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Are we really only ten days from the start of the 2021 outdoor Track & Field season? Here are my two best bets for state titles from Cincinnati:

Nathan Mountain, St. Xavier:
He won the 3,200 meters at the OATCCC State Indoor Finale in 8:56.96, the second best time in the nation according to MileSplit USA.

Alex Justus, Kings: He won the 800 meters at the OATCCC State Indoor Championship with a time of 1:52.49, the second-fastest 800-meter in the nation according the MileSplit USA
 
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Assuming the athletes are all healthy, my best bets would be Justin Braun in the 400 and Paige Floriea in the long jump.
 
I usually wait until after the season to update the top 25 rankings, but yes, his current best places him second on the list.
 
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Are we really only ten days from the start of the 2021 outdoor Track & Field season? Here are my two best bets for state titles from Cincinnati:

Nathan Mountain, St. Xavier:
He won the 3,200 meters at the OATCCC State Indoor Finale in 8:56.96, the second best time in the nation according to MileSplit USA.

Alex Justus, Kings: He won the 800 meters at the OATCCC State Indoor Championship with a time of 1:52.49, the second-fastest 800-meter in the nation according the MileSplit USA

Mountain PRs in in the mile 4:11.76 https://in.milesplit.com/meets/416488-flashes-showcase-miracle-mile-2021/results/733406/formatted
 
Are we really only ten days from the start of the 2021 outdoor Track & Field season? Here are my two best bets for state titles from Cincinnati:

Nathan Mountain, St. Xavier:
He won the 3,200 meters at the OATCCC State Indoor Finale in 8:56.96, the second best time in the nation according to MileSplit USA.

Alex Justus, Kings: He won the 800 meters at the OATCCC State Indoor Championship with a time of 1:52.49, the second-fastest 800-meter in the nation according the MileSplit USA
Your Cincinnati/SW Ohio bias is showing, Lancer.

In my mind, a "best bet" label should be reserved for those that are clearly heads above the competition. While Nathan Mountain is clearly an outstanding athlete, and will more than likely be one of the favorites in the 3200, let's not anoint him the champion just yet. Don't forget that Uniontown Lake's Nathan Moore beat Mountain this past fall at the state meet by nearly 30 seconds, for whatever that is worth. Additionally, Moore soloed a 9:10.98, to win by nearly a minute, at last weekend's Dover Invitational. And Mountain beat Moore by less than a second in the OATCCC 3200 indoor championship as both went under 9:00. Moore is a big-time runner and it will not be surprising at all if he takes the 3200 crown.

Assuming the athletes are all healthy, my best bets would be Justin Braun in the 400 and Paige Floriea in the long jump.

As with Mountain, I would not yet anoint Braun as the 400 champion. He will have plenty of competition from Canal Winchester's Korbin Martino. Pick North's Steven McElroy may also be in the mix for the 400 but I believe that he is concentrating on the 100, 200, and relays.

Martino has already gone 10.95, 21.35, 47.31, split a 46.44 in a 4x4, and ran a 1:59.42 800 this past indoor season. His sophomore year he went 1:56.27 outdoors for the 800. His 800 times, coupled with his sprint speed, tell me that he has the strength to hold on to a very fast start in the 400. The 400 is the event that I am most anticipating this year and hopefully, both athletes stay healthy and in form.

I'll give you Floriea in the long jump. If she doesn't win it could be considered an upset. Last weekend at Glen Oak she was a quadruple winner - 11.97, 24.85, 56.82, and 17-04.50. The LJ mark is a bit short for her standards but she has gone over 19' this season and I believe that she has the capability to go over 20' or, at least, get very close to that mark.
 
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Your Cincinnati/SW Ohio bias is showing, Lancer.

In my mind, a "best bet" label should be reserved for those that are clearly heads above the competition. While Nathan Mountain is clearly an outstanding athlete, and will more than likely be one of the favorites in the 3200, let's not anoint him the champion just yet. Don't forget that Uniontown Lake's Nathan Moore beat Mountain this past fall at the state meet by nearly 30 seconds, for whatever that is worth. Additionally, Moore soloed a 9:10.98, to win by nearly a minute, at last weekend's Dover Invitational. And Mountain beat Moore by less than a second in the OATCCC 3200 indoor championship as both went under 9:00. Moore is a big-time runner and it will not be surprising at all if he takes the 3200 crown.



