Another year has passed and we're back to the Brooks PR Invitational.

In 2013, we had a great representation by our Florida athletes.  Athletes like Deja Parrish and Kendall Ellis are returning for one more round in 2014.  Colonial graduate and Florida freshman Andres Arroyo participated last year as well.

 

A lot has changed over the last year, however.

 

For the past 3 years, the Brooks PR Invitational has been held at the University of Washington's over-sized Dempsey Indoor track facility (which is only 307m).

 

The meet also used to be scheduled in February, which is when track season is just starting to take off and athletes are getting back into the swing of things. This year, it’s in the summer time!

 

This means that not only will the fastest kids in the U.S. run against each other and run fast, but they will now do it in full, one hundred percent, prime-time conditions, and probably run even faster.

 

The 2014 Brooks PR Invitational has been moved outdoors to Renton Memorial Stadium, in Seattle, Washington. Now with the stage set, and the "Golden Tickets in the form of puzzles"  sent out, it’s time to see who is the best of the best.

I was able to speak with some of the athletes about the upcoming meet. This year we have a total of 12 athletes representing Florida, consisting of 7 girls and 5 guys.

Eight of them are seniors, three are juniors, and one is a sophomore.

 

Boys

 

On the boys side, we have guys in the 100m, the 110mH, the 800m, and the full mile. The boys representing Florida are Seniors Terry Jernigan, Andre Ewers, Justin Cromartie, and Juniors Sukhi Khosla, and Javon Patterson.

 

Probably one of the most well known 100m runners in Florida is East Ridge's Terry Jernigan.

2014 4A FHSAA State Champion in the 100m (10.51) and 200m (21.39), Terry Jernigan is the type of guy you don’t want standing next to you at the starting line. He’s big, he’s confident, and he’s fast. I’ve actually had the privilege of running against him this year in a 4x400m relay. Let’s just say he was handing off to his teammate as I was still finishing.

 

I recently got in touch with Terry and discussed his thoughts on the upcoming meet.

“I was really excited because I get to run again with the top guys in the country and get to experience Seattle. I feel better then ever.  I'm rested and all healed up. It’s exciting, because this is a meet for the top kids in the country.”

 

I asked Terry if he had any goals coming into the meet. He said he’s hoping to go in the 10.1 range. Placement is always great, but sometimes it’s the times that really matter to someone.

I asked if he thought he could do what he’s done this year at the start of the season. He said "No I didn't.  I'm blesses to be travelling and running at these elite meets."  

Terry has been performing very well in his first two post-season meets. He won the 100m and placed 3rd in the 200 at the 38th Annual Golden South Classic running a PR of 10.27 and 20.93. Last week he placed 3rd in the 100m at the adidas Grand Prix, running 10.64.

 

Terry Jernigan has came a long way during his high school career. He’s ready to light up the track, and make it a race he’ll never forget. Terry Jernigan initially wasn’t going to run track this year, but I’m now sure he’s glad he did.

 

For the past 3 years, he’s gone unnoticed. No one knew who he was, what school he went to, or even what he did.

Until now.

2014 FHSAA 4A Region 4 100m and 200m champion, and FHSAA 4A State Finals 100m and 200m runner-up, Piper High School’s Andre Ewers made up for the first three years he missed. After the state meet, Ewers began his journey across the country going to a buffett's worth of meets, getting into everything he can.

I was able to briefly talk to Andre about his thoughts on the Brooks PR Invitational.

“My reaction was exciting because it was one of my goals this year  knowing that the top runners in the country were going to be there. All my hardwork and sacrifice and dedication over the last year is paying off. I feel good knowing I have been preparing for it. Knowing that it’s the top eight fastest in the nation thats going to be there.”

I went on to ask him if he wanted to run for a specific time or for placement. 

 

"My goal is 10.25.  It would be nice to get a PR but most importantly I just want to go out there and execute my race and let the time come."

