National Scholastic Athletics Foundation

Evan Crowdus opened the boys competition Friday with a wire-to-wire win in the walk. Crowdus (Morganfield, KY) marched to an early lead, followed by Patrick Shaffer (Mt. Vernon, NY). Crowdus increased his lead on the second lap, with Taylor Burns (Scarborough, ME) about seven seconds behind. By the third lap, Burns was the only challenger, with the rest of the field lagging. Brian Andrew (Spartanburg, SC) by now has moved into third.

Heading into the final turn, the 5-10, 130-pound Crowdus maintained form as Burns began a surge. But Crowdus found another gear and rode home by himself in 7:13.79, the year's fastest prep performance. Second in 7:20.11 was Burns, with Michael Boucher (Ellsworth, ME) holding off Andrew for third. Boucher's time was 7:25.19 to 7:25.50 for Boucher.

Friday's race was only the third of the year for Crowdus, a sophomore at Union County (Ky.) High School and lives in Morganfield, about three hours west of Louisville. "Coming into the race, I knew I could be near the front," he said. "I didn't figure I'd lead the whole thing. I hadn't done a mile race in two years."

Crowdus's previous outings this season were a a 5k and a 10k, both on the road. "I run with my coach's daughters," drawled Crowdus, who is trained by Dr. Douglas Johnson. "I didn't start until four years ago."

Crowdus, 16, said he's competed at Junior Olympic nationals, finishing sixth two years ago and third in 2005.

No surprises, with the top seeds advancing to the final later Friday.

1st heat (-0.7) Charles Clark (Virginia Beach, VA) shaded Antonio Sales (Chapel Hill, NC), 10.74 to 10.77.

2nd heat (-1.9): Trey Harts (Lake Charles, LA) came from behind and pulled away in the last 30 meters to win in 10.78.

3rd heat (-1.0): Harry Adams (Ft. Lauderdale, FL), clad in all black, pulled away at 50 meters to finish in 10.59, Second was Jamil Benjamin (Cumberland, NJ) in 10.82.

4th heat (-1.8): Brandon Banks (Garner, NC) too an early lead and held throughout, winning in 10.59. Brandon Saine (Piqua, OH) took second in 10.76 with James Nixon (New Haven, CT) a close third in 10.80.

Reaching the final were Clark, Sales, Harts, Adams, Benjamin, Banks, Saine and Nixon.

Brandon Banks started running track to stay in shape for football. Now the senior from Garner, N.C., High School is the Nike Outdoor Champion. Banks was the second member of his family to win at the meet - by only a few minutes.

"I've never made a push like that," said Banks. "I've never seen me do that before so it was amazing. I've been training really hard, so I guess it does really pay off."

After two false starts, Banks and sophomore Harry Adams (Fort Lauderdale, FL) got out well and were running side-by-side in lanes four and five. At the midway point, Banks had a slight lead. He held on to finish first in 10.42 with Adams a close second in 10.45.

Third was Charles Clark (Virginia Beach, VA) in 10.58, with junior Brandon Saine (Piqua, OH) a shade behind in 10.60.

Banks' time tied for seventh on the current national prep list. "I started out wanting to play football and using track to stay in shape," Banks told North Carolina A&T sports information director Brian Holloway. "But track will probably pay for college, because football doesn't like my size. It's funny how things work out."

Earlier Friday, the girls 100 meter title went to Banks's half-sister, Gabby Mayo, who leaped into Brandon's arms right after his win. Mayo and Banks have the same father and live in the same house in Garner, a Raleigh suburb.

Banks just graduated from Garner High School while Gabby just competed her junior year at Southeast Raleigh, a magnet school.

Friday's win at the Nike meet was his second this year at Irwin Belk Track. "I love this track," he said. "I ran here last year and I won State here… I always do well here.

"This is a great day for me. It will give me the national recognition I need. When I first came here, no one knew who I was. Now, I'm an All-American. That's big!"

Brandon Banks, Friday's 100m champion, and Ohio state 200m winner Darrin Conley were among the casualties in Saturday's qualifying round.

1st heat (-0.8): Trey Harts (Lake Charles, LA) got out very quickly in lane four to win in 21.31.

2nd heat (-2.1): Banks (New Bern, NC) got a quick start. But Charles Clark (Virginia Beach, VA) came down the stretch in a hurry, passing Banks for first in 21.34. Banks was a non-qualifying second in 21.50.

3rd heat (-0.6): Brandon Spradley (Saraland, AL), running in lane three, was a surprise winner in 21.64. Conley, expected to make Saturday's final, wound up fifth in 21.91 and failed to advance.

