2013 Indoor States' Meet Previews: Girls

13--  Annica and Ji Won can walk the walk, but can they take the title?  Last year Westhampton Beach's Annica Penn lost a leaner to Garden City's Molly Josephs at indoor States, but now the senior is back with the NY-US (we're the only ones who do the race walk) #2 time behind last year's 4th place finisher Ji Won Kang of Townsend Harris. Both have a reasonable shot at a States record in the 1500m RW.

12--  Who's the high achiever in the high jump?  Few events are as hard to project as the fickle high jump. Medgar Evers freshman Shayla Broughton has this year's top jump, but outdoor States runner-up Jackie Crundon of Walt Whitman, Marion's Mackenzie Sturtz, Pine Bush's Meredith Przybocki, and Williamsville North's Lauren Hudson have all been there at States before.

11--  Is the 1000m title up for grabs?  The US #1 in the 1000m, Sabrina Southerland, has elected to join the packed 1500m field, despite holding the NY #2 All-Time Mark, just .2 seconds shy of Mary Cain.  The top group in the race now includes a top dozen runners who are close enough to make this event seemingly a toss-up. The field is led by junior Leah Triller, but watch out for 8th grader Kamryn McIntosh of Suffern, and fellow downstater Katie DeVore of Mamaroneck.  With the top 5 seeds in the event underclassmen, this may be a race that is played out again next year.  The possibilities are plentiful.

10--  Who has the best passing game?  It would seem as if the clouds have opened up for the Suffern Girls.   Through a switch up of relay legs, and a decision to pass on the event, two of the biggest threat Medger Evers and Cardozo, will not be running the 4x400m this year.  However, that means Evers will be as deadly as ever in the 4x200m, which will give New Rochelle everything they can handle.  The 4x800m seems to be set for another showdown between Holy Names, Warwick Valley and Bronxville, with reigning champ Fayetteville-Manlius also looking to contend. But in the relay action where the difference is often one bad exchange or the attrition of tired legs for many key runners in previous races, the trophies may go to fresh and tenacious teams with the smoothest hand-offs.

9--  Will Jen Thill reach the top at States?  Last year's two appearances at States in the pole vault left Lancaster's Jen Thill a little short of goals, but this year she has pushed herself to a new high of 12-8 that has opened some distance on the rest of the field.

8--  Will Akayla step up to take the second half of the States title quest?  The 55m hurdles is always a chancy event, but after taking last year's outdoor 100m hurdles crown, Benjamin Cardozo's Akayla Anderson looks far ahead this year in the race to the 55m hurdles indoor title.

7--   Will Emma repeat that statement about the 600m?   Last year Garden City's Emma Gallagher ran off with the 600m crown, creating the potential for becoming the second NY athlete besides Nicole Blood to win four consecutive indoor States titles. After winning at the New Balance meet with a time less than a second off the state record, the US no. 1 ranked Gallagher looks well set to take a second crown, but US no. 3 Erin Jaskot of Tappan Zee will be in close pursuit.

6--  Can Briyah put in the distance throws to make winter look like spring?  In the States outdoor meet last year, New Rochelle's Briyah Brown won the States overall Feds shot put title and then went on to take 3rd at Nationals. This year she's got a couple feet on everyone else and a good shot at the indoor championship too.

5--  Who will make the sparks fly in the 55m?  Last year Taft's Kimberly Bailey burned fastest in the finals of the 55m to beat a group of senior title-holders with a 7.15 time. This year she is matched up against two runners who have put up faster times, Medgar Evers' 55m-300m doubly top ranked star Kadecia Baird and Lancaster's Ashley Grazen, plus a big group of other flyers. The action will be fast and furious.

4--  Is the Bella epoque era starting in the 3000m?  Arlington sophomore Bella Burda ran a US no. 3 time at the Section 1-A championships, and the Feds XC champ is certainly focused on her mission. One runner who will be looking to give a battle is Newburgh's Gianna Frontera, who kept things very close before finishing 2nd at last year's 3000m.

3--  Will a Frontier girl be the first to venture into double-gold territory in the jumps?  No girl has ever doubled up with long and triple jump wins in the same year, but Frontier sophomore McKyla Brooks tops the standings in both events this year and is the only finalist back from last year's 8 LJ finalists. Close behind, Bay Shore teammates Anisa Toppin and Imani McGhee will be trying to go further in both events.

2--  Who assumes the throne in the 300m?  Colonie's three-time 300m winner Kyle Plante has moved on, but NYC speed demons Kadecia Baird of Medgar Evers and Deajah Stevens of Benjamin Cardozo have been waging tremendous battles this year, with Baird blasting the state record at the New Balance Games in early February with a US no. 1 time and Stevens close behind at no. 2. These two could well push the record lower at States.

1--  Who emerges from the 1500m scrum with the crown?  Without 2012 winner and national record holder Mary Cain in the 1500m, the race has opened up for a big group of contenders who have some pretty glittering credentials on their own and who could all be aiming for around a 4:30 burner.  US #2 Laura Leff of West Genesee rises to the cream of the crop here with a blistering mid-season PR, but she'll be up against Sabrina Southerland of Cardozo, who could very easily take a kicker's race.  There are other potentials in the mix, but expect blue and yellow to lead the pack.

55m   There were no repeat winners during the first ten years of the short sprint, which began in 1978 as the 60 yard dash. Beginning in 1988 through 1990 with East (Rochester) speedster Zilla Higgs, a total of 8 multiple-time winners followed to the present, with Uniondale's Keyon Soley combining three 55m titles, two long jump wins, and a couple of 4x200m relay trophies in her haul from 1996 to 1998, but New Rochelle's Stacey Minott also has a claim to extreme fame here with 4 straight wins from 1992 to 1995 along with a contribution in a 4x200m relay title. Minott's 6.6 handheld mark in her senior year is the lowest ever recorded at the meet.

