include 10th grader, Bailey Herfurth.
Bailey’s PR in the 1600m is just .3 seconds outside the 8th seeded runner and only 6 seconds outside of the 5th qualifying spot! Improving your PR by 6 seconds in one meet is quite a challenge but Bailey did that in his last meet! Can he do it again?

9th grader Jake Russell might also rise to the occasion.
Jake’s PR in the 800m run is less then one second behind his team mate Anthony!
If he could shave off that 2.5 seconds it could be Jake that finds himself with an invitation to the big show!

Apart from the ultimate prize of getting pass to the State Meet, this is a regular Track Meet and ALL of our Senator Varsity Track and Field athletes will be competing for points, medals and P.Rs. The action is at James Clemens HS and begins this Friday at 9am and then picks up again Saturday morning at 8am!