4th heat (-0.5): Antonio Sales (East Chapel Hill, NC) passed muscular Brandon Saine (Piqua, OH) in the waning meters to win in 21.48. Saine settled for second in 21.49.

5th heat (-0.8): Jeffrey Smith came up fast at the finish to win in 21.24. Terrill McCombs (Greenbelt, MD), who led most of the way, was second in 21.32 with Antoine McNeil (New Bern, NC) third in 21.42.

Qualifiers for the final are Smith, Harts, Clark, Sales, Spradley, McCombs, McNeil and Saine. Clark took fourth in this event in 2005.

Riding a terrific start, Charles Clark (Virginia Beach, VA), last year's fourth-place finisher, ran to victory this time around in 20.92.

Clark led wire to wire, throwing his hands skyward in exaltation at the finish. His winning time was just a click off his personal record, 20.91. Clark was third in Friday's 100 meter final.

Jeffrey Smith (Kingston, MA) staged a late burst of speed to claim second in 21.15 with Trey Harts (Lake Charles, LA) third in 21.22. Harts was fifth in the 100 on Friday.

The wind reading for the race was 0.3 into a headwind.

"I knew I was coming in here and do well, but I had no idea I'd do this well," said Clark. "This has been an unbelievable weekend. I can't even put it into words. To come in here and walk away with two national championships [Clark anchored his team's victorious 800 meter sprint medley relay earlier in the day] is something I wouldn't believe, if you had told me it would happen two weeks ago. "I finished in the third in the 100, so that makes it even more remarkable."

Led by J.T. Scheuerman, four runners dipped below 47-seconds in one of the day's top races. Scheuerman (Littleton, CO) and future Baylor teammate LaGerald Betters (Waco, TX), last year's runnerup, were expected to duke it out for the one-lap crown.

Betters, decked out in red, and Tabarie Henry (Hallandale, FL), running in lane seven, had very good starts. Coming around the final turn it was junior Brandon Saine (Piqua, OH) in command, followed by Scheuerman and Betters.

Scheuerman, wearing black, grabbed the lead on the straightaway and was never headed. He won in 46.40, while Henry's spirited performance earned him the runnerup spot in 46.51. Betters was third in 46.60, followed by Saine in 46.73.

Scheuerman, the national leader at 46.23, won three sprint titles (100, 200, 400) and anchored the winning 4x200 meter relay squad at the Colorado state meet.

Cory Primm and Ryan Waite came here with the nation's top two times this season. Primm (Westlake Village, CA), a junior, had run 1:50.53 while the Oregon-bound Waite (St. Helens, OR) had a 1:50.67 clocking.

Almost overlooked in lane one of the fast section was 2006 Nike Indoor champ Karjuan Williams (New Bern, NC). Bothered all season by hamstring problems, Williamshad tried to come back too soon and failed to qualify for his state meet.

Running on familiar turf, Williams proved he's back. The Texas Tech recruit took an early lead and finished first in a sizzling 1:49.97 to take over as the year's quickest prep.

Williams and Primm took the field through the first 200 meters in 25.5. At the halfway mark it was Williams in 52.3, followed by Primm and Waite. With 200 meters to go, Williams and Primm began to leave the field behind, passing the 600 meter mark in 1:19.6.

When Williams kicked, nobody went with him. On the homestretch, Waite caught Primm for second place, 1:50.92 to 1:52.30.

"It means a lot, to win this meet in particular," said Williams, the 2005 runnerup when he ran for St. Augustine's in New Orleans - before last autumn's hurricanes drove him out of Louisiana and to the Tarheel State. "I wanted to come back and claim what was rightfully mine. But there again, it's not yours until you win it."

Williams admitted to being intimidated here a year ago. "I was mad with myself, because some of those guys I had never heard of," he said. "It taught me not to worry about the competition. You just have to run your own race."

The final standings showed Williams in first place, followed by Joseph Franklin (Tallahassee, FL) in 1:50.92, Waite in third place, Lamar Davis (New Bern, NC) fourth in 1:51.17.Franklin was the winner in section four of six, while Davis won the fifth section. Primm's time was good for tenth place.

Michael Coe, a California signee from Cabrillo High School in Lompoc and the Nike Indoor two-mile champ, won the NON mile crown with a time of 4:08.21.

A bunched field took the first 400 meters in 65.4 and by the halfway mark, surprising Jameson Bilsborrow (Coldwater, NY) was in the lead with Chad Hall (Big Bear City, CA) and Ben Hubers (Powder Springs, GA) in the top three spots. A 62-second second leg put Hall in front, with Coe moving up to fourth on the backstretch as the pace quickened.