 Andre went on further to tell me that he didn’t think that he could make it to a meet like this at the beginning of the season and recalled a specific race he ran.  "I had set my mind to achieve it.  My goal was to run a 10.40 and I ended up doing a 10.31 with a bad start.  Glory to God."  

In the post-season, Ewers has continued his success at the 38th Annual Golden South Classic, the Great Southwest Classic as well as the adidas Grand Prix.

 

At the Golden South Classic, he ran 10.39 in the 100m placing 2nd in the finals, and 21.48 in the 200m, placing 6th. 

 

At the Great Southwest Classic, he placed 1st, running 10.52.  At the adidas Grand Prix last week, he ran 10.65, placing 4th.

With the Brooks PR Invitational on Saturday, Andre Ewers is determined to make this 100m race a special one.

People have told me that I should run the hurdles; that I’d be good at it. I would always decline the suggestion but If you want to see someone hurdle, you should watch Chiles High School’s Justin Cromartie.  I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

 

Three time state qualifier, FHSAA 3A District Regional and State Champion in the 110mH, Justin Cromartie has been in the spotlight for some time. Cromartie made his debut onto the Track and Field stage as a sophomore in 2012 at the FHSAA 3A Outdoor State Finals where he placed 7th in both the prelims (14.95), and the finals (15.11).

 

He made it back to the state meet for the 2nd year in a row, but ran a 14.99, leaving him 10th in the prelims.

With two trips to the state meet, Justin Cromartie came back as a Senior and won each 110mH race, getting 2nd in the prelims.

 

With seven straight victories, he was determined to make it eight at one particular meet: the 2014 FHSAA 3A Outdoor State Finals. Having been there before, Justin decided to do it differently.

 

In 13.97 seconds, Justin Cromartie went from a state qualifier to a state champion. He was also 3rd in the 300m hurdles(38.48).

Justin hurdled at the 38th Annual Golden South Classic, placing 2nd while running a PR of 13.90 in the 110mH.

 

At the Star Athletics Sprint Series, he ran 14.82, placing 10th in the prelims against more highly experienced, older hurdlers. I'm excited to see what the Chiles Senior will do on such a big stage.

Aside from the likes of Flagler Palm Coast High School’s triple threat of Justin Harbor, Samuel Vazquez, Matt Cianciulli and Colonial’s Andres Arroyo (all who ran sub-15 in the 5000m), Sukhi Khosla is one of the greatest distance runners in Florida history.

 

Even more exciting; he has one more year left. Leon High School’s Sukhi Khosla will be running the mile at the 2014 Brooks PR Invitational.

The 2014 1600m and 3200m state champion in the 3A classification is a huge prospect coming into this meet.

 

At the 2014 FHSAA 3A Outdoor State Finals Khosla ran his best time ever; a blazing 4:05.96, coming back to run 9:05.75 in the 3200m.

After the state meet, Sukhi ran the mile at the Adidas Grand Prix, running 4:13.77, placing 13th.

Sukhi Khosla is one of those guys who get out, get's up front and just keeps rolling. Sukhi Khosla is not a quitter, nor a tourist. 

 

As expected, the other athletes are excited, but not Sukhi.  He has made it clear that he is going for the win, not the experience. 

 

Hoping that he can run in the 2 mile as well, Khosla plans on going for the Florida all-time 2 mile record (8:53.00) placed by Brett Hoffman in 1977.

 

With the start of the next school year slowly approaching, Boyd Anderson’s rising Senior Javon Patterson isn’t wasting any time.

A three time state qualifier, and two-time state finals 800m runner-up, Javon Patterson is the best that Florida has to offer in the 800m.  He has been ranked Florida’s number one since the middle of the season. At the Pepsi Florida Relays, he won the 800m running his season best time of 1:52.04. Like most of Florida’s elite athletes, every race he runs, he runs to win.