As with Mountain, I would not yet anoint Braun as the 400 champion. He will have plenty of competition from Canal Winchester's Korbin Martino. Pick North's Steven McElroy may also be in the mix for the 400 but I believe that he is concentrating on the 100, 200, and relays.

Martino has already gone 10.95, 21.35, 47.31, split a 46.44 in a 4x4, and ran a 1:59.42 800 this past indoor season. His sophomore year he went 1:56.27 outdoors for the 800. His 800 times, coupled with his sprint speed, tell me that he has the strength to hold on to a very fast start in the 400. The 400 is the event that I am most anticipating this year and hopefully, both athletes stay healthy and in form.

I'll give you Floriea in the long jump. If she doesn't win it could be considered an upset. Last weekend at Glen Oak she was a quadruple winner - 11.97, 24.85, 56.82, and 17-04.50. The LJ mark is a bit short for her standards but she has gone over 19' this season and I believe that she has the capability to go over 20' or, at least, get very close to that mark.

SWO bias? In this case he listed the two that he thinks has the best chance to win a title. Do you disagree with the two he listed? Did he say they were hands down favorites in their event?
 
SWO bias? In this case he listed the two that he thinks has the best chance to win a title. Do you disagree with the two he listed? Did he say they were hands down favorites in their event?
I'll reiterate what I wrote. I posited that "a 'best bet' label should be reserved for those that are clearly heads above the competition." So in that sense, yes, I'll disagree with Lancer.

I wrote what I meant. It's really not that difficult to comprehend.
 
I'll reiterate what I wrote. I posited that "a 'best bet' label should be reserved for those that are clearly heads above the competition." So in that sense, yes, I'll disagree with Lancer.

I wrote what I meant. It's really not that difficult to comprehend.

I would say "Best Bet" is simply the athlete with the highest odds of winning, even if they are not overwhelming odds.

I think what you are talking about is calling an athlete a "Lock" to win their event.

I would agree that Nathan Mountain is probably the "Best Bet" right now, but not a "Lock". Either way, just semantics.

Even though Mountain got revenge on Moore in the indoor 3200m, it's really hard to ignore that Moore but 30 seconds between himself and Mountain in the last K of the State CC Meet. Also, who cares about indoor.
 
I would agree that Nathan Mountain is probably the "Best Bet" right now, but not a "Lock". Either way, just semantics.

I'll agree with you about the semantics but I would say that Mountain & Moore are fairly even and I would not place one ahead of the other. Both have the ability to win the state meet. As I mentioned, Moore soloed a 9:10 at Dover last weekend to win by nearly a minute. I believe that he can go a good bit faster than that with someone pushing or pulling him.

I will occasionally go to Northfield or Thistledown and bet on the horses. Back in the day I used to go to them fairly often and I would also hit up Beulah when it was open, and Scioto, when I lived in Columbus. In betting parlance, a "best bet," for my purposes anyway, is/was analogous to a sure thing. I would take a few chances with odds every now and then but I preferred to bet on a lot of races that might not have paid a lot individually as opposed to one race that paid a lot. It's the same way I run my business and finances. So for the purposes of the discussion here, and in my mind, a best bet would be someone with a clear advantage. The most recent example of an athlete like that would probably be Abby Steiner in the sprints from a few years ago and this year, Kenna Stimmel of Margaretta in the pole vault. To a lesser extent I would probably also include Paige Floriea in the long jump. I'm sure that there are others that I am omitting but these young women are the first that came to mind.
 
I'll reiterate what I wrote. I posited that "a 'best bet' label should be reserved for those that are clearly heads above the competition." So in that sense, yes, I'll disagree with Lancer.

I wrote what I meant. It's really not that difficult to comprehend.

No comprehension issues here. Just disagreeing with your unique understanding for the term best bet. The term best bet in horse racing would imply it is the one most likely to end up with your desired outcome of a win. He listed the two most likely candidates for a state title out of Cincinnati.

p.s. After talking this over with a few people at work we see what you are saying but disagree with how you are taking Lancer's comment. His was an opinion based two athletes he thinks has the best chance to win a title but not implying they are the favorite.
 
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