Coe surged at the bell to lead a seven-man pack. With about 200 meters to go, Oregon-bound Kenny Klotz (Portland, OR) moved into the lead. But Coe kicked heading into the straightaway, and no one could answer except junior Ayalew Taye (Ashburnham, MA), this year's Nike Indoor mile champ. The pair left the field behind, Ayalew taking second in 4:08.50. Coe's split for the last 400 was 58.3.

Third in 4:09.76 was Hubers.

"I like being No. 1," said Coe. "The time was a little slower than I would have guessed going in, but I really don't care about the time today, just getting to the No. 1 spot means everything to me.

Coe said the season hasn't gone smoothly for him. "I had some really good times indoors during the year," he continued. "I felt like I was on top of the world, and then I some rough times. But I just kept my confidence up. As a runner, you have your good days and your bad days.

Coe, who was second at the California state meet this month, was bothered by illness earlier this season. "But you take those lumps and move on," he said. "I see high school as a stepping stone. I want to have a really good college career and qualify for the Olympics. If you want to do that, you can't let every pitfall stop you.

Saturday's closed out Coe's prep career. "In the last two weeks I didn't do that much in the way of training. I just took it real easy, I didn't run very many miles because this is it. I wanted to keep my legs fresh, and it worked. I think they said I closed in 1:57. I've never done that before."

Nine contestants ran under nine minutes and A.J. Acosta and Matt Tebo duplicated their one-two finish at the Arcadia Invitational in a tight race.

Acosta (Oceanside, CA), the favorite, took an early lead and set a slow pace, passing through the first 400 in about 1:06.9. After a 2:10.5 half-mile, Tebo (Albuquerque, NM) took the lead and quickened the pace a bit, with Acosta right on his shoulder and junior Mike Cybulski (Simi Valley, CA) in third place.

Acosta retook the lead with less than five laps remaining. Cybulski was second with Matt Centrowitz (Arnold, MD) moving into third. With four laps left it was Acosta, Cybulski, Centrowitz, Evan Jager (Algonquin, IL), Tebo and Mark Mirault (Westwood, MA) at the front of a lead pack of 12.

Cybulski was back in third with three laps to go. With two laps left, Acosta and Cybulski began to put some daylight between themselves and the rest of the field.

Acosta began to pull away on the bell lap and kicked on the backstretch. By the final turn there was no doubt about the outcome. Acosta finished in 8:46.32, followed by Tebo in 8:47.29 with Jager third in 8:50.42.

First through sixth place in Friday's race take over the top six spots on the current prep 2-mile list.

"I talked to a couple of guys before the race about sharing the lead," Acosta explained. "But what ended up happening is, I felt good and no one wanted to take charge. So I just took over. I just ran even splits all the way through and was able to pretty much run the way I wanted to.

Acosta said he's not done yet. "I still have a couple of more races, so I'm looking forward to running some fast times, hanging out with my friends and getting better before I go to college."

Acosta, who heads to Indianapolis next week for the U.S. Junior Championships, will enter the University of Oregon this fall.

Darryl Reynolds (New Bern, NC) was a no-show in the first heat and Jeffrey Julmes (Fort Lauderdale, FL) went out on a false start in heat two. Other than that, everything else went according to Hoyle.

1st heat (-1.3): Delson Isom (Harrisburg, PA) won in 14.09, followed by Charlton Rolle (Winston-Salem, NC) in 14.19.

2nd heat (-0.4): Cordera Jenkins (Dickinson, TX) finished first handily in 13.99. Will Brown (Palmyra, NJ) was second in 14.23

3rd heat (-1.2): Oscar Spurlock (Dallas, TX) showed why he's the No. 1 U.S. Prep. The Texas 5A champ had a great start and finished first in 14.11.

4th heat (-0.2): Johnny Dutch (Clayton, NC) held off the late-charging Carrington Queen (Boothwyn, PA) in the day's fastest race. Dutch finished in 13.82 to 13.90 for Queen.

5th heat (-0.9): Josh Hembrough took a slight lead about midway through the race and held on to finish first in 14.22.

Advancing to Saturday's final are Isom, Rolle, Jenkins, Brown, Spurlock, Dutch, Queen and Hembrough.

Johnny Dutch, disqualified earlier after a first-place finish in the intermediates, scored a triumph in the high hurdles.

By the fifth hurdle in was Dutch, the junior from Clayton, N.C., and Texas A&M recruit Cordera Jenkins (Dickinson, TX), running side-by-side in lanes four and five. Dutch took a lead over the next-to-last hurdle and held off Jenkins for a win in 13.54.

