2016 Brooks PR Invitational

The Lowdown on the Brooks PR Invite

The Lowdown on the Brooks PR Invite

Elite Field 1500mWho: Leo Manzano, Andrew Wheating, Clayton Murphy, Izaic Yorks, Riley Masters, Garrett Heath, Ciaran O'Lionaird, Eric Avila + MORE!When: 3

Jun 15, 2016 by Allie Woodward Woodward
The Lowdown on the Brooks PR Invite


Elite Field



1500m


Who: Leo Manzano, Andrew Wheating, Clayton Murphy, Izaic Yorks, Riley Masters, Garrett Heath, Ciaran O'Lionaird, Eric Avila + MORE!

When: 3:50 p.m. PT

Why: For the first time ever, the Brooks PR meet will feature professionals in an elite field, and the men's 1500m lineup won't disappoint. 2012 Olympic silver medalist Manzano, who notched the Olympic standard in this event last year, will look to improve his season-best mark of 3:43.86 against a bevy of budding talent, including Murphy. The NCAA champion and rising 1500m star missed the standard by only .03 seconds at last week's Portland Track Festival. Fellow college superstar Yorks will also make a run for the standard and vie for the title.


*Check out the FULL list of elite entries here!
 
 


Girls Sprints & Hurdles



100m


Who: Sha'Carri Richardson, Cassondra Hall, Kira White

When: 3:10 p.m. PT

Why: Richardson is just a sophomore, but the Texas Class 4A state champion's PR of 11.34 (+1.9) makes her the second-fastest high school 100m runner in the nation. She'll face Texas Class 6A state champ White, whose wind-legal best of 11.63 (-0.4) ranks No. 12 this year. LSU commit Hall ranks No. 6 on the wind-legal list in 11.49 (+1.9), though the seven-time Georgia state champion won her sectional in 11.37 (+2.4). Hall is the 2015 New Balance Nationals Outdoor 200m runner-up, and owns the fastest PR in the field: 23.24 (+0.9).



100m Hurdles


Who: Brittley Humphrey, Tara Davis, Emily Sloan, Kaylah Robinson

When: 2:25 p.m. PT

Why: Humphrey and Davis are familiar rivals: the Alabama and California state champions represented Team USA at the IAAF World Youth Championships last summer. Humphrey, a LSU commit, came out on top in that contest as the runner-up. Davis placed sixth in the prelims and did not qualify for the final, but won the long jump. Flash-forward a year, and Humphrey now ranks U.S. No. 6 at 13.24 (+0.9) and Davis ranks U.S. No. 7 at 13.38 (+1.2). Sloan (US No. 8, 13.40 +1.7) and Robinson (US No. 9, 13.44 +1.2) also rank in the top 10 nationally.



400m


Who: Makenzie Dunmore, Hannah Waller, Serenity Douglas

When: 2:05 p.m. PT

Why: Waller is the top returner from the 2015 Brooks PR Invitational, where she placed third. This year, the Oregon commit set a new PR and U.S. No. 6-ranked time of 53.01 for runner-up honors at the CIF State Finals. The biggest threat comes from her future Ducks teammate, Dunmore, who ranks No. 4 in the nation with her 52.51 PR. Douglas is another runner to watch--she ranks No. 16 in the nation at 53.60 and defeated Dunmore at the Pre Classic.


Girls Distance



800m


Who: Sammy Watson, Christina Aragon, Aaliyah Miller

When: 2:50 p.m. PT

Why: The nation's top three ranked 800m runners headline what could be the fastest high school girls half-mile race in history. Watson, the 2015 IAAF World Youth champion for 800m, just missed the Olympic Trials standard of 2:03.0 three weeks ago--she fought for a 2:03.06, which ranks No. 10 all-time. It took a 2:04.0 for Aragon to win Brooks PR last year, and she's in even better shape this spring--she qualified for the Olympic Trials in the 1500m with a time of 4:09.27 to become the third-fastest prep in U.S. history. No. 3 ranked Miller is undefeated and could get pulled to a big PR; her best is 2:05.94.



Mile


Who: Amanda Gehrich, Julia Heymach

When: 3:25 p.m. PT

Why: Gehrich executed a perfect race to win her second consecutive California state title in the 1600m over the always-tough Destiny Collins. The Utah commit ranks U.S. No. 1 in the event with her season-best 4:41.39, and has run 4:40.25 for the full mile. Heymach will race the mile this year after taking third in the 800m in 2015; the four-time Texas state champion set the state record last year in 4:40.97 for 1600m and ran 4:44.0 this spring.



Two-Mile


Who: Fiona O'Keeffe, Emma Grace Hurley, Libby Davidson, Shona McCulloch, Aubrey Roberts

When: 1:30 p.m. PT

Why: California state champion O'Keeffe is the top returner to the field; she placed fourth last year in 10:11.87, and owns a PR of 10:00. This year, she will look to crack the 10-minute barrier for the first time. Her competition includes Roberts, who just set the Wisconsin state record for 3200m at US No. 5 10:13.68; McCulloch and Davidson, who battled to 2-3 finishes at the Penn Relays 3K in quick times of 9:30.17 and 9:33.52; and Hurley, who soloed a number of impressive runs, including the nation's fastest two-mile time of 10:22.58.


