2008 MISSOURI STATE TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS PREVIEW

What a year 2008 has been for Missouri High School Track and Field. Our State possesses a seven foot high jumper in Park Hill's Andre' McDonald, one of the best 400 meter runners in the country in Berkeley's Alishea Usery and arguable the country's number one short sprinter in Raytown South's Maurice Mitchell. All three will be in action this weekend at the 2008 Missouri State Track and Field Championships in Jefferson City. Below we have once again highlighted our top 10 things to watch for this Friday and Saturday and we will have all of the action for you on video Sunday afternoon. Check out last year's videos here.

#10) HOW FAR WILL JAMES COLEMAN THROW THE DISCUS?
.......Marquette Senior James Coleman is the defending champ in the discus and he enters this year's meet with an eight foot advantage over his nearest competitor from Sectionals. Thus the question is not will he defend his title but just how far will he throw and can he challenge the State Record of 201-4 set by Lee's Summit North's Chris Rohr in 2004. Certainly the State Meet's second best mark of 188-6 set by Jefferson City's Russ Bell in 1999 seems in jepoardy. Coleman threw 185-7 at Sectionals and the results don't show that the Mustang senior launched a 190 footer on which he fouled. Coleman will also compete in the shot put on Friday before gearing up for his crack at history on Saturday morning in the discus competition which begins at 11:00 am.

#9) THE CLASS 3 GIRLS MILE
......Track and Field has two events, the 100 meter dash and the mile, that even the casual sports fan seems to care about. Of course, at the Missouri High School level the athletes compete in the 1600 and not the mile but nine meters is close enough. There are four 1600s that will be contested this weekend but in our opinion the one that presents the most intriguing matchup is the Class 3 girls race. Festus junior Alyssa Allison will go up against Villa Duschene senior Cydney Ross in a race that is very likely to go under five minutes. Allison possesses a mountain of experience and has a great strength background having finished 9th, 2nd, and 3rd in her three appearances at the Missouri State Cross Country Championships. Ross has had a breakthrough season with personal bests of 5:05 in the 1600 and 2:09 in the 800 which we will get to later. Look for Allison to try to run the kick out of Ross in the early laps but if it comes down to the last 100 meters it would certainly seem that Ross would be the favorite.

#8) THE CLASS 4 BOYS 3200 METER RUN
......Much like the Class 3 girls 1600 it appears to be a strength versus speed matchup in the Class 4 boys 3200 meter run. The defending champ is Parkway West Senior Eric Fernandez and he will be the top seed as they line up for the start on Friday afternoon. His biggest challenge appears that it will come from Normandy senior Darwin Price. Price was fourth at Sectionals, but that was after wins at 1600 meters and 800 meters and a very short recovery before the 8-lapper. Price boasts a 9:24 season best and that was a solo effort. Fernandez ran 9:13 solo as a junior before going on to win last year's State Meet in 9:20.73. What makes this race even more interesting is that there are four or five others who will be in the mix and all of whom would seemingly prefer a fast pace in hopes of taking the sting our of Price's vaunted kick. Look for Kickapoo's Rick Elliot, Hickman's Sam Masters and Chaminade's Matt Estlund to help set the early pace. In the end we think it will come down to Fernandez and Price but we'll refrain from making a prediction. If you want to make a prediction check out our official predicition contest HERE.

#7) CAN ANDRE' MCDONALD WIN 4 EVENTS?
......We asked this very same question in last year's top ten things to watch list and he nearly did it. With two firsts, a second and a third McDonald certainly staked his claim as one of the most versatile athletes at the meet. The Park Hill senior comes into his last State Meet with expectations sky high. McDonald is coming off of a seven foot high hump victory at Sectionals as well as a runner-up finishes in the 110 hurdles and the long jump and a third place showing in the triple jump. The possibility for him to win them all is still there though as his sectional just happened to be the toughest in the State for the 110 hurdles as well as the long jump. His toughest challenge will be the triple jump where he will have to contend with the two athletes, Raytown South's Derek Blevins and LSW's Bobby Carter, who bested him at Sectionals as well as Parkway North's Josh Bankston who led all Sectional winners with a mark of 49-1. We predict that the 110 hurdles will be one of the very best events of the entire meet as McDonald and Blue Springs South senior Keyen Porter will have a go at the State Record of 13.81set in 1991 by Hazelwood East's Damon Love.

