Olympians, world-class talent and elite high schoolers will make their way to Cleveland, Tenn., May 30-31 for the 23rd Music City Track Carnival at the Ray Conn Sports Complex at Lee University.

 

Friday’s headliners include Alaysha Johnson and Andrew Hudson.

 

American hurdler Johnson is scheduled to race in the women’s 200 meters, where she boasts a personal best time of 23.07 seconds from the 2023 season. The 2024 Paris Olympian has raced eight times this outdoor season, including a season’s best performance of 12.56 in the 100-meter hurdles at Grand Slam Track Miami. She most recently competed last weekend in Zabreb, Croatia.

 

 

Three-time Olympian and Guianan 400 national record holder, Aliyah Abrams, 2025 world indoors semifinalist Beyonce Defreitas of the British Virgin Islands, 2021 Olympian Maddy Price of Canada are in the field, too.

 

Hudson, 2023 Jamaican champion and world outdoors finalist in Budapest, brings in the top time of 19.87 in the men’s 200 field, the only sub-20 second performer. 

 

Ian Kerr, four-time Bahamian national champion in the 200, expects to challenge Hudson for the overall win.

 

High school competition also begins with three distance races in the 800, 2,000 steeplechase and 3,200. The slate features from states that have recently held state championship meets.

 

In the New Balance girls 800, all eight of the nine athletes in the field own lifetime bests of 2:10 and faster, including US#2 Oluwatsoin Awoleye, US#5 Claire Stegall and US#10 Carter Torrence. 

 

Three of the top 15 nationally ranked boys are entered in the New Balance 800, led by US#5 Will Cuicchi US#6 Luke Bone and US#15 Tsedeke Jakovics. Both have under 1:50 this outdoor season.

 

Lucy Cramer brings in her US#4 time of 7:03.30 to lead the New Balance girls steeplechase field. Addi Greene, 11th at the 2024 New Balance Nationals Outdoor, and Caroline Irvin, US#12, figure to be in the mix.

 

The girls 3,200 feature plenty of contenders: Elin Latta, Sundara Weber, Abby Faith Cheeseman, Mia Sirois and Abigail Anstett. Cheeseman is the only girl in the field to run under 10 minutes (9:56.83), with Latta (10:01.63), Weber (10:02.13) and Sirois (10:01.12) on the brink.

 

Jack Bertram, Jack Bowen and Nathan Lee are the top entries in the boys 3,200. Bertram, who’s run a personal best 8:47.36, finished fifth overall in the 2-mile at New Balance Nationals Indoor in March.

 

Saturday begins with preliminary races before heading into the late afternoon finals, which can expect more high-end competition.

 

Johnson will make the quick turnaround from the 200 to the women’s 100 hurdles and will face fellow American Gabby Cunningham, Demisha Roswell of Jamaica and Maribel Caicedo of Ecuador. 

 

Jasmine Robinson, No. 2 all-time for the high school 300 hurdles, has been moved into the professional field. 

 

American Dylan Beard, Millrose Games 60 hurdles champion, matches up with fellow countrymen Michael Dickson and De’Vion Wilson in the men’s 110 hurdles.

 

Olympian English Gardner of the U.S. will race her second 100 of the season, going up against another Olympic relay gold medalist, Briana Williams of Jamaica, in the women’s race. Camille Rutheford, 2024 Bahamian national champion, and Jadyn Mays, a former Oregon standout, expect to challenge both Gardner and Williams. 

 

Three sub-10-second racers are entered in the men’s 100, including 2023 world outdoor finalist Ryiem Forde of Jamaica. Forde owns a personal best of 9.95, and Joseph Amoah of Ghana and Elijah Morrow of the U.S. bring in personal best times of 9.94 and 9.97, respectively. 

 

Both the men’s and women’s 800 field welcome in elite talent that can expect to challenge a pair of meet records.

 

On the men’s side, five athletes own lifetime bests faster or equal to the meet record of 1:44.68 by Wesley Vazquez at the 2019 meet. Moah Zahifi of Marocco brings in the fastest entry time of 1:43.69, followed by Americans Isaiah Jewitt (1:43.85), Will Sumner (1:44.26) and Craig Engels (1:44.68), and Edose Ibadin of Nigeria (1:44.65.) Ihadin is also one of three national recorder holders in the field; Alex Amankwah of Ghana and Navasky Anderson of Jamaica are the other two.

 

The women’s meet record of 1:59.00, set by Allie Wilson at last year’s meet, could fall at the hands of several entries. 

 

Olympic finalist and two-time world outdoor finalist Natoya Goule-Toppin of Jamaica is two years off of running a personal best and national record 1:55.96. She opened up her outdoor season with a season’s best 1:58.43 at the Shanghai Diamond League.

 

Americans Olivia Baker and Brenna Detra, another pair of sub-two-minute racers, can expect to challenge Wilson’s meet record while also going for the win. 

 

Americans Quanera Hayes, Talitha Diggs and Wadeline Jonathas will tackle Canadian’s Zoe Sherar and Maddy Pope and Jamaican Leah Anderson in a competitive women’s 400. All those women have either represented their respective countries at the Olympic Games or world championships.

 

High school star Sadie Engelhardt aims for a bounce-back performance in the women’s 1,500 after running 4:18.10 at the Sound Running Track Fest. This will be her second of four meets to begin the season, with her next two at the HOKA Festival of Miles and Brooks PR Invitational in early June.

 

The men’s and women’s long jump will make a first-time appearance in meet history. Americans Cameron Crump and Will Williams headline the men’s competition; 2021 Olympic bronze medalist and African record holder Ese Brume of Nigeria headlines the women’s.

 

The other field event – shot put – includes 2024 Olympian Veronica Fraley and U.S. Olympic Trials finalists Jessica Ramsey and Jessica Woodard in the women’s competition. 

 

In more high school races, Dana Wilson, US#1 in the 100, aims to break 11 seconds for the first time in her career in the girls section. The Tennessee commit last ran at the Aggie Invitational on May 3, running 11.02 for the fourth-fastest time in prep history.

 

Maurice Gleaton Jr. leads the boys 100 field, eying another chance to go under 10 seconds after running 9.99 seconds at a district meet in Georgia.

 

Le’Ezra Brown is an overwhelming favorite in the boys 110 hurdles, owning a season’s best time of 13.21, nearly a second faster than the next best racer.

 

The Fast Break boys mile offers Bowen, who doubles back from the 3,200, a chance to go after the meet record as well as the Tennessee record of 4:01.75 held by Brodey Hasty. Bowen has run 4:05.21 so far this spring, good for US#8. 

 

Jameson Pifer and Vinay Raman are another pair ranked top 20 nationally in the mile at US#10 and #17, respectively. 

 

Lilly Beshears, Abigail Anstett and Calysta Garmer are the top-seeded entries in the Fast Break girls mile.