Girls Matchup of the Week: 

Our girls’ matchup of the week is set for the Joe Lenge Dublin Classic, featuring Dublin Coffman’s Minori Hudson, Hilliard Davidson’s Erica Kaulen, and Dublin Jerome’s Natalie Fouts in the 800m. Among the trio, Hudson is the most mid distance-oriented and holds the fastest personal best of 2:15.54.

However, she’ll be coming off the 1600  heading into this race. While neither Kaulen nor Fouts has broken 2:25 in the open 800, it’s safe to assume both have clocked faster times on 4x800 splits. Each leans more toward the 3200, with Kaulen earning Indoor All-Ohio honors and Fouts claiming an indoor state title. Both will enter this race fresh, although Fouts is scheduled to double back for the 3200, so she may look to conserve some energy. It’s a close matchup (which is exactly why we picked it as our featured race!), but if Fouts gives it her full effort, she’s my pick to win. If she ends up scratching or treating the race as a workout, I’d give the edge to Kaulen, who will be running fresh.

Boys Matchup of the Week: 

Our boys’ matchup of the week is at the Joe Lenge Dublin Classic, featuring Dublin Jerome’s Charlie Guerrera, Olentangy’s Ty Munroe, and Lancaster’s Brock Jarrett in the 800m. The frontrunner for this race is Munroe, as the 800 is his primary event. He was an indoor All-Ohioan and holds a personal best of 1:56.68. However, don’t count out Jarrett or Guerrera. Jarrett finished just one place behind Munroe at the indoor state meet, also earning All-Ohio honors, and owns a slightly faster personal best of 1:56.34.

Guerrera is the biggest question mark, as he rarely races the open 800. Still, his strength in the 1600—highlighted by a 4:09 personal best from last year—makes him a legitimate contender. His 4x800 relay team ran 7:45 during the indoor season, averaging about 1:56 per leg, which likely puts his split in the 1:55 range. It’ll be close, but I’m picking Munroe to come out on top. His excellent foot speed should give him the edge in what’s shaping up to be a warm day.