The race was run into a 1.6 mps headwind.

"I hope it's a official this time," said Dutch. "They had two violations saying my trail leg went around the hurdle. I didn't think my disqualification was official until I saw the revised sheet. So at that point, I had to have a fresh mind, I couldn't think about anything else except this race.

Getting ready for the 110m hurdles was difficult after the DQ, said Dutch. "It's very hard to prepare after something like that," he explained. "Like I said earlier, you train all this time for a few seconds, and to have it taken away is tough. You only get a couple of times to run against the best in the nation, so you have to make the best of it. That's what I wanted to do in this race."

Third was Will Brown (Palmyra, NJ) in 13.97 with Texas 5A champ Oscar Spurlock fourth in 14.01.

Carrington Queen (Boothwyn, PA), the 2005 runnerup, was seventh this time around in 14.23

Johnny Dutch, hoping for a double at the Nike Outdoors, finished first in 50.97. Dutch, the junior from Clayton, N.C., received the championship medal on the awards stand.

But when Dutch was disqualified after hooking four hurdles, Trey Charles (Marietta, GA) became the 2006 Nike Outdoor intermediate hurdles champion.

Dutch and New Jersey state champ Shaquan Brown (Paterson, NJ) had great starts, but by the 200 meter mark Dutch had a clear lead. Charles, running in lane two, surged on the curve and challenged Dutch heading toward the final barrier. Dutch took the last hurdle and left Charles behind. Brown came back strong on the straightaway to take third.

After the DQ, the results showed Charles in first place at 51.56, Brown second 51.68 and Thomas Oatts (Knoxville, TN) third in 52.74.

"I expected to win because I always do battle with Johnny," said Charles. "Sometimes I win, sometimes he wins, so it usually goes back and forth. If I had come in second, I wouldn't have felt bad."

Dutch, the fastest qualifier in the 110 meter hurdles Friday, will try look for redemption in the high sticks in approximately ninety minutes.

Darryl Reynolds (New Bern), runnerup to Dutch at the North Carolina state meet, was a scratch. Reynolds also bowed out of Friday's qualifying rounds in the high hurdles.

Greg Kelsey pulled away from Ryan McDermott and Taylor Morgan on the final lap and thundered down the homestretch for a win in 6:02.13.

Kelsey (Saratoga, NY), a Maryland signee, came in as the national leader in the 3000 meter steeplechase (9:16.25). His winning time Saturday in 6:02.13 ranks second on the current prep list behind the 5:54.4 by McDermott (Mineola, NY).

"I wanted to stay smart and not go out too fast," said Kelsey. "Last year at this meet, I got out way too quick and died at the end. This year I just sat behind whoever jumped out in the lead, and then at the middle race I put in a surge and tried to keep it as long as I could."

Second was McDermott in 6:05.50, followed by Morgan (Portland, OR), third with a time of 6:06.29.

"Words can't express how I feel right now," said an ebullient Kelsey. "I know I'm running really smart races because I haven't made the same mistakes I used to make."

Relying on crisp, safe handoffs, Team Texas - better known as Eisenhower High School of Houston, Texas - posted the quickest time of the qualifying rounds with a mark of 40.82.

1st heat: Manchester (VA) High School took first in 41.71 while Karjuan Williams, who starred earlier Friday in the sprint medley relay, ran the lead leg as Track Eastern (New Bern, NC, HS) finished second in 41.74. Third place went to New Haven, CT, in 42.21.

2nd heat: Cahokia (IL) High School was first in 41.47, with Des Moines West (IA) Valley High second in 42.12. Third place went to the Four Brothers (Arundel HS, Bladensburg, MD) in 42.79.

3rd heat: The Bulldog Striders (Simon Gratz High School, Philadelphia, PA) finished first in 42.21 with runnerup Potomac (Dumfries, MD) High School posting a time of 42.21

4th heat: Gold-clad Team Texas led from start to finish. Their winning time was just 77-hundredths off their season best of 40.05, the top prep mark in the country. Second was Trotwood (OH) TC in 41.57.

Qualifiers for Saturday's final are Team Texas, Cahokia, Manchester, Bulldog Striders, Trotwood TC, Track Eastern, Des Moines West Valley and Potomac.

With the eyes of Texas - and the nation - upon them, Eisenhower High School of Houston, competing as Team Texas, blazed to another victory at the Nike Outdoor Nationals.

The Texans, national high leaders at 40.05, teamed up Saturday for a 40.84 clocking. Team Texas had a great start, thanks to excellent handoffs on the first and second exchange.