300m   Two runners whose names really stand out here are AP Randolph's Monique Coleman, who as the first runner to break 39.0 won the event three times between 1992 and 1994 and also added in three shares of either 4x200 or 4x400 relay wins, and Colonie's Kyle Plante, who won three times starting as a freshman and set the meet record last year by blasting down to 38.23.

600m   In an event that has had 6 repeat winners, Catherine McAuley's Phyllis Francis stands out with wins in 2008 and 2009 to set the then fastest meet time of 1:33.11, though another Francis from a different school, little sister Claudia of Benjamin Cardozo, got all the way down to 1:30.17 to set the meet record while taking her sole indoor title in 2011.

1000m   There have been six multiple-time winners in the 1000m, but three runners who really stand out are Hunter's Nnenna Lynch, who took the title in 1987 and 1988 (along with two 1500m and one 3000m titles in 1988 and 1989) with outstanding times following sister Shola's win in 1986, George Washington's Tamieka Grizzle, who set the still-standing meet mark of 2:48.44 while winning in 1996, and Mamaroneck's Anima Banks who survived two big challenges to win the last two years and raced to the second fastest ever meet time in 2012.

1500m   A lot of big names have won titles including the above-mentioned first repeat winner Nnenna Lynch of Hunter who drove the meet record under 4:30 in 1989, setting a mark that would not be touched until 2010 when Roslyn's Emily Lipari won the second of her two 1500m titles with a mark of 4:28.21. And then along came Mary (Cain) of Bronxville last year to knock the record all the way down to 4:24.25.

3000m   This is an event that not coincidentally is loaded with state cross-country champions, many of whom won multiple times. Three towering figures at indoor States have been the first two-timer, Mepham's Christine Curtin, who lowered the meet record by 13 seconds when she won her first title as a sophomore in 1982 with a 9:42.2 time that was not even neared until 23 years later, Saratoga's Nicole Blood, who finally smashed Curtin's meet record as a junior in 2005 at 9:35.40 with the last of her four consecutive titles, and Cornwall's Aisling Cuffe, who took the 2010 and 2011 titles and crushed Blood's meet record with a 9:29.89 as a senior.

55m Hurdles   No one has really dominated in this event, where a small misstep can send you cart-wheeling, but New Rochelle's Ayo Atterberry was the first multiple winner back in 1989 and 1990 and still holds the meet record 23 years later (she also won a long jump title), and Bronxville - Tuckahoe's very consistent Daria Smith is the only one to win three times with victories from 1991 to 1993.

1500m Race Walk   This very odd event's name was glammed up a bit with the addition of the word "Race" in 2004 after it really started speeding up. It rarely has had repeat winners at indoor States, but the two who have motored away with the most trophies are the first multiple winner Lisa Kutzing of Port Jefferson, who reigned from 1995 to 1997, and Sachem's Maria Michta, who set the meet record of 6:39.9 in 2003 during the middle year of the three in which she walked off with the crowns.

Long Jump   In an event in which the initial championship was won with a sub-17 foot jump, there have been few repeat champions but two dominating figures. The top leaper is definitely the awesome sprinter-jumper Keyon Soley of Uniondale, who twice soared to 20+ winning distances including a meet record 21-5.25 in her junior year in 1997 before taking the last of her 5 individual 55m dash and long jump titles in 1998. Suffern's Jen Clayton was the first long jumper to capture three titles when she pushed past 19 feet in 2010.

Triple Jump   It was not until 1985 that girls were thought to be ready for the hop, and in the 28 contests only Clarkstown South's Jodi Schlesinger has ever won consecutive titles with wins in 1998 and 1999, while Wantagh's Suzanne Silva won crowns in 1988 and 1990 and Mount Vernon's Zakiah Modeste won a LJ title in 1993 and a TJ one in 1995, a feat matched by New Rochelle's Shenae Dawkins who took the LJ in 1999 and the TJ in 2000. But the girl who jumped the furthest was AP Randolph's Michelle Hickman in 1996 at 40-8.25, an inch more than Brighton's Marlena Robinson flew the following year. 

High Jump   Many girls have won consecutive titles indoors, but the one highlighter who towers above the rest is Clarence's Allison Smith who soared to 6-1 to win the first of her two crowns in 1987.

Pole Vault   The girls did not party in the pole vault until 1999, and there has never been a multiple winner. But state and States record holder Mary Saxer of Lancaster (3rd in this year's Milrose Games) took the event to a new level in 2005 when she set the bar at a since unattainable 13-5, this while also pulling in long jump crowns in 2004 and 2005. In 2010 Schuylerville's Sarah Palmer used a pole to get to a winning 12-0 height after taking the high jump championship the year before at a much safer 5-8 height.

Shot Put   No question who has left the biggest impression in this sport. Lancaster's Melissa Kurzdorfer won four straight championships from 2007 to 2010, and her 48-10.25 toss in her senior year is a quarter inch shy of being two feet more than the next best winning toss by any other champion.

4x200m Relay  Uniondale and New Rochelle have been the dominant speed teams over the years, and Uniondale's 1:41.80 in 2006 is the meet standard.

4x400m Relay   Samuel Tilden once won this event 5 times in a row from 1986 to 1990, and in more recent times Suffern and Boys and Girls have won a lot of titles, but the top time was set back in 1994 by a George Washington squad that blasted a really fast 3:52.88.

4x800m Relay   Section rivals Saratoga and Shenendehowa have each piled up five 4x800m titles, the last coming in 2005 for the Blue Streaks and 2011 for the Plainsmen. But last year Fayetteville-Manlius smashed the meet record with a 9:08.77 time.