Norman Regional
This regional is a heavy one for the distance. So for the purpose of this preview we will focus primarily on distance. This is not to discredit other events, but mainly to keep the length down to a more reasonable amount due to the majority of storylines being in the distance events for this regional. So with that being said, let's start out on the girls distance events.
The 800 through the 3200 is highlighted by two favorites in each event, Morgan Kirkland from Edmond North and Kinley Kite from Norman North. Kirkland has personal bests this season of 2:17.13, 4:58.43, and 10:48.22. Kite has achieved times of 2:18.50, 5:01.74, and 10:57.36. It is likely that both athletes run all three events so it will be fun to see how they face up against each other in each event. Outside of Kirkland and Kite there is a significant gap, but with the quality distance programs in this field, surely every distance event will be competitive from the leaders to the final finishers.
For the boys side, the distance field is deeper. When the regional assignments were released, many athletes voiced their complaints over how deep the distance is at this meet. Regardless of the complaints, there is no changing the regional assignments, so look for some very competitive distance races this Saturday in Norman. Starting off in the 800m, there are four athletes likely contending for spots. These athletes are:
Noah Thayer (Mustang): 1:54.87
Tyler Schwartz (Deer Creek): 1:55.02
Kolton Bennett (Westmoore): 1:56.07
George Simon (Deer Creek): 1:56.50
These are some of the best athletes in the state amongst the 800m distance, but what I find particularly interesting in this event is the likelihood of Brody Woodcock from Deer Creek or Zachary Rutherford from Edmond North competing in this event as well. Woodcock has clocked some fast 4x800m splits, and with his personal best of 4:11 in the 1600m this year, there is a decent chance he could be in the mix. For Rutherford, he has clocked an open 800m time of 1:57. And despite being more geared towards the longer distance events, Rutherford has the potential to qualify for state in this event if he chooses to compete.
In the 1600m, Brody Woodcock is your favorite and will likely not have too much trouble qualifying. Outside of Woodcock, the other top runners in this event that are likely to race are:
Noah Thayer: 4:13.79
Cameron Langdon (Mustang): 4:17.46
Zachary Rutherford: 4:18.39
Tyler Schwartz: 4:25.50
Like the 800m, this race will be a very fast and competitive battle. Although it is still possible to qualify if an athlete places outside of the top 3, it is still very ideal to get that automatic qualifying spot. This 1600m race will definitely be an exciting one!
Moving on to the 3200m, the field isn't quite as deep. There are three clear leaders as of right now, Brody Woodcock, Zachary Rutherford, and Cameron Langdon. But with any regional event, there could be someone who hasn't ran this event much this year and chooses to run it at regionals and crushes it.
To conclude, this regional will be a very exciting day for the distance events. It is very possible that on the male side, these will be the most competitive distance races we've seen all year thus far. With the athletes all pushing for qualifying spots, there will definitely be some big moments.
Best of luck to all the athletes competing!
Thanks for reading,
Shawn Rutledge