But Cahokia, Ill., High School kept within striking distance through the first three legs. On the anchor leg, the Texans - dressed in black for Saturday's final - put the race away and Cahokia had to settle for second with a time of 41.43.

Team Texas won with a lineup of Randy Johnson, Otis Johnson, Frankie Eugene and Brandon Myers the same foursome who won Friday's 4x200.

"We came out here and handled our business," said Myers. "We didn't run like we wanted to, because we were running all year so we were pretty tired."

Third place went to West Des Moines (Iowa) Valley High School in 41.68.

Randy Johnson, Otis Johnson, Frank Eugene and Brandon Myers.

Friday's action concluded with the 4x2, which featured a distinguished field. As expected, Team Texas (also known as Eisenhower High School of Houston, Texas) won the event with a time of 1:25.19.

It was the second race of the day for the Texans, who qualified earlier for Saturday's 4x100 relay. Team Texas fielded a lineup of Randy Johnson, Otis Johnson, Frank Eugene and Brandon Myers. On the third leg, the Texans made up the stagger on lane eight.

Illinois state champ Cahokia was second in 1:26.35 with Trotwood (OH) TC third in 1:26.52. J.W. North (Riverside, CA) placed third in 1:26.94 as four teams dipped under 1:27.

J.W. North High School of Riverside, Calif., the national leader at 3:10.36, staged a late rally to come from behind for a victory. The Californians' winning time was 3:12.32, followed by Rollin' Thunder (Hallandale, FL) in 3:13.10 and Trotwood (OH) Track Club in 3:13.74.

In the early going, North, Trotwood, West Des Moines (IA) Valley and Rollin' Thunder all took turns in front. At the bell, it was Rollin' Thunder, the Iowans and North in the top three spots.

North's anchor, Junior Nevin Gutierrez, put them in in second place on the final turn, then passed Rollin' Thunder on the straightaway to cap off a strong comeback.

North's lineup was Reggie Wyatt, Ennis Jones, Tim Sebastian and Gutierrez, who registered a 49.1 for the conclusive 400 meters.

"When you think about this being a national meet, it's big," said Wyatt. "All kinds of athletes from all over the country are here, and you're consider the best in the United States. You really don't realize how big it is until you put in those words."

Sebastian agreed. "It means a lot because everyone across the nation sees it as the best of the best," he said. "We didn't get out as quickly as we wanted to, so we had to pick it up at the end. When we saw the second heat ran a 3:14, it kind of worried us. We haven't consistently been under 3:14 all year."

Of his leadoff leg - a 49.1 split, Wyatt felt the key was his start. "I just had to get out hard," he said, "but I didn't want to get out too hard and not have any energy left. I wanted to catch up the stagger. Once I did that, I just wanted to pace myself until it was time to explode."

Warwick Valley (NY) improved on its national-leading time Friday night with a decisive victory.

The Warwick Valley squad Patrick Gallagher, Louis Tafuto, Mike Segal and Mike Mark came to the Nike Outdoor meet with a season best of 7:38.3. The New Yorkers were up against a quality field that included the season's No. 3 and No. 4 teams, Bishop Chatard (Indianapolis, IN) and Kroy (York HS, Elmhurst, IL).

Monsignor Farrell (Staten Island, NY) took an early lead and led through the first 800 meters. At the first exchange it was Farrell, Kroy and Warwick Valley. On the second leg, Warwick moved into second place. Kroy took over second place with Farrell dropping back. Byram Hills HS (Armonk, NY) moved up into third, followed by Bishop Chatard. Tafuto ran a 1:52.4 split on West Valley's second leg.

At the second exchange it was Segal of Warwick Valley and Kroy's Matthew Dettman with a slight lead on the rest of the field, with Rob Gordon of Farrell in third. Warwick Valley led at the final exchange, thanks to Segal's 1:55.2 split, with Kroy second and Farrell in third place.

With 400 meters to go, it came down to Warwick Valley and Kroy, followed by a pack of three. On the final turn, Nick Kuczwara of Kroy was in dogged pursuit of Warwick Valley's Mark. Mark began to pull away coming into the final turn. His 1:52.7 split gave Warwick Valley the win in 7:36.96.

Kroy also dipped under with 7:40 mark, finishing second in 7:38,35. Stark Street AC (Central Catholic HS, Portland, OR) moved up for third place in 7:40.68. Bishop Chatard was fifth in 7:40.74, followed by Farrell (7:43.06) and Byram Hills (7:44.19).

