Event By Event Breakdown For The Arkansas HS Inv.

60m and 200m

The girls sprint events are loaded! There are 323 girls in the 60m field and 441 girls entered in the 200m. The national rankings could be heavily affected by the performances in the heats and finals of the Arkansas HS Invitational.

Sydney Bryant (Shadow Creek, TX) will compete in both sprint events, she enters the meet with a 7.64 from the FasTrak Coach O meet back on December 11th. Kyaliah Davis (Klein Forest, TX) is another Texas sprinter who could be impactful this weekend. She ran 24.22 and 54.72 outdoors last year and will run in both short sprint events.

Bryant and Davis will have to deal with Brooke Jackson (Katy Seven Lakes, TX) who will compete in both the 60m and 200m; she has a 7.59 PR from last season. Texas A&M commit, Laila Hackett (Frisco Lebanon Trail, TX) will be another competitor to watch. She ran 11.46 at the AAU Junior Olympics last summer and was the UIL 6A runner-up in the 100m. Her indoor best is 7.62 from last season.

There are even more speedy Texans in the fields. Taylor Nunez (Universal City Randolph, TX) who ran 7.63 and 24.77 at the FasTrak Coach O Youth and High School Opener on December 11, 2022 is entered. She is the 100m, 200m, and LJ champion at the UIL 3A state champion 11.31and 23.96 PRs. Celeste Robinson (Cypress Ranch, TX) is also entered. She has already begun the 2023 indoor season by running a US No.4 ranked 7.51 in the 60m last week at LSU.

400m

The girls 400m event could also drastically affect the national rankings. In fact, it could take sub 57 to make it to the finals.

Tyler Lowe (Chattahoochee, GA) ran 56.93 in the 400m at The Galleria Games on Dec 17th. That was nearly a month ago and with 30 more days of training, she could hit in the 55s. Kyla Lewis (Frisco Rock Hill, TX) also ran impressively at the Galleria Games. She ran 57.15 and could also go faster. Also in December, Michaela Mouton (Killeen, TX) ran 57.29 at the FasTrak Coach O meet.

Running well this calendar year is Emmanuella Njenje (Santa Fe OK), who ran 57.26 last week at the Prentice Gudgen Inv. and Magnolia Crissup Jenks, OK), who ran 57.89 at the same meet.

800m

Two girls have already run 2:20 or faster this season. Helen Hesselgren (Hass Hall, AR) ran 2:18.72 last weekend at the Prentice Gudgen Inv. and Gabrielle Shepston (Legacy, CO) ran 2:20 back on Dec 1 at Colorado Mines HS Indoor Series #1.

Perhaps the headliner should be Sasha Crawford (Keller, TX) who will compete in her first meet of the year. While she only has a 2:20 indoor PR, that doesn't begin to tell what she is capable of. Crawford was third at the Texas UIL 6A state meet last year and ended the season with a 2:08 PR.

Lily Garrett (Ruston, LA) ran 5:05 indoors last year. The University of Tennessee commit will have to fend off top finishers from last year's meet. 

Kailey Littlefield (Lovejoy, TX) is known for her 400/800 running, but she can also run the distances as well. She won the event last year with a 5:01.85 and her teammate Amy Morefield was third in the event last year in 5:04.30.

Also returning from last year is Liesel Keho (Edmond North, OK) was fifth in 5:08.92.

3,000m

In the 3K, Paityn Noe (Ballard, IA) won the event last year in 9:44.97. Things could get much faster this year as she is freshly coming off a third place finish at the Champs Cross Country National Championships.

Returners who will challenge are runner-up Kehoe who ran 9:56.22, Sara Morefield (Lovejoy, TX) who was sixth last year in 10:27, and Peyton Benson  (Lovejoy, TX) was 8th last year in 10:44.

The challenger to watch could be University of Texas commit Haley Harper (Plano West, TX).

High Jump

The girls high jump will be good. Abigail Elmore (Gunter, TX) jumped 6-0 last year and is getting her season started this weekend. 

Justin Northwest, (TX) jumper Anaya Potter  jumped 5-6 last year and Mason Meinershagen (Oakville, MO) jumped 5-7.75 last outdoor season. Meinershagen is also listed in the pole vault.

Pole Vault

Arkansas commit Rachel Homoly (Liberty, MO) jumped 14-0 outdoors last year. She has already jumped 13-6 this indoor season and could shoot for 14-feet this weekend. Jacqueline Rose (Keller, TX) jumped 13-1.5 last outdoor season and has also cleared 13-0 this indoor season.

Meinershagen is the Missouri runner-up from last year's state meet jumped with a 13-0 clearance. Then there is Hannah Estes (Fayetteville, AR) who jumped 12-8 last year, and University of Tennessee commit Caroline Weems (Memphis St. Agnes, TN) who jumped 12-8.75 outdoors and has already cleared 12-1.75 this indoor season

Long Jump

The girls long jump competition will possibly be the best event of the meet. It will have several of the best jumpers in the nation on the same runway.

Alyssa Banales (McKinney North, TX) will headline the event. She comes in with a mark of 20-8.5 that she already jumped this season, ranking her US No. 2.

Alyssa Jones (Smithson Valley,TX ) ranks US No. 5 and will bring a big 19-8 PR to the competition, Taylor Fingers (Mansfield Timberview, TX) checks in at US No. 7 with her 19-6.25 this season, US No. 11 Payton Guye (Frisco Independence, TX) has already jumped 19-2.75 this year, and Sophia Day (Denton Guyer, TX) who has jumped 19-0 this year ranks 16th.

Like I said, it's stacked and you don't want to miss is.

Triple Jump

If the girls long jump will be the best event, you can be sure the girls triple jump will be a close second. There are just as many nationally ranked triple jumpers as there are long jumpers.

Skylynn Townsend (Prosper Rock Hill, TX) who jumped 41-8.75 last year and opened up at LS last weekend with a 19-3 long jump warm up.This weekend she'll hop, skip, and jump.

Fingers isn't only long jumping this weekend, but she'll give it a go in the triple. She is currently the US No. 2 jumper with a 41-9.25 best. Missouri jumper Maya Anderson jumped  38-10 last indoor season, Lazariah Bethany (Garland Sachse, TX) jumped 38-0.75, Lexi Kurtz (Marist, GA) jumped 37-7.25 and Sophia Day checks ranks US NO. 6 with her 40-4.75.

Shot Put

There will be girls in the ring who can chunk the shot put pretty far; three specific throwers stand out.

University of Oklahoma commit Maggie Bookout (OK Homeschool) threw 43-9.75 indoors last year and 45-6.75 outdoors. She'll get competition from Texan junior Madeleine Fey (Midlothian, TX). Fey is most prolific in the discus and is TX all-time No. 3 in the event, but she threw 44-9 last indoor season and 46-11.5 in the outdoor season.

Lauren St. Peters (Aledo,TX)  threw 42-0.5 last year and will open up this weekend.