Keith Pompey: Time will tell who's tops in track & field
Six strong candidates have emerged this season in Southeastern Pa. competition.
Call me a track-and-field geek.
In the spring, I'm on my cell phone talking about the sport for hours. Once those conversations conclude, I'll usually view results on DyeStat.com, PennTrackXC.com, and Trackshark.com. Heck, I even have a DirecTV sports package partly to watch meets in places such as Texas and California.
You see, my addiction to track and field is incurable.
With the sport constantly occupying my brain, it's hard not to project who will become The Inquirer's Southeastern Pennsylvania boys' athlete of the year.
As one of the nation's premier half-milers, Central Bucks South's Tom Mallon appears to be the front-runner. But his selection is far from a lock.
Potential doesn't determine who will win the award. One has to produce on the biggest stage.
As a result, the selection won't be made until after the PIAA state track and field championships on May 22-23.
However, six guys have separated themselves from the pack.
If you haven't checked them out already, you should.
Five are scattered around the Pioneer Athletic Conference, and the Suburban One and Central Leagues. One can be found at Valley Forge Military Academy.
Call them the Superior Six.
Mallon, Lower Merion's Ben Furcht, Abington's Chris Morales, Valley Forge's Toddrick Darden, and Methacton's Carlton and Wes Lavong are having solid seasons.
Make it a point to see them compete in the coming weeks. You'll leave amazed.
Here's a look at the Superior Six (listed alphabetically).
TODDRICK DARDEN
School: Valley Forge Military
Specialty: Intermediate hurdles
Class: Senior
Highlights: Darden had the nation's eighth-fastest time, 54.17 seconds, in the 400-meter hurdles through Friday, according to DyeStat.com. He also headed into yesterday's Delco Championships with the state's second-fastest time, 38.64 seconds, in the 300 hurdles.
BEN FURCHT
School: Lower Merion
Specialty: Distance
Class: Senior
Highlights: Furcht placed second in last week's Penn Relays boys' 3,000 meters with the nation's second-best time of 8 minutes, 24.72 seconds. He is a favorite to win the 3,200 in the Class AAA portions of the PIAA District 1 and state meets.
CARLTON LAVONG
School: Methacton
Specialty: Long jump
Class: Junior
Highlights: Lavong won the boys' long jump in the Penn Relays with what was tied for the nation's sixth-best distance of 24 feet, 61/2 inches as of Friday. In the process, he became the first Southeastern Pennsylvanian to win the event.
WES LAVONG
School: Methacton
Specialty: Shot put
Class: Senior
Highlights: Lavong won last month's Taco Bell Classic with a heave of 62 feet, 5 inches. It was the country's 13th-best distance as of Friday.
TOM MALLON
School: Central Bucks South
Specialty: 800 meters
Class: Junior
Highlights: Mallon ran 1:52.02 to win Friday's Henderson Invitational 800 race. It was the nation's seventh-fastest open time in the country as of Friday. He also ran a 1:49.79 relay split during Central Bucks South's third-place finish in the Penn Relays' 4x800 Championship of America race.
CHRIS MORALES
School: Abington
Specialty: 400 meters
Class: Senior
Highlights: Morales shattered his Henderson Invitational meet record in the 400 by coasting in 48.33 seconds. He had a 46.9 relay split in Abington's first-place finish in the Penn Relays' 4x400 Philadelphia-area race.