2013 Indoor States' Meet Previews: Boys

13--  Why is the 1600m so unpopular this year?  This is usually the big glamour race, the close cousin to the mile that attracts a lot of big names. But this year the guys with top five 1600m times are selecting to run elsewhere in the 1000m or 3200m or not qualifying at all. Possibly it's the "stay away from Nick" effect, as Fayetteville-Manlius's double 1600-3200m outdoor States gold medalist and twice XC champ Nick Ryan is setting up shop in this race, though he comes in with the 13th best time in the standings (but 3rd seed here). Like his teammate Brian Smith, Keith Pease of Greece-Athena will step to the line with the best season's time among the guys running in the event.

12--  Who's leading in the poles?  Ellenville's Justin Farrenkopf and Warwick Valley's Todd Uckermark have boosted their pole vault clearance hugely this year while going over 15 feet. Are they ready to be the top guys?

11--  Will the 600m come down to being New Balance, Round 2?  Four guys have gone under 81 seconds for the 600m, and they are the quartet who went 2-3-4-5 at the New Balance Meet and occupy the top 4 places in the US standings. Boys and Girls' Richard Rose is the top dog, Freeport's Jonathan Greenwood was 5th at States last year, New Rochelle's Justin Alleyne is coming on strong, and Norwich's Matt Murray got a season's PR at New Balance. And in case you're wondering, blame Canada (but not West Canada West) for the top guy at New Balance.

10-- Who's got the most in the hopper?  States triple jump reigning champ Thomas Johnson of White Plains is back along with three other medalists from last year, so there will be a lot of experience on the line when these guys hop, step, and jump into it.

9--  Will Brian Smith focus on a switch-off or a double-up?  Capturing the sprinter's double gold means toughing it through 5 grueling races in one morning, and it has been 11 years since that feat has been accomplished. But Greece-Athena's Brian Smith is the reigning champ in the 300m and is at the top of the leaderboard in the 55m. Before he can start thinking about extending his 300m reign, he will need to overcome last year's 3rd-place 55m finisher and outdoor D1 100m champ Christopher Belcher of Sayville. Gentlemen, start you engines.

8--  Who demolishes all obstructions in the 55m hurdles?  The hurdles pits last year's indoor champ Corey Keefe of Oswego against last year's 110m outdoor champ Jay Herbert of Ticonderoga, but Northeast-Northwest College Prep's Amir Rogers and Scarsdale's Patrick Clarke would like to get in the way of the champ's route to a second gold.

7--   Who gets the high marks in the high bar?   LeRoy's Rubin Owens has leaped to the top of the US standings at 6-10 in the high jump this year after a 6-4 leap at States in 2012, but he has two of last year's medalists, Greece-Olympia's Desmond Mobley and Corcoran's Charles Stokely, just below him.

6--  Is the 300m set for a coup d'etat?  Greece-Athena's Brian Smith is reigning champ in the 300m, but he has qualified for both the 55m and 300m, and waiting for him in the lineup of 300m specialists are US #3 Jon Alkins of Eastchester, US #5 Ayo Obadore of Elmont, US #9 Rai Benjamin of Mount Vernon, and US #11 Kiambu Gall of Paul Robeson. That's a tough group to meet up with after burning through four previous heats.

5--  Which top matches will spark the relay wars?  The CHSAA 4x200m entry Mount St. Michael and PSAL team Samuel Tilden are the top draws for the short relay, but Tilden is also in the hunt against Elmont for the 4x400m title with three of the four sets of legs that are in the 4x200 race, a tough double. Two Long Island schools, Kellenberg and Northport are leading the 4x800m field, but last year's runner-up Warwick Valley is coming on strong.

4--  Is an Olympian going long?  In addition to being a big threat in the high jump where he placed 2nd in 2012, outdoor States long jump champ Desmond Mobley of Greece-Olympia has soared past 24 feet in the LJ this year, 2 and a half feet further than he jumped at States last year when the winning distance was 22-6. Vestal's Michael Egotanda will be looking to stretch it out there too.

3--  Who's going to win in the long run?  Section 1 just had three qualifiers go 9:20 or under to make a crowd at the top of the 3200m leaderboard, so Arlington's US #17 Sibby Hanson, Pawling's Matt Jorgensen, and Pearl River's Brian Cook all have the credentials to go long in the 3200m, but North Babylon's reigning States indoor champ Kris Moran and Gloversville's John Knox are also ready to roll.

2--  Who takes the best shot at a giant heave?  Last year's indoor champ Dominic Kosar of St. Joseph's is inactive this winter, but three guys who have definitely been making a big presence are returning medalists Devon Patterson of Williamsville South and Iona Prep's Will Pope along with Smithtown West's Benjamin Bonhurst. All three will be looking for the shot to go past 60 feet on Saturday.

1--  Is Sidgie a cinch in the 1000m?  Thomas Jefferson's Sidgie Greene just took a dive into 2:27 territory for the 1000m in the PSAL championship, which means the best States time in recent years is very much open for the taking from the guy sitting at US #6. Chaminade's Sean Kelly, Carmel's Eric Holt, and Marcellus's Ryan Moynihan are all looking to be in the escort party toward the finish line.

55m   As in many of the events, seniors have been the predominant winners in the short sprint, as 10 of the 13 champs were in their final season. Last year Winslow Dorsainvil of Spring Valley became the first repeat winner during this century with his second 6.33 winning time, just short of the state and States record first set by Jarmiene Holloway of Marshall at Barton Hall in 1995.

