Preview: HS Girls to Watch at the 2022 Pearl T&F Invite.

Opening up our high school girls watch list is the Mississippi College signee who will be opening up her outdoor season on her home track, Shana Sellers of Pearl. The last time Sellers stepped onto this track was the 2021 Mississippi Meet of Champions when she finished runner-up in the 3200m with a time of 11:59 on a hot day. She is the #1 seed in both the 1600m and 3200m with seed times of 5:30 and 11:53 and will have some MAIS superstars pushing her in both distance events. 

Layla Warren - Simpson Academy

One of those MAIS superstars that will be challenging Sellers in the 1600m is the 2021 MAIS 5A 1600m and 3200m State Champion from Simpson Academy, Layla Warren. The last time Warren was on the outdoor oval was also the exact same race as Sellers - The 3200m at the 2021 Mississippi Meet of Champions. Warren ran a 12:02 PR at the 2021 MAIS Overall State Championships to qualify for that race, where she went on to finish 3rd overall. Warren struggled with a bit of injury during the 2021 cross country campaign but looks to be back and ready to rip at the 2022 Pearl Track and Field Invitational, where she is entered in both 800m and 1600m. In those events, Warren is seeded #1 in the 800m and #3 in the 1600m behind Sellers and East Rankin Academy's Leah Collipp. 

Jakia Jonier - Raymond High School

Moving over to the jumps, a major standout in the High School Girls Triple Jump at the 2022 Pearl Track and Field Invitational is the 2021 MHSAA 4A Triple Jump State Champion from Raymond High School, Jakia Jonier. Jonier, a member of the exclusive 2021 Clarion-Ledger All-State Track and Field Team, comes into the competition as the #1 seed thanks to her PR of 38-6 - This was also the same mark that earned Jonier her state title back in 2021. This will be her first time competing since the 2021 MHSAA 4A State Meet back in May of 2021, and it will be very exciting to see where she is at as she begins her journey to defend her Triple Jump State title. 

Anila Jones - Pearl High School

Another athlete that will be opening up her outdoor season on her home track, and also competing in her first outdoor meet ever, is Pearl High School's newest star thrower, Anila Jones. Jones competed in her first track meet ever when she threw 31-3.5 in the indoor Shot Put to become the second-best indoor thrower in state history behind Clinton's Meagan Womack. Let me restate, that was in her first-ever competition! Jones is well on her way to making it to the 2022 MHSAA 6A State Championships, and the 2022 Pearl Track and Field Invitational will mark the beginning of the road to get there. Expect Jones to build off of the momentum that she created in the indoor season, as she the #1 seed in the High School Girls Shot Put. 

Julia Segroves - D'Iberville High School

Last but certainly not least, a huge standout in the High School Girls Pole Vault is the 2021 MHSAA 6A Pole Vault State Champion from D'Iberville High School, Julia Segroves. Segroves ended her season with a bang when she won her first-ever state title after placing 3rd at the 2021 MHSAA 6A South State Meet just a week prior, and then backed her state title up with a win at the 2021 Mississippi Meet of Champions. Also, all of these accomplishments that have been listed were done when Segroves was an 8th-grader. A young talent that is now a freshman, Segroves will now shoot for the 2nd win of her season at the 2022 Pearl Track and Field Invitational as she is coming off of a win at the 2022 Harrison County Track Meet.

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