Ocean Breeze Freedom Games Preview Blowout

Ocean Breeze Freedom Games
Kyle Brazeil

Girls Sprints


55HH

We've got five girls under 8.50, but nobody yet under 8.40.  Right at that border, and leading the field, is Olivia Morgan (New Rochelle).  New Rochelle is a haven for hurdlers, and this could be a breakout race for Morgan, known more as a Pentathlete outdoors.  Isabelle Dely (Paramus Catholic, NJ) is right there at 8.41, and her teammate Mariah Fede joins her at 8.44.  Splitting the pair is Mijah Collier (Lawrence) at 8.43, with Trinity Smith (St. Francis Prep) rounding out the field at 8.47.  With a field this close, it could be anyone's race.


55m

Only one girl comes into the event running a sub-7 mark, and that's Sydney Hawkins (Phillipsburg, NJ).  She's run 6.98, and will headline the field as the favorite.  Your next closest two come in around 7.3-high, as Hadassah Hampton (Wise, MD) and Shania Mohammed (James Madison) both have hit 7.36 last year, averaging 7.5 in 2018.  The one dark horse could be Tiffany Bautista (Paramus Catholic, NJ), who has never run the event.  However, she has run 12.40 for the 100m, and is an accomplished Long Jumper over 19-feet.  We'll see how that translates to the shortest spring around.


300m

There is known and unknown talent in this 300m event.  Talitha Diggs (Saucon Valley) headlines the field as the only athlete to break 40secs in the event.  Diggs is the daughter of 4-time Olympian Joetta Clark-Diggs, and has the genes for a strong race at any distance.  Hannah Waller (South Lakes, VA) is taking her first crack at this distance, but has an 11.92 credential in the Outdoor 100m dash.  Arielle Desir (Longwood) hit 40.31 earlier this year, and is the fastest of the season in the field.  Rounding out your top seeds is Jasmine Douglas Grant (Stroudsburg, PA), who is also new to the event, but has a 57-point mark in the open 400m.  Look for this final to go under 40-seconds.

600m

It was hard to wade through the seeds, finding those with certified marks, but a few stood out from the field.  Chief among them is Emily Philippides (Greenwich, CT), who won this event last year in 1:34.84.  She's run a full second faster since then, which only reinforces her as the favorite.  Two from Section 1 will be challenging that position, however, as Jade Sessions (Carmel) and Gabby Johnson (New Rochelle) should both be in the mix.  Both have run 1:36 or better, and have 800m personal bests under 2:15.  If we had to pick one from the outsiders who don't run the distance, Antoinette Bradley (Friendly, MD) has the best credentials.  She's run 2:19 for the 800m, and 57-low for the 400m.