Edmond Memorial 2024 Track Regionals Preview

The Edmond Memorial regional consists of Capitol Hill, Choctaw, Edmond Memorial, Edmond Santa Fe, Eisenhower, Moore, Northwest Classen, and Stillwater. A pretty balanced meet overall, but definitely consists of a strong 800m and jumping field. All rankings are via Milesplit and all information about what athletes are competing in certain events is based on assumption. 

To start out with the boys side of the meet, the 100m favorite going in is Nate Keiffer from Choctaw High School. He has a season best of 10.67, and is followed by Elyjah Mckissick from Choctaw and Corey Dean from Moore with a 10.78 and 10.79 respectively. These three athletes are your favorite but there are plenty in the field that can contend for state qualifying spots. Corey Dean and Lamar Jayly Mangrum are your two leaders going into the 200m race. Mangrum has run 21.79 compared to Dean's 21.69. In the 400 meters, Demetrius Johnson and Marquis Evans are your two athletes who have run sub 50. Johnson out of Choctaw is your favorite with a time of 49.69 while Evans from Moore has run 49.76. 

Moving on to the male distance field, the 800m dash is going to be very competitive at this regional. Harry Ormiston from Edmond Memorial is your leader in 1:54.01. Although he is the favorite going in, there are a handful of athletes that could contend. Samuel Russell out of Moore has clocked a 1:55.61, Zachary Lewis from Edmond Memorial has gone 1:56.71, Dylan Mork from Santa Fe with a 1:58.17, Cameron Stuckless from Edmond Memorial has run 1:58.49, and lastly Jack Sydnes from Santa Fe has run 1:59.10. I can see all of these athletes giving strong efforts as they fight for qualifying spots. The 800 meters is a very deep field in our state this year, and it will be difficult to qualify if an athlete does not place top three. Another aspect of this race I find interesting is if Mez Barth from Stillwater runs. The best miler in this regional, and a personal best of 2:00.69 in the open 800, Barth has potential to slide into that top three if he chooses to run. 

Speaking of Mez Barth, the 1600m is led by him in this regional. His time of 4:28.63 puts him as the favorite and he should qualify fairly easily. Right behind Barth are a handful of athletes that have run 4:31/4:32, so I see this being a competitive and close race. It will also be interesting to see how athletes like Camden Mccool and Harry Ormiston do in this event if they run. In the 3200m, Barth is your favorite once again with a 9:36.65 clocked on March 1st. Maxton Barker out of Santa Fe and Mccool out of Edmond Memorial are the other two athletes likely to contend if they run. 

In the 110 and 300m hurdles Sam Strauss from Edmond Memorial is your likely champion. Sukyiahre Rucker is the closest to Strauss in the 110 and 300m but the gap is fairly large. Look for Strauss to easily qualify. 

The 4x100m and 4x200m relay sees a likely two way battle between Edmond Memorial and Choctaw. As for the 4x400m, Moore is your likely favorite. This is also dependent on if Memorial has truly raced an A squad for the 4x400 yet this season. So this will be an interesting development to see if Memorial has a faster time within their range. Lastly for the relays is the 4x800m. Edmond Memorial is your clear favorite followed by Santa Fe. After these two programs it is tough to see who will take that third spot, but according to rankings Moore has the best chance. 

The shot put at this meet should be a competitive event. Joseph Swallow from Moore is your leader going in with multiple other athletes following close behind. The discus is slightly different. Bergin Kysar from Santa Fe is your clear favorite, while Swallow and Daniel Newton from Santa Fe will likely battle for 2nd and 3rd. At regionals though, anything can happen. So, I will be interested to see if they can contend for a regional title. 

In the long jump things will likely be very close. Kemeron Houston out of Choctaw is the leader going in but not by much. His leap of 22-2.5 puts him ahead of Da Rique Cornegay from Eisenhower jump of 22-1. Following these two, there are six athletes who have jumped over 21 feet. It is safe to say this will be one of the most electric events on the track Saturday. When looking at the high jump, Da Rique Cornegay is the favorite with a jump of 6 '9 on April 5th. He is the likely winner, but the fight for qualifying spots will be competitive. In the pole vault, Gage Simons from Choctaw and Ben Cruz from Moore have both jumped 14-0. It'll be interesting to see who comes out on top on Saturday. 

For the girls side of the meet, the 100m is led by Nia Moore from Santa Fe. Her best of 12.01 puts her .20 seconds ahead of the next athlete in this field. As for the 200m, Zharria Hawkins from Eisenhower has run 25.27 while Kayvon Nubine from Edmond Memorial has gone 25.28. These two will likely battle to the tape. Right behind them is Zoey Battles from Santa Fe who has a season best of 25.39. Jenna Doolen from Edmond Memorial is the clear favorite in the 400m dash with a season best of 57.41. Skylar Myers is the only other athlete in the field that has clocked a sub 60. 

For the 800m, Savannah Hull out of Edmond Memorial has gone 2:15 and has about four seconds on the rest of the field. Next up for the 1600m and 3200m, Natalie Duggan from Santa Fe has the leading time going into both. But, in the 1600m Hull is only one second behind Duggan, so I expect a battle to the line. 

The hurdles have two clear favorites that should both easily qualify. In the 100m, Kayvon Nubine has gone 13.85 and clears the rest of the field by well over a second. Jakayla Morgan from Eisenhower has about two seconds on the rest of the field in the 300m, with a time of 44.85. 

Moving on to the relays, I expect an intense competition between Santa Fe, Edmond Memorial, Choctaw, and Stillwater for state qualifying spots in the 4x100 and 4x200. As for the 4x400m, Eisenhower has about three seconds on the rest of the field, so look for them to likely come out on top as regional champs in the 4x400m. The 4x800m should be the Edmond Memorial show. Their state lead of 9:21.25 has over 30 seconds on Choctaw who is ranked 2nd in this field. 

The shot put should easily see Libby Jaques out of Moore qualify. Her throw of 46-7 on April 26th puts her as the far and away favorite in this field. A similar story for the discus, Kelli Despain from Edmond Memorial has thrown 141-8, which leads the way by roughly 18 feet. 

In the jumps, Laniyah Curry from Santa Fe is your favorite in the long jump. Her leap of 18-8.25 puts her in a good spot to qualify. Skylar Myers and Jamie Morgan have also gapped the athletes outside of the top three going into Saturday, so I see it likely that they qualify as well. The high jump is a two way tie between Haylee Jaworsky from Choctaw and Shaydin Myers, also from Choctaw. Look for both Choctaw athletes to qualify and battle it out for regional champion. Lastly, the pole vault is set for an intense battle for top three spots. With Cai Munson from Edmond Memorial and Alisondra Pope from Moore knotted at 11-0 going in to Saturday, look for some great performances in this event.