Florida’s High School Track and Field Championships run for two days, Friday, 1 May 2015, and Saturday, 2 May 2015. The nice thing about the Saturday session is that most people can catch all of the action without playing hooky from work. The class 3A competition takes place on Saturday, and here are some highlights of what’s coming up in those contests.

The action on the track opens at 9:00 AM with the class 3A girls’ 4 x 800-meter relay. Arrive early for this one so that you can see the Miami Northwestern girls. That relay team went 9:12.90 at the Florida Relays, the best in the state this year and the fifth best in the U.S. The Bulls won't be able to coast through this one, either; the Estero 4 x 800 girls that went 9:18.27 at Florida Relays will also be on the track

You won’t have to be in the stands long during Saturday afternoon’s finals to watch the best 110-meter hurdle artist in the state, Lincoln senior John Burt. Burt spent the 2014 season running behind another Tallahassee hurdler, Justin Cromartie of Chiles. Then Cromartie graduated, but Burt did more than just move into the top spot. In 2015 the Lincoln senior has been running faster than either he or Cromartie raced the previous year, his season-best a 13.56 at the 3A Region 1 meet at Chiles.

In 2014, Timetria Mitchell of Miami Northwestern won the 3A girls' 100-meter hurdles at the State Final, while Michelle Atherley of Port Charlotte finished third. Both athletes are back for a rematch in 2015. Atherly, now a senior, has the best time in Florida with a 13.61. Mitchell, a junior, has gone 13.64 this season. A bad start, a bumped hurdle, and this one could go either way.

Once they clear the hurdles off the track, you'll get a chance to see Charlotte senior Devin Quinn. Quinn has run 10.31 this season, the fastest by a Florida prep in 2015. Mainland junior Adrian Killins is a couple of meters behind him at 10.53, as is Ed White junior Javonte Ferguson at 10.54.

You could have a great State Final in the class 3A boys’ 1600 with just the athletes from the Region 1. Chiles senior Avery Bartlett won the regional title in a career-best 4:14.98, the best time in class 3A so far this year. Creekside senior David Cash Tampa turned in a 4:15.75, Leon senior and defending state champion Sukhi Khosla was third in 4:15.89, and Lee junior Dominic Williams placed fourth in 4:16.81. Now add to that Robinson senior Jack Rogers, who went 4:15.09 at the Florida Relays, and Merritt Island junior Steven Cross, who just ran a 4:18.09 PR at the 3A Region 4 meet. Khosla’s career best is a 4.05.96, but he hasn’t run anywhere near that this year and he’s hampered by an injury in his lower leg. Bartlett has had his own injury problems this season, but seems to be running well now. If Khosla returns to sub-4:10 form, I think he’ll repeat. If the race goes 4:10 to 4:15, Bartlett’s kick should earn him the title.

The 3A Region 1 girls also had a swift 1600 race, with Chiles Junior Emma Tucker winning in 5:03.96, St Augustine junior Kelly Aponte runner-up in 5:05.94, Chiles junior Alex Wallace third in 5:06.93, and Creekside frosh Tara Openshaw fourth in 5:08.76. However, 3A Region 3 champion Kristilin Gear finished ahead of both Aponte and Openshaw in the FSU Relays 1600, a race where Gear ran 4:59.71. No other girl in class 3A has broken 5:00 this year, making Gear the athlete to beat in the four-lap race.

After the 1600 runners have cleared the track, prepare for a North vs. South match-up in the 3A girls 4 x 100 meter relay, Miami Northwestern vs. Tallahassee Lincoln. The Northwestern girls won this event in 2014 and lead the state in 2015 with the 45.67 they ran at the Florida Relays, currently the third-best time in the U.S. Lincoln is third on the state lists and second in class 3A with the 46.49 they ran in the same race. No athlete and no relay team is unbeatable, though. At the 3A Region 1 meet, Oakleaf (47.51) and Pensacola (47.88) each put a team ahead of Lincoln (47.92). Perhaps one of those teams will be David to Northwestern’s Goliath.

In the boys 4 x 100-meter relay, South Fort Myers is the top-ranked team in Florida with a U.S. #9 40.99. However, the Wolf Pack faces some challengers from the north. Lincoln’s relay team is won 3A Region 1 in 41.28, and defeated the South Fort Myers squad in the FSU Relays 41.98 to 42.03. Leon High’s 4 x 100 squad finished behind Lincoln in the 3A Region 1 final, but went 41.18 in the prelims, the second-best time in class 3A this season. A bobbled baton could decide this one.

The class 3A girls 3200 championship race is shaping up into a match between two seniors, Elizabeth Mulford of Vanguard and Jessica Taylor of Creekside. Each athlete won their race in the Region with their season best times--11:05.86 for Mulford and 11:06.72 for Taylor. Neither athlete had the benefit of close competition in the Region. However, Mulford not only went slightly faster in her race, but the Vanguard runner has an even faster PR of 11:02.97 from 2014. It’s possibly Mulford’s race. It certainly going to be a good race.

Lookin at the Regional result in class 3A in the boys’ 3200, I’m reminded of a poker game where not a lot of cards are showing. In 3A Region 1, Leon senior Sukhi Khosla went 9:34.72. You wouldn’t guess that he had run 9:03.57 earlier in the season. Another Leon senior, Hunter Scott, ran 9:34.77, not the 9:20.38 he had posted a few weeks before. In 3A Region 3, Port Charlotte senior Tyler Fisher ran 9:36.81, concealing his ability to run 9:16.63. Each of these gamblers is going to have to play his hand on Saturday, though. By the end of eight laps, all the hole cards will be showing.