It's the last giant Invitational of the Season, and plenty of athletes from across the East Coast are looking for seed times for their respective State Championships. Ocean Breeze is more than ready to oblige, providing some of the fastest races of the Season so far. Check out the ones we've got our eyes on, and then watch the Live Stream all weekend, exclusively on MileSplit.
1. Boys Mile
This race is loaded with talent from around the Tri-State. PA XC State Champion Brian DiCola (Hatboro Horsham) leads the field with his 4:11 from last Outdoor Season. NY State Leader Joseph Perazzo (Susan Wagner) is in the field at 4:12 for 1600m. New Jersey's Akshay Vadul (Edison) rounds out the big three with his 4:13 from last Outdoor Season too. There are plenty of other names to round out the field as well, like Michael Woolery (Episcopal, PA) at 4:14 and Ashton Bange (Corning) at 4:14, so don't play favorites just yet. This could be the biggest field ahead of Millrose we'll see.
2. Girls 400m
Eight girls under 59-seconds means this race will be flying for the finals. Ka'Nai Bey-English (Mastery, PA) is your top seed at 57.39, but has Ava Alexander (Rustin, PA) right on her tail at 57.60. In addition, we have Simone Kelly (Springside Chesntut, PA) looking to break through at 58.03. This should be fast.
3. Boys 200m
Speaking of speed, we have three boys with 22.10 speed over the mid-sprint event. Abaas Hunter (Episcopal, PA) is the only one who has done it this year, running 22.12 way back on December 10th. But Robert Turner (Coatesville) and Daunte Bell (Norristown) both hit 22.10 last Spring, and are one year fitter than those marks would indicate. It should produce the fastest time so far in PA, as they are PA #2 and #3 respectively.
4. Boys 2Mile
Moving back up in distance, the PSAL trio that rocked the Army Hall of Fame meet at the Armory are back for another show. Joe Perazzo led Nate Boutin (John Jay) and Sebastian Margetts (UNIS) there to the top three spots on the New York Leaderboard, and the race should prove even faster here. Yes, there are some challengers from out-of-state, but our mind is what these three can do to continue making history for the PSAL.
5 Girls 55m
Dropping all the way down in distance, Sophomore Sariah Doresca (Baldwin) is trying to break through to a new State Lead in the event, and move up the All-Time list. She already has run 7.10, and is a member of the NY #1 4x200m squad, but this will be a showcase on what's to come at the State Meet. Challenging her is Ella Cooper (McDonogh School, MD), whom is a worthy challenger, coming off a top finish at the VA Showcase.
6. Boys 4x200m
PA's top two 4x200m squads will be going head to head, as Roman Catholic (1:30.36) and Coatesville (1:30.71) battle for the 1:30 magic barrier. Harry S Truman is another team in PA's top ten, and will round out the field.
7. Girls 800m
Could we see a New York State Record? Freshman Katelyn Kliesch (Notre Dame Academy) must have the 800m Freshman State Record on her mind, as the event distance is not commonly run in the Empire State. She's run 2:13 last Spring, but that was before she had dipped well under 5mins in the mile like she has in 2023. The time to beat is 2:08 set by Shola Lynch, and Kliesch won't be alone in the race. Ella Woehlcke (Mount Saint Joseph, PA) has run 2:11 last Spring, and 2:13 already this Indoor, and may actually be considered the favorite. Alli DeLisi (Penn Charter) ran 2:12 Indoors last year and Ashley Landis (Pennridge) has a 2:13 to her name.
8. Boys Pole Vault
We have three boys chasing 15-feet in the vault, always a show at Ocean Breeze. Aiden Hurlburt (Emmaus, PA) and Lucas Williams (Ridgefield, CT) have both gone 14-6 already this Season, while teammate Tyler Grabinski (Emmaus) is right behind at 14-0. Can Williams break up the duo, or will PA go 1-2?
