BY CHRIS CUCCUZZELLA
2008 MIAA CHAMPIONSHIP MEET PREVIEWAfter another exciting dual meet season, the MIAA teams are gearing up for the championships on May 14 and 17 at Calvert Hall. Archbishop Curley won the dual meet title and enters the championship meet as an odds on favorite. Curley has also won the last two championship meet titles. They are led by the triple threat of senior Jerome Junior, junior Eric Franklin and sophomore George Chambers. Junior is a threat to win any event he enters. Franklin is a heavy favorite in both hurdles races and Chambers is a favorite in the 200 and 400. Anything can happen in a track meet and if Curley stumbles, there are five teams waiting for an opportunity. Gilman is led by Jabulani Blyden, Evan Bryant and a solid pole vault and throw group. Mount Saint Joe has lost some of their invincibility from indoor, but Dorian Johnson and Markeith Price lead a team that features strong jumpers and sprinters and has the ability to score big points. John Davenport, Joe Orsulak and a rapidly improving pole vault squad hope to move Loyola up the leaderboard. Calvert Hall can rack up big points with the Boyle brothers in the throws and Anthony Rowe leading a strong distance squad. McDonogh looks for a strong showing with Justin Gross and JP Grant and some strong relay teams. In a nutshell, Curley seems to be the favorite but it’s totally wide open after that.
EVENT BY EVENT PREVIEW100: This event is beyond wide open. JP Grant from McDonogh was the indoor champion in the 55 and will be among the top runners. Jerome Junior from Curley has also run some very strong times. Other contenders include Darren McCoy from MSJ, JD Kameen from Gilman, Levon White from CHC, Mitchell from Cardinal Gibbons and Everette Farmer from Loyola.
200: George Chambers has established himself as the favorite in this event. He will be challenged by John Davenport from Loyola. The 100 meter favorites could also contend as could Daniel Bernard from McDonogh and Jabulani Blyden from Gilman.
400: This is shaping up as a great race between Chambers and Davenport as both can go under 50 seconds. Paul Moore and Duane Parker from MSJ have been coming on strong at the end of the year and could also go under 50 seconds. Depending on the events they run, Evan Bryant and Blyden from Gilman could both contend also.
800: Joe Orsulak from Loyola is the favorite here with his bold front running race style. As with the 400, the Gilman duo of Bryant and Blyden will be close if they run the event. Markeith Price from MSJ, Brett Flurry from Loyola and Ryan Holleran from CHC will look to place high.
1600: Indoor champion Anthony Rowe from CHC is the man to beat in this event. However, the will be a deep field of contenders chasing him. Top threats to Rowe include teammate Chris Swisko, Matt Jablonski from Loyola, Zack Sullivan from Spalding and Grisha Iventichev from Friends. A win for Iventichev would be Friends’ first ever individual champion in track and field.
3200: Being on a separate day from the 1600, this field will also be loaded with contenders from the 1600 such as Rowe, Swisko, Jablonski, and Sullivan. Also joining into the mix could be Trevor Keen and Ryan Topita from Spalding who have broken 10 minutes. Look for a very fast competitive race here.
110 HH: Eric Franklin from Curley is the defending champion at this event and is the strong favorite in this event. Top challengers include Terrence Robinson from MSJ, Jabulani Blyden from Gilman and John Rybak from Curley.
300 IH: This is fairly similar to the 110 with Franklin as the favorite, but Blyden is stronger at the longer race and Justin Gross from McDonogh will also be a top contender.
LONG JUMP: The jumps are always exciting events as anything can happen depending on if the kids get their marks and steps down. This should be a good competition between John Davenport of Loyola and Dorian Johnson of MSJ. If either of these two is off their game, Jerome Junior of Curley, Justin Gross from McDonogh or Brandon Floyd from Loyola could emerge on the top spot of the podium.
TRIPLE JUMP: Dorian Johnson is the defending champion in this event and is a heavy favorite to repeat. The other top performers in this event are Markeith Price from MSJ and Justin Gross.
HIGH JUMP: Jerome Junior from Curley is well ahead of the competition at this point. The only other jumper at six feet is teammate Jacob Peery.
POLE VAULT: Look for some excitement high above the ground in the final of this event. Four athletes have gone 12’6” or better this year and this should be a tight competition that could come down to misses at previous heights. The top four jumpers are Conrad Merkle of Gilman, Steve Waldt of Curley, Andrew Darmody of MSJ and Casey Kielty of Loyola.
SHOT PUT: Pat Boyle of CHC enters as a prohibitive favorite as he is well above 50 feet and is the only thrower in the league over 50 feet. The closest contenders are Sean Boyle from CHC, Chris Burnette and Brendan Aronson from Gilman and Chris Sonin from Archbishop Curley.
DISCUS: Supersized lineman Lane Clelland has exploded onto the scene in this event in his first year of serious throwing. He has the top throw in the conference. The next best throws belong to Pat Boyle, Jay Drenner of MSJ and the multitalented Jerome Junior from Curley.
4 X 100: This is always a close and exciting race. Curley seems to be running the fastest times this year but this is a race of handoffs and fractions of a second. MSJ, McDonogh and Loyola have all run times very close to Curley. Look for a very close finish to this event.
4 X 200: This relay will be held as a final on Wednesday and should be very competitive. As in the 4 x 100, Curley is the team to beat. However, all of the other top contenders are very close and Gilman has also run some solid times.
4 X 400: Gilman is the defending champion and meet record holder in this event and is always tough to beat. A lot will depend on who runs and who is tired or fresh by this last event of the meet. MSJ, Curley, Loyola and McDonogh have all run fast times.
4 X 800: This event is a final on Wednesday and promises to be very exciting. Loyola and Gilman have had many closes races over the last two years and this year’s race could be no different with Orsulak and Blyden duking it out as anchors. Do not overlook Calvert Hall. The Cardinals have distance runners who can run with anyone.