Fayetteville-Manlius (Manlius, NY) High School put together the year's fastest time with a victory over Royal High (Simi Valley, CA). The Californians had the season best, 17:19.31, coming into the Nike Outdoor Nationals.

The Fayetteville-Manlius foursome of Geoff King, John Heron, Owen Kimple and Tommy Gruenewald bettered the five-year-old meet record of 17:20.92 by Novi, Mich.

"This is an awesome feeling," said Gruenewald. "You're talking about the best in the country, and we came out on top."

The mile relay opened Saturday's competition at North Carolina A&T's Irwin Belk Track, and Heron's leg proved decisive. Midway through the race, the senior was running side-by-side with Jayson Decker of Morris Hills (Rockaway, NJ). But Heron opened a lead on his final lap, and by the time Gruenewald got the stick the outcome was academic.

"I thought we kept a good pace for most of the race," said Gruenewald. "We talked about not getting out too early, but waiting to see how slow everyone was going to start out. Once everyone started picking up the pace, we were ready."

Royal High passed Morris Hills to claim third with a time of 17:27.72. The New Jersey squad settled for third in 17:30.18.

Warwick Valley, Kroy and Fayetteville-Manlius, distance running doyens at the Nike Indoor and Outdoor Championships, hooked up for one last go-round at the 2006 meet.

A convincing win for Kroy (York High School, Elmhurst, IL) closed down the championships not with a yawn, but a rousing hurrah as the Illini squad won in 10:00.37, the year's fastest time. Second was Fayetteville-Manlius (Manlius, NY) in 10:04.39 with Warwick Valley (NY) third in 10:05.26. Saturday's top six times became the top half-dozen performances on the year's high school list.

Kroy turned the tables on Warwick Valley after the New Yorkers beat the Illinois squad in Friday's 4x800 relay.

By 1600 meters it was a two-team race between Warwick Valley and Kroy. By the second lap of the 800 meter leg, Kroy had a 10-meter lead. By the first lap of the anchor leg, Eric Dettman stretched Kroy's edge to 40 meters.

With the outcome no longer in doubt, Tommy Gruenewald - who anchored Fayetteville-Manlius's winning 4xMile team Saturday morning - began to battle Warwick Valley's Mike Segal for second place.

At the bell, Gruenewald was right on Segal's shoulder. Segal pulled away slightly at the backstretch, but heading into the straightaway Gruenewald zipped past Segal to give Fayetteville-Manlius the silver medal.

Gruenewald finished with a gallant 4:12.1 leg.

Kroy's order was Matthew Dettman, Dan Palmer, Nick Kuczwara and Eric Dettman. "I'm in ecstasy right now," said Eric. "We've been so close so many times - sophomore and junior year come to mind. There have been so many races that came down to the wire where we got nipped at the end. I couldn't be happier."

The Kroy anchorman praised Palmer, who ran second. "He made it happen," said Eric. "He got us back in it and that's how we started rolling. This year he came out of his shell and won the state title in the quarter, and he's become good - really good.

Dettman said there was no way he would allow himself to be caught on the final lap. "I just waited until about the last 150 and I brought home," he said. "I slowed down to make sure I had something at the end. I looked back one time, and I knew we had it."

Bayside Track Club (Virginia Beach, VA) held off a late surge by DeMatha High School (Hyattsville, MD) to win in 1:29.86.

Northwestern High School (Miami, FL), which came to Greensboro with the top seed time, took an early lead. By the third exchange it was Bayside and DeMatha, with the Bulldog Striders (Simon Gratz High School, Philadelphia, PA) mounting a challenge around the final turn.

DeMatha anchor Jeremy Samuels pressed Bayside's Charles Clark on the homestretch, but the Virginian was up to the challenge. DeMatha settled for the runnerup spot in 1:30.16 with the Bulldog Striders third in 1:30.91.

"We pretty much knew we were going to come in here and give all we had," said Clark, "because we had no chance to win the 4x1 [Bayside failed to get out of Friday's qualifying round]. We knew we could win this race with the talent we have. We calculated everyone's personal best, and when our coach saw that, he said, 'You guys just go out there and do it!'"

Bayside fielded a team of Danny Herbert, Jamal Johnson, Oliver Alexander and Clark.

New Bern, N.C., High School, competing here as Track Eastern, cruised to the fourth-fastest time in prep history with a 3:22.47 performance. Karjuan Williams' excellent performance on the 400m leg put the Tarheel squad in the lead.

Defending champ Simon Gratz High School (Philadelphia, PA), running as the Bulldog Striders, led after the first two 200-meter legs thanks to the Talley twins, Kenneth - distinguishable by his Mohawk - and Kevin. Williams got the baton in second place behind Khaliff Featherstone, but a 46.6 split put New Bern ahead for good.

