Carl Lewis Inv. Meet Preview: 15 Athletes To Watch

Bayleigh Minor (Fort Bend Christian Academy) wins the 2023 Carl Lewis girls 400m

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Heat Sheets: Carl Lewis High School Invitational

There is a lot of talent heading down to Houston this weekend and it's coming from not only in Texas borders, but also from Colorado and Louisiana specifically.

Over the three days, we will get a peak at some athlete who will get things going for 2024 and others who are already rolling.

Things go a bit beyond those two levels when you consider how many entered athletes are already nationally ranked in the top five of their events.

Check out our preview and see who we have highlighted as athletes to look out for this weekend.

Brandon Schirck (Friendswood) 

UIL 5A state meet runner-up in the shot put and Texas commit is a big time talent and will be one of the best at the meet. Last year, he had a 62-3.75 personal best.

Aaliyah Gipson (Duncanville) 

The Central Florida commit is one of the top sprinters in the state. She competes in all three sprint distances effectively. Will compete in the 60m, 400m.

Bayleigh Minor (Fort Bend Christian) 

Minor is one of the best overall athletes in the state of Texas. She is an elite track and field athlete who can be a future olympian and somehow, this might not even be her best sport. Minor is an even better volleyball player and top recruit. Last year, Minor won TAPPS 5A state titles in the 200m, 400m, long jump, and triple jump with 23.89, 53.43, 38-3, and 19-0.5 personal bests. This weekend, she will compete in the 400m.

Makeriah Harris (Scotlandville, LA) 

Harris, the LSU commit, has continued to be a national level force for the better half of three years. Last weekend at the LSU High School Classic, the senior star sprinter and hurdler ran 7.73 in the 60m and 8.53 in the 60H. This weekend, she is again competing in the 60H, but she swapped the 60m for the 400m. she has a 55.71 indoor personal best in the event.

Damarien Jacobs (Klein Cain) 

Jacobs is a quality quartermiler by trade, but he is also competing in the 200m this weekend. If he knows how to do anything, its run on an indoor 400m track. He runs faster every year with performances like a 48.03 in 2022 and a 47.81 last indoor season. Although it's only the second weekend of the year, don't be surprised if he runs under 48 seconds.

Sade Gray (Scotlandville, LA)

Gray is a Louisiana outdoor state champion in the 100m and 200m as well as in 60m. She also was the runner-up in the 400m at last year's Louisiana state meet; that should bode well for her 200m capabilities. She ran 7.51 in December at the FasTrak Athletix High School Indoor Challenge and went 7.61 last week at LSU. Gray alsr blazed a 24.28 in December at the The Galleria Games.

Landon Fontenot (Humble Atascocita) 

The Iowa commit is entered in the 60m and the 200m this weekend. Last month at FasTrak, Fontenot ran 7.10 personal best and 48.59 indoor PR in the 400m. His indoor season work on the complementary events could bode well for him when outdoor comes.

Broderick Davis (Scotlandville, LA) 

Germain Mata-Smith (Warren Easton, LA) 

Smith is the last Louisiana athlete in our preview. He hails from another school and city than the others, but he should have made his name known last weekend at LSU. In case you don't already know, this guy is the No. 3 ranked 60m sprinter in the country. He has run 6.77, 6.78, 6.79, and 6.83 this season. If that's not consistency, I don't know what is and he has a 6.76 personal best from last year's Louisiana indoor state meet. He ran a 51.91 last weekend in the 400, so I say watch out for him in the 200m this weekend as well. He'll be running on boards and a banked track this weekend, so don't be surprised if he finishes with a top nationally ranked time to take back to the "Big Easy".

Austen Diggs (La Grange) 

Diggs is the UIL 4A 200m defending state champion and the 100m state meet third place finisher. He'll be competing in the 60m and the 200m this weekend where last season he went 6.92 and 21.40 indoors last year to win Adidas Track Nationals. He continued to run well and fast outdoors finishing with a third place in the 100m and UIL 4A state meet and captured the championship in the 200m. Diggs finished with personal bests of 10.55 and 20.82 last year.

Janey Campbell (Katy Seven Lakes) 

Campbell takes pride in being an all-around thrower. She can only throw the shot put this weekend and will be one of the ones to watch. She has a 43-8.75 personal best outdoor toss from last year, but she also threw over 44 feet indoors on two occasions last year.

Cali Bryant (Houston Memorial) 

Bryant is the top high jumper in the nation with her 5-10 clearance on this track last month. Last weekend at LSU, she took second with a 5-8 clearance where she showed good hip height over earlier bars. Expect Bryant to get more bounce off the boards and press for the 5-10 bar again or dare I say higher. She will also compete in the long jump.

Brianna Rivers (Humble Summer Creek) 

Rivers will be in the high jump and long jump events as well. Rivers is a legit jumper and is currently tied for No. 3 nationally with a 5-8 clearance at FasTrak.

Henok Hagos (San Antonio Jefferson) 

Hagos hit the scene last year running for the first time in his life. All he did was run his way to the UIL 5A cross country and track state meets as he ran 4:15 and 9:18 in the1600m 3200m. This fall in cross country he went 15:03 and he'll compete in the 1600m and 3K this weekend. He limited his in the fall, but hit big, so look for him to make this weekend's runs count.

Benjamin Montgomery (Bridgeland) 

Montgomery will race in the 3K against Hagos and it should be an exciting race. Montgomery is the UIL 6A cross country state meet finisher and he was 36th at NXN and had a 15:00 personal best at 5K. He gets his 2024 season started after 4:16 and 9:00 runs last track season.