#6) CAN DIANE ROBISON PULL OFF THE DISTANCE QUAD?
......Perhaps even more difficult than what Andre' McDonald will try to do is what Parkway Central sophomore Diane Robsion will be attempting. Robison and her Parkway Central teammates are in the hunt for the team title in Class 4 and they need all the points they can get from their distance ace. Her quest begins Friday in the 1600 meter where she will be facing some stiff competition from Rockwood Summit's Aimee Bonte, LSW's Brittany Tate, St. Teresa's Elizabeth Keaveny and Rock Bridge's Lauren Borduin. Borduin is the defending State Champ and has lots of experience. She also possesses 2:09 800 meter speed. However, Robison has been truly dominant all school year, beginning with a stellar cross country season in which she won the State Title by a whopping 36 seconds. If she can outduel Borduin and the others in the 1600 she will then have to come back two hours later and face the Rock Bridge senior again in the 800 where she is the two-time defending champ and owner of the third fastest time in the history of the Missouri State Meet. Should Robison do the impossible and get past the first day with two victories it may actually get a little easier on day two. Her Lady Colts are favored to win the 4 x 800 relay by virtue of having the top Sectional time at 9:37.83. Her final event will be the 3200 meter run and by that time it should be clear where things stand for the overall team championship. Her biggest rival in the 8-lap event will likely be Summit's Bonte who is the defending State Champ in that event. We predict that Robison will score a whole heck of a lot of points but that with so many other good girls she won't quite win all four.

#5) WILL CYDNEY ROSS BREAK THE 800 METER STATE RECORD?
......Villa Duchesne senior Cydney Ross is heading to Duke University next fall. Before the ACC beckons Ross has a chance to set a record that was set 16 years ago in the girls 800 meter run at the Missouri State Meet. It was Hazelwood Central's Ann Hefner who set the mark at 2:09.78 in 1992 and though the record has had three scares in the last five years it has yet to be broken. Ross, who has run 2:09 this year and who ran 2:10 at Sectionals doubling back from a 5:05 1600 should have an excellent chance at the record. She will be pushed by Festus' Alyssa Allison, the same foe she will face in the 1600 that we previewed earlier. While Allison is less likely to best Ross in the 800 she should still give her enough competition to push her toward the record. Of course, Rock Bridge senior Lauren Borduin nearly got the record herself as a sophomore when she ran 2:09.98, so don't count out her chances of setting the mark either.

#4) THE CLASS 4 BOYS TEAM TITLE
......The Class 4 boys team title, by sheer numbers, is always the deepest battle of any of the team championship race. This year's race comes down to traditional St. Louis track and field powers Hazelwood Central and Hazelwood East against Kansas City's Raytown South. Always strong in the relays, the two Hazelwood schools should be at the front of the pack in all four baton events which means big points for the team title. Of course, Raytown South counters with huge individual points from sprinter Maurice Mitchell and jumper Derek Blevins. Keep an ear out all day long on Saturday as this race may come down to the very end.

#3) DARWIN PRICE AND THE DISTANCE TRIPLE

Normandy senior Darwin Price has been the hot topic all season long for Missouri distance running fans. His talents seem boundless as he has run everything from 400 meters to 3200 meters and he has done it well. At State he will face off against defending champ Eric Fernandez, as mentioned above, in the 3200 meters to begin his busy weekend. This is probably the best case scenario for him as we saw how gassed Fort Zumwalt South's Kyle Rood was in the 3200 in 2007 when it was his fourth event of the weekend. Instead Price can run seemingly his weakest event first, when fresh, and if he wins it he can go into Saturday feeling pretty good about his chances at 1600 and 800 where he has not lost all season and is the top returner in both events. Don't forget that he will also run a leg on Normandy 's 4 x 400 meter relay. Price is unquestionably one of the finest all-around athletes in Missouri history, as he also excels in boxing at a National level. His races are all must-see events this weekend.

#2) HOW FAST WILL MAURICE MITCHELL GO?

We have mentioned some great athletes so far in this preview but none is ranked as high nationally as Raytown South's Maurice Mitchell. Already the Missouri State Meet record holder at 100 and 200 meters, Mitchell will look to put those records further out-of-reach and perhaps climb up the National rankings in the process. The senior already possesses the fastest hand-timed marks in the country this year in both short dashes at 9.96 and 20.46 respectively. To become number one in the country he will have to best the Florida duo of Jeff Demps in the 100 at 10.17 and Markus Henderson in the 200 at 20.80. Comparably, Mitchell's weakest event is the 400 but on the right day he could go after the State record of 46.81 set by Domenik Peterson of Jefferson City in 2003.

#1) ALISHEA USERY- ENOUGH SAID

Throw out the names of the most decorated female Missouri Track and Field athletes of all time; Merideth Snow, Meghan Thompson, Amarachi Ukabam and even Olympian Muna Lee. None compare to McCluer South Berkely's Alishea Usery. This will be Usery's fourth and final State Meet and so far she has known only one place on the podium…the top. In twelve total races she has twelve victories. Three each in the 100, the 200, the 400, and the 4 x 400 meter relay. She and her McCluer South Berkely teammates hold the 4 x 400 overall State Meet record and Usery holds the individual records in the 200 and 400 and was only three-hundreths of a second from besting Lee's 100 meter mark of 11.66 a year ago. To go out with 16 Championships would be the perfect ending to an amazing career for the University of Florida bound star. However, we should point out that it won't be easy. In a rare defeat Usery finished second at Sectionals to Ladue's Lynette Atkinson in the 400. Our bet is that she reverses that outcome this weekend and firmly stakes her claim as Missouri 's best female track and field athlete of all-time.

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