At the finish it was New Bern, followed by Simon Gratz in 3:25.19, with the Blazin' Raiders (Greenbelt, MD) third in 3:28.26.

New Bern's splits were 22.3 for Kelvin Hardesty, 21.0 for Rigdon Whitfield, 46.6 for Williams and 1:52.4 for Darryl Reynolds.

Previously, the year's fastest prep time was 3:26.36 by A&M Consolidated (College Station, TX) at the Texas Relays on April 7.

Bo Taylor, winner of Sunday's Golden West title in Folsom, Calif., claimed his second title of the week here. The UCLA-bound Taylor took over the lead from Eric Werksey (Seymour, IN) with a third-round throw of 200-1 and fouled on his last two tries.

"It's great," said Taylor. "It's a national championship. It's hard to top that."

In the final round, Nick Robinson (Lake Forest, CA) picked off Werksey with a heave of 193-5. Werksey's 187-8 was good for third place. "I pulled away on my first two throws," said Robinson. On my third throw - my best throw - I followed all the way through and got the win."

The 6-4, 240-pound Taylor, second at this year's California state meet, is the national leader at 213-7. His series Friday was 187-9, foul, 200-1, 194-4, foul, foul.

"It took a lot of practice," said Taylor. "My technique has changed a little bit. I'm starting to get the hang of it and it's really helping me out. I tried to approach it like I approach other events. I come in relaxed, get a good throw off and go from there."

Walter Henning, the prohibitive favorite in this event, found himself in big trouble after two rounds. The junior from St. Anthony's High School in South Huntington, N.Y., had fouled on his first two tries. One throw was all that stood between him and a major upset. Henning made that throw count, advancing to the final with a third-round measurement of 227-2. The effort vaulted him, David Schiedt (Marietta, GA), the leader through the first two rounds.

It was Henning's show the rest of the way. He increased his advantage with a 239-0 toss in the fourth round. After a fifth-round foul, Henning unleashed a throw of 247-0 that stretched his lead to 34-feet, three-inches.

It also gave him the meet record. The previous Nike Outdoor standard came in 1999, when Rhode Island's Jacob Freeman threw 242-9.

Schiedt came in second with a best of 212-9 while Michael Zajac (Lynchburg, VA), placed third with a 208-0 measurement.

Donte Nall's win was hardly unexpected. After all, the senior from Chapel Hill High School in Douglasville, Ga., was the lone seven-footer in this year's Nike Outdoor meet.

What did raise a few eyebrows was the tenacious challenge by Darrell Roddick of Fort Dorchester High School in Charleston, S.C.

Roddick came in with a best of 6-7. When Nall took two attempts at 6-6.25, Roddick - who needed one attempt - found himself atop the standings. Both cleared 6-8.25 on their first tries. When the bar reached 6-10.25, Nall's experience came through. Nall sailed over the bar on his first jump, while Roddick needed three attempts.

Both missed on all three jumps at 7-0.25 to decide the outcome. Justin Frick (Freehold, NJ), a Princeton signee, and Justin Oliver (Pennsauken, NJ) tied for third place at 6-8.25.

"I didn't know what to expect," said Nall, "because I had a bad pain going through my knee, and I've been thinking about it since I got here on Thursday. But I couldn't let that stop it. I had to do my thing. I just focused. I couldn't come out here and have it on my mind. You have to do what you know you can do and let things happen the way they happen.

"My junior I pulled my hamstring, so it took me some time to get my confidence back. On May 1 in Mobile I jumped seven feet and I knew I was back from there."

Nall plans to enter North Carolina this fall.

"My strategy coming into the meet was not to throw too much," said Michael Moody, the previously unheralded winner of the javelin competition. Moody's first-round toss of 198-10 stood up, giving the senior from North Yarmouth Academy (Portland, Maine) a surprise victory. Moody bettered his previous best, 194-7, by four feet, three inches.

Preston Chatham (Covington, LA), who came in with the best seed mark (210-2), wound up second. The LSU signee turned in a 197-8 mark, also on his first try. Third place went to Justin Shirk (Harrisburg, PA), who threw 196-3 in the second round.

"I needed to relax and bring down my adrenaline a little bit," Moody told North Carolina A&T sports information director Brian Holloway, "because I just had states on Tuesday. I've used the last two days to recover. I don't know if competing back-to-back like that was an advantage today. I'm just glad I didn't compete yesterday."

