Golden South Classic Boys Sprints/Hurdles/Jumps Preview

Denise Spann - The Golden South Invitational is meet full of personal bests, shocking races and track and field athletes from all over the U.S.

Golden South was primarily known for their outstanding 100m dash and Mile that allowed athletes to qualify for the Dream 100 and Dream Mile in New York.

However, in this year’s meet there’s a new and totally different prize up for grabs. The Golden South Invitational will now be an automatic qualifier for the Brooks PR Invitational in Seattle, Washington in the following events: 100m, 400m, 800m, and the Mile.

With the sprinting events being such a heavy part of the meet tomorrow and with 4 golden tickets on the line, here’s a Sprints and Jumps preview for the big stage tomorrow.

The Boys Classic Division competition is going to be full of South Florida’s fastest guys, and there will also be a little team competition happening.

The boys of E.O.T.O Elite and Miami Gardens Express are going to be all over the track in the major sprinting events tomorrow, and with stars like Shaun Shivers (track profile) and Tyrese Cooper (track profile), this team match couldn’t get any better.

In the 100m dash, Daniel Estrada (track profile) (10.4) is the top seed. But, the favorite in the event will be the 2A 100m Runner up, Shaun Shivers of E.O.T.O Elite (10.47).

Shivers has been very consistent in the 10.5s all season and as a sophomore with a nontraditional sprinter build, he’s definitely showing people that it’s all about the times on the track. Terence Ware (track profile) (10.53) is next on the list, and he’s also in decent contention for the ticket, with a 6th place finish at the 2A state meet in the 100m, he could give Shivers some steep competition.

Keep a lookout because there are 14 boys already under 10.7 and 3 of them are from E.O.T.O Elite.

In the 100mh, the clear leader in this event is Damion Thomas (track profile) of Northeast HS (13.32). This state champion and Carifta Games winner has been undefeated this year in the hurdles, and is looking to add another race to the tally.

Leading the way in the 200m dash is the freshman phenom himself, Tyrese Cooper of Miami Gardens Xpress (20.46). Cooper is just coming off an unspeakable record-setting rookie season.

Completing his quadruple effort of running the 100m (2nd-10.68), the 200m (1st-20.87), the 400m (1st-46.36) and the 4x400m in the 4A State meet.

Trying to make an upset in the event Adrian Killins (track profile) (21.16) of Mainland HS, who is the 3A State Champion in the 200m with a 21.31. Following close behind on the list is E.O.T.O.'s Jaariq Charles (track profile) (21.25), Terance Ware (21.44) and Daniel Estrada (21.45).

In the 400m dash the story is just the same. Cooper is leading the group of guys with a time of 45.94. The prime question is, will he be able to break the 45 barrier on his own? Cooper rarely gets a push in a race and still somehow pulls through running 45/46.

Will tomorrow be the day we see a freshman run 44 in the 400m? E.O.T.O Elite’s, Brandon Cachon (track profile) (46.76) will be trying to take Cooper off his throne. Cachon is the 3A State Champion and has signed to the University of North Carolina for his collegiate career. If Cachon runs the right race he could put himself in a good position to come out on top.

Texan Ryan Champlin (track profile) (46.83) also of Miami Gardens Xpress is the key to 1-2 placing in the event, which would validate the team's ability to seemingly breed 400m runners.

It's very understandable why Cooper didn't run the 100m, because it looks like he has this Golden Ticket win in the bag.

Time to switch gears and move on to the Boys Classic Division Jumps.

Georgia Long Jump Star, Kevon Hudson (track profile) is leading the field with his jump of 24-1.25".

Hudson is just coming off winning the Georgia Olympics last weekend with that jump and seems to jump very well with competition. Even though Hudson is leading with the 24 foot jump, E.O.T.O Elite’s Jeremy Lawson  (track profile) is seeded with 23-9" jump.

Lawson is coming off of being the 2A State Runner-up in the long jump, and throughout the season he's been consistently in the 23s.

The final guy that looks like he can make an attempt at gold is Donald McClinton (track profile), 23-4", who's also from Georgia.

In the pole vault, you can't be afraid to fly high and Gregory Skage (track profile) does just that clearing 15-9" earlier this year. Skage has been very consistent at 15ft albeit at Regionals he no heighted.  He has cleared 15-9" twice along with a clearance of 15-6". Another guy flying extremely high is Cole Colozzo (track profile) with a clearance of 15-6".

In the high jump, Steve Fossi-Noue (track profile) is making the trip from North Carolina to compete, and he has already cleared the bar at 6-8.75".

Rossi-Noue has only high jumped once this outdoor season so it's up in the air what he'll produce tomorrow. Alvin McCray (track profile) follows right behind him with a cleared bar of 6-8".  

There are three boys that follow him with a height of 6-6": Andre Foster (track profile) (South Dade Express), and Willie Rodgers (track profile).

Lastly in the triple jump, Calvin Scott (track profile) of Lake Nona has the top jump of 48-9.75". In the second spot, Tariq Evans (track profile) (E.O.T.O Elite) has jumped 47-4.75" but will have to deal with a broken right hand.

It looks like that Evans and Scott are going to be battling it out to see who comes out on top!