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Mobile Challenge of Champions 2015 Preview - DyeStatPublished by
Top Alabama vaulters take up Challenge in Mobile
By Arthur L. Mack for DyeStat
MOBILE—McGill-Toolen pole vaulters Sean Collins and Margaret Ollinger will be among the main attractions at the Mobile Challenge of Champions this weekend.
Friday's action — the Open Division — gets underway at UMS-Wright Prepartory School at 3 p.m. CDT, while Saturday's Invitational Division— in which Collins and Ollinger are competing— starts at noon at St. Paul's E.E. Delaney Stadium.
Collins and Ollinger are among the best prep pole vaulters in the nation. Collins is No. 2 nationally among high school boys after he won at the Sugar Bowl Classic in New Orleans last weekend with a clearance of 17-2.25.
As such, the current Challenge of Champions record of 17-3, set by Devin King of Sumner High in Louisiana in 2013, could very well be in jeopardy.
Ollinger is the US#2 female vaulter in the country with a clearance of 13-6.25 and will be in a fierce battle with defending meet champion Carson Dingler of First Presbyterian of Louisiana. Dingler herself has a personal best of 13-6, and the meet record of 13-2 set by Morgann Leleux in 2011 has a chance of being broken as well.
While the meet has a history of having a few last-minute scratches and no-shows, there have always been some athletes in the Open Division who have performed well enough to fill in the vacancies and provide some great efforts.
“There's always the possibility of someone scratching at the last minute, so I'm always sweating bullets,” said meet director Steve Schoenewald. “But I think that we'll have some strong performances. There should be some great competition in the mile and two-mile, and some of the other events are pretty strong, too.”
Schoenewald said that with Friday's Open competition, there is always the chance that if someone has a strong performance, and if there is an opening the following night, that athlete could find him or herself participating on Saturday night.
Here are some other events that will also generate some interest on Saturday:
- Invitational boys' 200 — College Park, Georgia's Ryan Clark of Banneker High is a strong favorite with a seeded time of 20.85. That time could threaten the record of 20.86 set by Aaron Ernest of Homewood (Ala) in 2011. A pair of Alabama runners—Opelika's Nathaniel Hugginsand Auburn's Deonte Tolbert — could provide some strong competiton. All three are scheduled to compete in the 400 as well, and with Huggins and Tolbert being Class 6A and 7A indoor champions respectively, that event could provide some drama.
- Invitational girls 100 -- Sprint sensation Candace Hill of Rockdale County GA was the female athlete of the meet last year after winning a big showdown with fellow freshman Jayla Kirkland of Woodlawn AL, 11.69 to 11.74. Hill also won the 200. More news
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