Tuesday, June 22, 2010

National record holders look for continued success at USA Junior Champs

DES MOINES, Iowa- National record holders Trevor Barron, Sam Crouser, Connor McCullough, Tyler Sorensen and Lauren Chambers are just a few of the top returners who will compete June 23-27 at the 2010 USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.



The USA Junior Championships will serve as the selection meet for the 2010 IAAF World Junior Championships, July 19-25, in Moncton, Canada. The top two finishers in each event in Des Moines who meet IAAF qualifying standards will be invited to compete at the World Championship meet.



Crouser, who is the returning javelin champion, broke his own American Junior Record with a throw of 77.82m/255-4 June 14 at the Portland ThRose Festival. The top high school javelin thrower in the country and one of Oregon's top recruits, Crouser will see competition from Devin Bogert and Derek Eager who are looking to improve on their third and sixth place finishes from the 2009 USA Junior Championships.



Six of the top seven finishers in the men's 10,000m race walk will return, led by returning champion Barron, who holds the American Junior Records in the 5,000m and 10,000m race walks. But to retain his top place, he'll have to hold off 2009 Junior Championships runner-up Sorensen, who holds the Youth and Intermediate3,000mrace walk American Records. Top finishers Alejandro Chavez, Matthew Forgues, Joshua Haertel and Evan Vincent will also return.



The men's hammer throw will feature returning champion and 2008 World Junior silver medalist Conor McCullough, who just finished a successful freshman season at Princeton, and 2009 runner-up Justin Welch, who will start at Georgia in the fall. McCullough holds the Youth hammer throw record (79.22m/259-11) and set the Princeton school record this past year.



University of Virginia's freshman standout Robby Andrews will be competing in the 800m. Andrews had a stellar performance in the 800m at the NCAA Division I Track and Field Championships last weekend, finishing second to 2008 Olympian and five-time NCAA Champion Andrew Wheating .



Lauren Chambers returns in the women's hammer throw and will lead a field that includes last year's fifth and sixth place finishers Patrice Gates and J'Quyra Moncur-Blue, and Shelby Ashe. Chambers, a rising sophomore at USC, set the Youth Record last year and also has a pending Junior Record.



Distance stars Emily Sisson, last year's USA OutdoorJunior Champs 3,000m runner-up, and Aisling Cuffe, the defending 5,000m champion, not only return in those events this year, but they'll both be adding an event as well- Cuffe the 3,000m and Sisson the 5,000m.



Shade Weygandt, last year's runner-up in the pole vault, has the 14th best jump so far this year in the U.S. Weygandt, who just finished a successful freshman season at Texas Tech, will see competition from Division II All American Lauren Graham and Siera Hearne.



Also look for Ashton Purvis, the top seed in the 100m and 200m, and Alitta Boyd in the women's long jump.



Watch the USA Championships and USA Junior Championships online!



USATF will partner with RunnerSpace to provide real-time coverage of all events not broadcast on television beginning on Wednesday, June 23. Highlighted competitions include Friday's men's and women's 10,000m as well as extensive field event coverage. In addition to the events' video coverage, the webcasts will also include the voices of elite athletes as commentators.

The webcasts will be found on the USATF 2010 Championships page in addition to an already posted video clip from USATF CEO Doug Logan on the partnership at http://www.usatf.org/events/2010/USAOutdoorTFChampionships/video.asp.

The third event of the 2010 USATF Outdoor Visa Championship Series, the 2010 USA Outdoor Championships will be televised on the following dates (All times Eastern):

June 25 - 8:00 - 10 p.m. on ESPN
June 26 - 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. on ESPN
June 26 - 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. on NBC
June 27 - 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. on ESPN
June 27 - 3:00 - 4 p.m. on NBC


For ticket information to the 2010 Junior National Outdoor Track & Field Championships visit:

www.usatf.org. USATF welcomes you to purchase tickets with your Visa Card. Visa is the only card accepted by USATF.
About USA Track & Field

USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, some of the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States.

For more information on USATF, visit www.usatf.org

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