Boys Winter Track Sprints & Hurdles Preview
Returning Boys Stars
We had a couple of interesting (and pleasant) surprises early in the winter last year, and two of them are back for another go in 2018. First, Naythn Scruggs (Central CS) is the top returner in the 60 from true indoor competition, having clocked 7.06 at UW. Second is Chase Wells - and it isn't a surprise that he performed well, but rather that he was at Oxnard instead of former school St. Bonaventure. Wells had a great indoor season, obviously working on speed with 60's and 200's indoors (and the 300 in all-comers competition) before going up for big 400's in the spring. On the other hand, Scruggs seemed to either hit the wall or get hurt in the middle of the spring season, and we hope to see him back at full strength (and highly motivated) this winter. Miles Duncan (Deer Valley) also stepped down in early 2017, posting a sub-50 400 indoors before moving up to focus on the 800 outdoors. California has very few top-flight returning hurdlers after the Class of 2017 dominated, so the door is open for someone like Collin Hurd (Trabuco Hills) to stake a claim before the spring season officially starts. Finally, Steven Camacho (Long Beach Wilson) has the top returning time in the 600, with Mathew Roberts (Santa Ynez Valley Union) right on his heels).
Boys Stars We Hope To See
There are several short sprinters that could have an impact on the 60 and 200 rankings nationally if they came out for the winter, like Daniel Kamulali and Asani Hampton. Christian Moore DID compete in the 2017 winter season, but he had such a breakout in the spring that we want to see him take it to another level this year - and Oaks Christian has been known to travel on the indoor circuit. Miles Zoltak is a veteran of all-comers meets that could make a splash indoors this winter if he wants to travel a little, and Karson Lippert seems like an ideal candidate for fast 300 times with his strong 200 and 400 outdoor marks. Blake Hennessay has a versatile skill set that could help him be competitive in several winter events. Of course, we always want to see the top overall returner in an event, and that means we'd like to have Jamar Marshall (Stockton St. Mary's) in some winter meets - and he did the pentathlon back in AAU competition, which could be interesting...