There’s no doubt that Javon Patterson can go sub-1:56. He’s strong, he’s smooth, and he now can consistently run 1:52. He may not have broken his PR of 1:51.15 from last year, but I believe he soon will on Saturday in Seattle.

Girls

 

On the girls side, we have girls competing in the 100m, 110mH, and the 400m.

 

The girls representing Florida are Seniors Deanna Hill, Stefani Kerrison, Daeshon Gordon, Deja Parrish, Kendall Ellis along with Junior Krystal Sparling and Sophomore Kaylin Whitney.

 

Lake Highland Prep’s Deanna Hill will be running the 100m at the Brook's PR Invitational.

 

Deanna has had a very successful and memorable senior year.  Besides being the 2014 FHSAA 2A District and Regional Champion, she is also a two time state champion in the 100m, and the District, Regional and state runner-up in the 200m.  Going back to her earlier career, Deanna won the 100m (12.88) and 200m (25.79) at the Orange County MS Championships back in 2010.

Deanna came into high school knowing what she could do, and proved it by going to states as a freshman. After one trip, Deanna made it a tradition and went every year after that. Being so successful, she placed in the top 5 each year in the 100m and the 200m, moving up each year. 

With an overall PR that hasn’t been touched since 2012, I'm convinced that not only will she do well with a vast amount of competition, but that she can push that old PR off to the side, and end her high school career on a good note come Saturday.

 

Two-time FHSAA 2A state finals 100mH champion, and 4-time state qualifier, Stefani Kerrison from Jones HS hurdled her way to the Brooks PR Invitational on Saturday.

 

This isn’t the first time that the University of Miami commit has had the opportunity to run in a big meet, on a national stage.

 

Kerrison ran her PR of 13.56 in 2013 at a meet of equal importance to the Brooks PR Invitational.

 

Last year Kerrison won the 100mH at the USATF National JO Outdoor Track and Field Championship. If she can run that on a stage like that, I can only imagine what she’ll do in Seattle.

 

Since 2010, she’s been to the Orange County MS Championships, the Sunshine State Games, the USATF National JO Outdoor Track and Field Championships, and of course, the 2A state meet. 

 

Stefani isn’t one of those people who won't crack under pressure. She’s quite used to it.   Kerrison is also a 2-time district and regional champion in the 100mH, and 3-time champion in the 300mH. At the 38th Golden South Classic, Kerrison ran a season best time of 13.69 in the 100mH, placing 2nd.

 

Three-time state qualified and two time FHSAA 4A State Champion, Northeast's Daeshon Gordon is another girl ready to prove herself even further. The senior initially went to Boyd Anderson, but transferred to Northeast High School. 

The change in schools however didn’t nother Daeshon at all. She continued to progress and get faster. Gordon ran her PR of 13.46 in the 100mH at the FHSAA 4A Region 4, placing first. 

 

She came close close to that time when she ran at the 38 Annual Golden South Classic where she ran 13.61. I have confidence that Gordon is going to blow her PR away with so much competition around. I look forward to seeing what she will do on Saturday, and I know many others do as well.

American Heritage High School’s Deja Parrish particpated in this meet last year as a junior.  She will line up for the 400m one last time as a high schooler.

Last year, Parrish finished 3rd in the 400m on the over-sized Dempsey indoor track, running 55.58, a very solid run for a junior girl.

 

Later that season, Deja became the FHSAA 2A State Champion, running a 55.06. She went on to place 9th at the 2013 New Balance Outdoor Nationals and the USATF World Youth Track and Field Trials. I was able to talk to Deja a bit about the Brooks PR Invitational.

"I was a little nervous at first because my invite was a little late and I wasn't sure I was going to get one like last year because of my season. I'm just coming off of an injury, so I was not running how I would have like to.  I'm excited and anxious.  I just want to see where I am since I haven't ran since my state meet. Some people may think I'm nervous. This is my biggest race since my surgery but my coaches at Clemson just told me to do my best... No pressure."