A convert to spear competition, Moody was tickled by his surprising triumph. "This feels good, considering I used to be a sprinter," he said. "I got hurt, so I went to the javelin and it's been good to me."

Keenan Hall (Indianapolis, IN) popped a wind-aided 24-6.5 mark on his second attempt and rode it to victory. Hall, a recent graduate of Ben Davis High School, matched his season best from the Indiana state meet, where he also finished on top.

"This is a very fast track, so I just wanted to make sure I took advantage," said Hall. "My goal was to win the state title, but to win here means I'm among an elite group of long jumpers."

Hall, who missed the Indiana state meet record by one and a quarter inches, said he's a relative newcomer to the event. "I never did the long jump because there were guys who were always in front of me. So I just started practicing on the side, and I became good at it.

Hall finished fourth in the 300 meter hurdles at the state championships and ran a leg on the winning 4x400 meter relay.

Marlon Woods (Norfolk, VA) leaped a legal 23-7.5 in the third round, which gave him the runnerup spot.

Clyde Young (Cahokia, IL) was third with a best of 22-11.25 , also made with legal, non-aiding wind. Young got the nod on the countback over teammate Kali Jackson, Friday's triple jump champ. Jackson wound up fourth with an identical measurement, also legal.

Keith Graham (Charleston, SC), third in this event last year, finished seventh this time around with a jump of 22-1.5.

The Fourth of July doesn't come around for another seventeen days, but the event provided plenty of fireworks… and surprises.

Mike Morrison, a future Florida Gator from Chesapeake, Va., who took second at the 2005 Nike Outdoors, set a meet record with a winning vault of 17-3.

Jordan Scott (Watkinsville, GA) and junior Spencer McCorkel (Bryant, AR), both with previous 17-foot clearances, took second and third. Scott cleared 16-11 while McCorkel went 16-7.25.

Defending champ Scott Roth (Granite Bay, CA) never got untracked Saturday. The Washington signee wound up eighth with a 15-11.25 clearance. The old meet record, 17-2.25, was set by Roth a year ago.

"I've been second place the last three years at Nike, so I came in today wanting finally get over that hump," said Morrison. "And I'm so glad I finally did it. It's great to come into a meet with the greatest pole vaulters in the country and be able to compete well and win it.

Morrison blamed weather conditions for the low heights by much of the field. "I think today everyone had a tough time adjusting," he said. "I think the wind may have kept the heights down a little bit. I've been consistent at 17 feet. I hit 17-feet indoors, and kept improving until I hit 17-6 1/2 three weeks ago at a regional meet. That was huge confidence booster for me."

In one of the day's biggest upsets, junior Benjamin Stephen of Union County High School in Liberty, Ind., conquered a strong field for the shot put crown.

Stephen, who finished second at his state meet, took the lead with a third-round heave of 19.60. Stephen's mark knocked Andrew Oaker (Steelville, MO), the nation's No. 3 prep performer, down to second place.

Stephen iced the event with a 65-0 personal best on his last attempt. Oaker wound up second with UCLA recruit Bo Taylor (Newport Beach, CA), Friday's discus winner, third in 62-1.25.

U.S. leader Eric Flores (Custer, SD) never approached his season best of 67-4.5. Flores only mustered a 61-9.5 in the fifth round and fouled four times.

"To win a national meet as a junior is unbelievable," gushed Stephen. "I always thought I'd make it here, but I never thought I'd win it. I knew I had a chance, but I never thought I'd pull it off. But I can't believe it."

Stephen said his performance at the Indiana state meet in Bloomington this month gave him confidence. "I PRed by four feet," he said. "At that point, I knew I had a chance to win a national meet."

As expected, Kali Jackson and Gary Jones took the top two places in the hop, skip and jump. Jackson (Cahokia, IL), had a third-round leap of 50-6.75, which held up for the win, and Jones's 50-4.5 on his fourth attempt to decide the outcome.

"I knew there was a chance he would jump 50-feet with me," said Jackson, "so I was prepared to go the distance. I had some pretty good approaches down the runway, so I knew if I could get another beyond 50 feet he might have a hard time topping it."

Jackson, a Wallace State recruit, is the national leader at 52-5.75. Jones (Webster, NY) stands third on the current prep list at 51-5.25. Even though it was no surprise, the triumph thrilled Jackson. "This is excellent for me to be here," he said, "and to have a chance to win a Nike championship is awesome. It gives the recognition I need to achieve."

Third in Friday's competition with a 49-10 effort was Keith Graham (Charleston, SC), who duplicated his 2005 Nike Outdoor Nationals finish. All marks were made with legal, non-aiding wind.