300m   Last year Greece Athena's Brian Smith ran the fastest States time of the century when he hit the laser tape at 34.17, and this could be a States record since the best state time ever was set back in December 2000 by a guy named Anthony Ewers who was never at States. The second fastest time of the century at States was run in 2010 by St. Anthony's Patrick Farmer, but another guy who earns special notice is Central Islip's Oliver Williams who captured both the 55m and 300m titles in 2002 at the Carrier Dome.

600m   Though state record holder Christopher Columbus's Strymar Livingston rolled double 7's in the 600m a few times at the NYC Armory with a top of 1:17.58, the 80 second barrier remains just out of reach at States. Livingston came very close last year when he won the States title with a 1:20.02 time, a mark that shaved 0.01 seconds off the time run in 2004 by Newburgh's Elzie Coleman, the guy who holds the state 400m record. The only runner this century to win back-to-back States titles is Gered Burns of Guilderland back in 2001 and 2002.

1000m   This is an event that has seen a huge variation in winning times with a 2:37.02 taking the crown in 2002 and top guy Alex Hatz of Fayetteville-Manlius going more than 9 seconds better and setting the recent standard with a 2:27.86 in 2009 before going on to take both the 1600m and 3200m in 2010. A second Section 3 guy who came into prominence the last three years was Liverpool's Zavon Watkins (800m state record holder) after he won the race as a sophomore in 2010, got out-leaned at the wire by Marcellus's Jesse Garn in 2011, and then came within 0.05 seconds of Hatz's record last year when he ran a 2:27.91. Another Liverpool runner who made a big mark in the event was Ben White, the only guy to win consecutive titles back in 2005 and 2006.

1600m   In a race that often gets pretty tactical and sees many runners fall far short of the times they blasted at high-profile Armory invitationals, a guy named Lopez Lomong of Tully kind of stands out here not only because of his recent exploits at the Olympics and Milrose Games but also because he ran the fastest 1600m this century at States back in 2004 with a 4:15.92 to beat the previous year's winner, Hakon DeVries of John Jay-East Fishkill. Fayetteville-Manlius's Geoff King has the next best time of 4:16.35 for 2007, while Scotia-Glenville's Tyler Raymond is the period's only repeat winner, with titles in 2001 and 2002.

3200m   The event has seen the winning times seesaw back and forth between the 9:20's to under 9:10, and sometimes the mark is affected by a guy like Alex Hatz in 2010 trying to save (successfully) enough to also take the 1600m. In 2006 Steve Murdoch was still running for Saratoga (he finished 2nd in the 1600 for Shen in 2007) and he bulled his way to an eye-popping 9:10.33. That mark lasted until 2011 when Chad Noelle of Greene pushed it down to 9:08.29, a mark that North Babylon's Kris Moran just missed last year with his 9:08.57.

55m Hurdles   Colonie's Jim Kehrer crushed the final heat of the 2008 States to set by far the best mark of the century at 7.35. Two hurdlers have been consecutive champs, with South Shore's 60m hurdles state-record-holder Kemar Clarke taking the crowns in 2006 and 2007 and Sheepshead Bay's Richmond Ahadzi doing the repeat for 2010 and 2011.

Long Jump   No one's gone further in this period than CBA-Albany's Felipe Reyes who soared out to 24-2.50 in 2004. The one guy to take consecutive titles was Corning's Albert Johnston who twice won titles over 23 feet in 2007 and 2008 and combined his second crown with a triple jump win at the the third furthest distance for the event.

Triple Jump   The long guy here is Webster Schroeder's Gary Jones who not only broke a big barrier with a 50-1 leap in 2006 but also picked up the long jump title that year with a 23-5 effort. Second best during the period was Erasmus Hall's Shane Green who stretched it out to 49-2.50.

High Jump   There have been no repeaters in the HJ but two guys have gone 6-10 to win. In 2005 James Blocker of August Martin cleared that height, and last year Niagara Falls' Brandon Joyce also got up there.

Pole Vault   The two guys to clear 16 feet for a States win were James O'Neil's Rob Quiller with a meet best of 16-1 in 2008, followed in 2010 by Monsignor Farrell's Cory Duggan at 16-0 in 2010. The two guys to repeat were Fairport's Andrew Park in 2002 and 2003 and Irvington's Casey DiCesare in 2005 and 2006.

Shot Put   Immaculate Heart's Derek McGuire was a few inches short of the 60 foot barrier in 2003, so the next year he demolished it with a meet best 64-11.5 toss that is also a state record. In 2005 Tappan Zee's John Hickey kept the party going with a throw of 63-11.75. The only other guy to beat 60 since was Francis Lewis's Chukwuebuk Enekwechi with a 62-4.50 heave in 2011.

4x200m Relay  The sprint relay title has been passed between a lot of different teams during the period, with only Uniondale in 2004 and last year in 2012 and Mount Vernon with a repeat in 2010 and 2011 taking multiple titles. The top time was posted by Newburgh in 2003 at 1:29.56, which was 0.12 better than Amityville's time in 2002.

4x400m Relay   After its 4x200 win in 2003, Newburgh found a home in the 4x400 heats, taking 5 titles in 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2010. No team has approached the 3:21.12 time that Newburgh posted in 2004.

4x800m Relay   Warwick Valley has taken three titles in the period with a win and 2006 and a repeat in 2008 and 2009. Northport got consecutive titles in 2002 and 2003. Last year Collegiate's 7:50.52 time was 5 seconds better than the next best mark, run by Shaker in 2011.