HIGH SCHOOL BOYS
The Brookhaven duo of Grayson Childress and Sam Arnold will be sure to continue their streak of top finishes. These two runners have been the only boys in Mississippi to have run below 16-minutes and have been collecting 1-2 finishes all season. There is a good reason that these two are ranked #1 and #2 on the All-State rankings so far.
Note from the State Editor: Agreed. This will be their biggest challenge yet, but I am sure that they are up for it.
Not too far behind these two is Tupelo's Taylor Brown. Brown has had a spectacular high school debut with a season-best time of 16:14 from the Golden Wave Invitational, however, Brown's best time comes from this race back in 2020. In 2020, Brown almost broke the 16-minute barrier with a time of 16:03. With stiff competition this weekend, this could be a defining moment in Taylor Brown's season.
Taylor Brown will also be accompanied by his teammate Jaheim Bridges. The junior has run a best of 16:37 this season but could see a big drop in time, as this venue was the site of his best time from last year. Both Brown and Bridges have a great opportunity this weekend to ride off of the performance of the Brookhaven boys and cruise to a personal best.
Another hot group of runners entering this race is the Oxford trio of Ethan Knight, Luke Johnson, and Matthew Singletary. These three seniors have all broken 17-minutes so far this season and could pose as a rival front pack to Tupelo. Knight and Johnson had a close finish to each other at the Memphis Twilight, so we will see if they will be able to stick together, especially in a large competitive pack such as this one.
It should be noted that Saint Stanislaus High will be making its debut at the meet, along with Keegan Leverett. Leverett best mark comes from the 2020 state meet with a time of 16:11. Since this would be Leverett's debut, it is difficult to say how he will perform, but it goes without saying that he will be competing in a stacked field.
Note from the State Editor: Definitely, do not sleep on this kid. I'm thinking he is the easy sleeper pick to take this meet. Watch out for Leverett.
Another key individual racing this weekend is Cooper Parmer who opened up his season with a modest 17:12. This is not too far off from how Parmer opened up his 2020 season and we could possibly see a mid-16-minute performance from him.
Also, keep an eye out for Saltillo. This is their home course and they have a nasty 1-5 split of 29 seconds. This team is the definition of pack running and will surely impress with a short gap between its runners.
Note from the State Editor: Agreed. I think Brookhaven is the heavy team favorite, but Saltillo could definitely come and surprise some people this weekend.