During the 2014 track season Deja had to have surgery, which left her unable to run.

 

However, that didn’t stop Deja. She raced back to the state meet for one last time, taking District and Regional titles along the way. I am anxious to see how she’ll perform at this meet again.

Whenever anybody hears the name “Kendall Ellis” everyone knows one word that correlates: Speed.

Not only is the St. Thomas Aquinas senior a four-time state qualifier in the 400m, but a four-time state champion. Capturing District, Regional, and State titles left and right, Ellis is known to get out, and keep charging. It’s funny to think that a few years ago she was running 1:06 in the 400m and now she’s dropped a total of 14 seconds!

I had the chance to talk to Kendall about the upcoming meet. It turns out that she, like Deja Parrish, had been to the Brooks PR Invitational before as well.

“I was invited last year and didn't do well. So I was a little nervous that I wouldn't be invited again because of the previous performance. I was excited and relieved. I had been checking my AD's office every day for the invitation so when my coach called and said my invite came in I felt a sense of relief and excitement to get the opportunity to compete in Seattle again.”

 

A very confident Kendall Ellis went on further.

“I'm in the middle of handling a groin injury so I'm not where I'd like to be.  But I'm confident that I'll still be able to perform and run to the best of my ability and hopefully PR. Winning is always nice but my main focus is time.  Low 52, anything lower than 52.5 to get that US #1 spot.”

I can only say one thing: People better watch out for Kendall Ellis when she gets down into the blocks.

 

St. Thomas Aquinas may be losing Kendall Ellis, but they still have Krystal Sparling for a bit longer.

Three-time state qualifier in the 100m and 200m, and two-time FHSAA 4A State Runner-Up in the 100m, Krystal Sparling is ready to show off some of that famous St. Thomas Aquinas speed in front of thousands of spectators and onlookers. I had the chance to talk to Krystal briefly about how she felt concerning the meet on Saturday.

“When I was told I was getting invited I was so shocked and excited at the same time. It was a very surreal feeling.”

“I'm coming into the meet very confident and I'm just ready for all the competition and all the challenges that my competitors are going to give me throughout the race. I would like to win the race and whatever time comes with winning I would be satisfied. I thought that I had a chance of coming to this meet because I knew that my coach would prepare me well enough to be able to get invited to this meet. I plan on going to the World Junior Trials in Oregon. And my plans for next year is to continue to stay healthy and continue striving for greatness and becoming the best I can be.”

After the state meet, Krystal ran 11.67 at the adidas Grand Prix, placing 4th.  I’m excited to see what Krystal will do in Seattle, and I’m sure she’ll be back next year as a senior, running even faster.

Last but certainly not least on our list of Florida standouts is East Ridge’s Kaylin Whitney.

 
 The only sophomore in the group, Kaylin Whitney is already a national figure. The four-time state champion (100m and 200m) has recently been named the 2014 Gatorade Track and Field Player of the Year.

After another sweep at the state meet, Whitney went on to run at the 38th Golden South Classic, the Star Athletics Sprint Series, and the adidas Grand Prix, where she became the Dream 100 champion.

I had the privilege of talking to Kaylin about the upcoming meet.

She said she felt excited and flattered as well.

“It's pretty cool for them to see me good enough to be invited. I'm really excited.  Been hitting it hard in practice this week in preparation.”

When I asked Kaylin if she was aiming to win, she simply replied “Oh yeah, definitely.”

Most of the time, whenever Kaylin Whitney runs, she runs well and comes out on top. It seems like there’s no stopping here. 

When she ran at the Adidas Grand Prix, she blazed out a PR of 11.27, good enough for US#2!

As the competition comes and the track heats up, I can’t wait to see what Kaylin Whitney will run at the invitational. More So, I can’t wait to see what she’s running by senior year. Kaylin Whitney is one of those people who make me proud to be part of the Class of 2016.

 

I say to all of the athletes, good luck! I know you’ll represent Florida well. God Bless.