Boys Sprints & Hurdles



100m


Who: Jace Comick, Brandon Taylor, Daniel Estrada

When: 3:15 p.m. PT

Why: Comick is one of the most-improved athletes in the entire nation. A year ago, he owned a PR of 11.04 for 100m. As a senior in 2016, the Texas A&M recruit became the Texas Class 6A state champion for 100m with a FAT, wind-legal PR of 10.42 (+1.5). He also took second to Jamaican champion Shivnarine Smalling at Great Southwest with an absurd time of 10.09 (+3.0), which ranks No. 1 this year among all-conditions marks. He'll have a rematch on his hands here vs. Taylor, who also competes in Class 6A and ran all-conditions U.S. No. 8 10.26 this year. Estrada owns the best wind-legal season-best in the field with his 10.4 (+1.4).


110m Hurdles


Who: Isaiah Lucas, Marcus Krah, Joseph Anderson, Matt Moore, Rainey Anderson

When: 2:30 p.m. PT

Why: A loaded field includes four of the top six ranked hurdlers in the nation: No. 1 Krah (13.32, +1.1), No. 4 Moore (13.45, +1.8), No. 5 Joseph Anderson (13.59, +1.2) and No. 6 Rainey Anderson (13.68, +1.9). Lucas is the X-factor. The IAAF World Youth champion for the high hurdles has not competed since April because his area meet was canceled due to poor weather conditions in Texas. His wind-legal best of 13.78 (+1.6) would put him in contention for the title.



400m


Who: Keshun Reed, Elija Godwin, Caleb Ojennes, Josh McLemore, Jostyn Andrews, Brandon Cachon,Terry Conwell

When: 2:10 p.m. PT

Why: All six entrants have raced under 47 seconds this spring and are ranked within the top 20 nationally. New Balance Nationals Indoor champion Reed headlines the list--he ranks U.S. No. 4 this year at 46.11, and is coming off a win at the Pre Classic. The LSU commit ran under 46 seconds twice last year: he set his PR at 45.75 to win the Texas state title and placed third at the IAAF World Youth Championships in 45.96. Godwin also ranks within the U.S. top 10 this spring at No. 7 with his season-best 46.25.


Boys Distance



800m


Who: Chris Torpy, Austin Tamagno, Connor Dunne, Logan MacKay, Devin Dixon, Bryce Hoppel

When: 2:55 p.m. PT

Why: Sub-four minute miler and U.S. No. 2 ranked 800m runner Michael Slagowski was the headliner here, but he confirmed on Tuesday evening he will not race due to injury. Who will step into the top spot? Four runners in the field have broken 1:50 this spring: Dixon (U.S. No. 7, 1:49.52), Hoppel (U.S. No. 8, 1:49.58), MacKay (U.S. No. 9, 1:49.77; Utah state record) and Torpy (U.S. No. 10, 1:49.80), whose twin brother, Sean, is the national leader at 1:47.95. California stars Tamagno and Dunne will also be in the mix--they've run 1:50, but own more impressive marks in the mile: 4:01 for future Duck Tamagno; 4:04 for future Buff Dunne. This race will likely go sub-1:49. The meet record of 1:47.55 was set last year by Donavan Brazier, who is now the collegiate record holder at 1:43.55.



Mile


Who: Sean Torpy, Jon Davis, Sam Worley, Reed Brown, Tyler Janes, Jack Yearian, Justin Janke

When: 3:35 p.m. PT

Why: Breakout star Torpy headlines this list after setting the Illinois state 800m record in 1:47.95, the fastest time this year and the 10th-fastest mark in U.S. prep history. He ranks U.S. No. 7 in the full mile at 4:05.10, just ahead of Illinois Class 1A state champion Davis, who ran U.S. No. 8 4:05.29. The rest of the field fills out the national top 20 rankings: Janes and Ogden, who placed third and fourth at the CIF State Finals, ran U.S. No. 10 4:05.97 and US No. 14 4:07.29. Yearian, U.S. No. 11 at 4:06.33, and Janke, U.S. No. 13 at 4:07.28, placed second and third at the Nike Jesuit Twilight Relays, where Slagowski ran his sub-four-minute mile.



Two-Mile


Who: Casey Clinger, Andrew Jordan, Noah Affolder, Aidan Tooker, Conor Lundy, Cooper Teare, Eric van der Els, Matthew Bouthillette

When: 1:45 p.m. PT

Why: NXN champion Clinger is unbeaten in the 1600m and 3200m this spring. He ran 8:50.70 to win the Arcadia Invitational in early April--a time that still ranks U.S. No. 9. His top challengers include Ohio state champion Jordan, who ran U.S. No. 2 8:46.72 essentially solo; plus No. 3-ranked Affolder, who won the Loucks Games in 8:47.60. The top five competitors from the Loucks games will be in contention: No. 4-ranked Tooker, No. 5-ranked Lundy, No. 7-ranked van der Els, and No. 11-ranked Bouthillette. California state champion Teare will also be a factor.