Exciting Night of Racing Set for Tuesday

ATLANTA -- May 22, 2017 --  The best middle and high school runners from around the region will compete in Atlanta Track Club’s Wingfoot Miles at Tuesday night's All Comers Track & Field Meet at Buck Godfrey Stadium.  The four scholastic races will be followed by two professional races with athletes aiming for the USATF National Championship qualifying standard. The evening begins with two professional 800m races.

Following the professional miles, all runners will have a chance to test their speed at the mile distance on the track. Atlanta Track Club's Enrique Tomas breaks down the scholastic fields and Jay Holder breaks down the pro fields in this preview. 

Middle School Girls

The middle school girl’s race is shaping up to be a three-way battle between sixth- grader Clara Heppner of Alpha Crush, seventh- grader Luna McCauley of Paideia, and eighth-grader McKenna Gates of Creekview.  All boasting impressive resumes, Gates has state titles in the 1600m, 3200m and 3000 in cross country.  McCauley has run the second faster 1600m in Georgia this year and was second to McKenna at the Middle School State Championships.  Heppner is the reigning USATF Region 4 champion over 3000m and 1500m in the 11-12 age group with a PR of 5:10. 

Others to Watch:

Camryn Curtis: E-1 Track Club, Heidi Heppner: Alpha Crush, Shani Simon: Sapphire Track Club

Middle School Boys

With 3200m National Middle School record holder Zack Truitt out due to injury the field has opened up for a new top champion.  The fastest time run in Georgia this year is 4:40.57. Chasing the new #1 time will be Justin Wachtel who currently has PR’s of 4:45, and 9:55.26.  He will be challenged by McConnell Middle School eighth-grader Evan Miner who holds Georgia's second fastest 800m time of 2:10.  His foot speed could play a strength if the race comes down to a kick.  Close behind Miner is E-1 Track Club's Amir Dayal and Chapel Hill’s Anthony Arredondo who should be right in the mix for the win.

High School Girls

If this past weekend’s race at the Georgia Meet of Champions is any indication of what is to come at the Wingfoot Mile, then we are in for some great High School races.  On the girls side is future Georgia Tech runner Nicole Fegans of Landmark Christina who just ran a 7 second PR of 10:30 for 3200m on Saturday.  If she can run a 4:52 she will break into Georgia's All-Time Top 10. Fegans will not be alone in the front of the pack.  In the race right with her is 3A 800m/1600m State Champion Naima Turbes of Westminster who is one of Georgia’s top 800m runners this season and is the only other runner in the field to have broken 5:00.  Looking to snag a spot in the top three are the duo from Woodstock High School, Brynne Sumner and Anna Burnett, Milicent Bergey of South Forsyth, and Super Frosh and 5A 1600m/3200m/XC State Champion Nyah Hernandez of Creekview.  Hernadez last showed down with Fegans in the 3200m at the Coaches Invite just coming up short of the win by .34.  The race is anyone’s to win and will come down to the wire.

Others to watch:  Rafaella Gibbons: Winterpark High School (FL), Cate Ambrose: Riverside High School (FL), and Josie Wirtz: Marist School (GA)

High School Boys

The boys' field will pit Georgia’s best milers against two of Florida’s best milers.  From Georgia, Everett Smulders of Lovett is fresh off a three second PR in the 800m running the tenth fastest time in the U.S. this year of 1:50.  He has shown his range running 4:15 over 1600m and looks to set a new PR against some of the top competitors.  Chasing the top spot are Florida’s Trevor Foley (Citrus Park Christian) and Timothy Doyle (Freedom High School) whose season best times are 4:15.7 and 4:15.8 respectively.  The next group looking to break into the top five and potentially pull off the win are Knox Pittman (Marist), Noah Graham (Brevard), and 5A 800m/1600m Champion Sam Ellis (Decatur).  Ellis was runner up in this race last year and has impressive speed over 800m running 1:51.  Pittman also comes from an 800m strength with a PR of 1:55.  These boys are all gunning for a fast time, and we are sure to see a great race!

Others to watch:

Leif Andersen (Marist), Ben McCoy (Blessed Trinity), and Dax Willette (Rockdale)

Professional Women

The woman to watch in the elite race is 45-year-old Sonja Friend-Uhl. Friend-Uhl, who currently holds the U.S. record for women 40-44 needs to run faster than 4:48.42 to break the current 45-49 world record set by Ykaterina Podkopayeva of Russia in 1997. That time would shatter the current U.S. record of 4:56.28 set just last year. She will have help and competition from Janel Blancett who placed fourth in Friday night's Main Street Mile in Columbia, SC and from Bridget Lyons who has run 16:00 on the track for 5000m this season. 

Professional Men

The men's race features three sub-four minute milers, two of which are looking to hit a the standard for the USATF National Championships (3:56.50). Brandon Lasater comes into the race having just run a PR and 800m qualifying time of 1:47.09 at the Georgia Meet of Champions on Friday. It will be a three-man race between Lasater, Kirubel Erassa who ran a season's best of 13:36 for 5000m at the USATF Distance Classic on Thursday and Great Britain's Rob Mullett who hit the world standard for the 3000m steeplechase with a time of 8:30 at the same meet. The advantage goes to Lasater who has less racing in his legs than the other two, but Erassa is due for a winning performance and Mullet bested Lasater when the two raced two weeks ago over 2000m. 

Professional Men's 800m

NJNY runner and Binghamton grad Jesse Garn comes into this race four days after running a personal best and world standard for 800m at the Georgia Meet of Champions. His time of 1:45.82 was only good enough for fifth in a stacked field. In this race, he's the top seed and the likely winner. Garn's teammate, Chris Geisting won a gold medal in the 4x400 at the 2016 World Indoor Championships and the 200/400 specialist from Notre Dame is coming off a huge PR in the 800m of 1:47.1. Atlanta Track Club's Patrick Peterson is due for a breakthrough and looking for the U.S. standard.