Greensboro Hosts Nation's Top Young Talent at Junior Olympics

7/19/2013

GREENSBORO, N.C. — The next generation of stars in track & field take center stage at the USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships on July 22 through July 28 on the campus of North Carolina A&T State University.

The Junior Olympic program is a series of meets progressing from preliminary, association, regional and national meets. Athletes compete in two-year age groups ranging from eight and under to 18-years-old.

Athletes who competed at the USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships or the IAAF World Youth Championships receive an automatic bye to compete at the Junior Olympics.

The free, live online broadcast of the USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships lives on USATF.tv. The broadcast beings with the opening ceremony on July 23 at 7 pm and runs through July 28. Coverage of the first two days will be available on-demand at USATF.tv. USATF.tv is the home for original programming and on-demand videos of all the 2013 USATF Championships Series, youth and masters events.

Four Athletes Looking to Capture Four Junior Olympic Titles

Tia Jones, Joseph Anderson, Eric Allen and Tyler Deshon Carter hope to quadruple medal at the Junior Olympics. Tia Jones will battle in the girls’ 13-14 division in the 100m, 200m, 100m hurdles and 200m hurdles. Jones comes in the with top seed time in the 100m hurdles and 200m hurdles. She is second in the 200m and third in the 100m.

Anderson has a full week of competition in the boys’ 13-14 age group as he is scheduled to compete in the pentathlon, 100m hurdles, 200m hurdles and long jump. Anderson has the top time in the 100m hurdles and ranks second in the pentathlon based on the performance list.

One of Anderson’s biggest challengers is Allen. Allen’s four events at the Junior Olympics are the 100m, 200m, 100m hurdles and 200m hurdles. Allen ranks second just behind Anderson for the top spot in the 100m hurdles and is also second in the 200m hurdles. He is fourth in the 100m dash.

In the next division up, Carter hopes to dominate the 15-16 boys’ age group. Carter’s name sits atop the entry list coming into Greensboro in the triple jump, two meters ahead of the next best mark. Carter also will contend in the long jump, where he is fifth, and 110m hurdles and 400m hurdles.

Junior National Champs and World Youth Medalist Take Aim in the Tar Heel State

Raevyn Rogers, who picked up a gold medal on the medley relay team and bronze in the 800m at the World Youth Championships, strives to win gold in the 400m and 800m in the women’s 17-18 division.

Outside of their primary events, Ashlie Blake, the bronze medalist in the shot put from the World Youth Games, and Megan Glasmann, the Junior National Outdoor Champion in the javelin throw, will pursue second medals in the women’s 17-18 discus throw at the Junior Olympics.

The title for the men’s 17-18 decathlon promises to be a fierce contest headlined by Wolf Mahler and Scott Filip. The junior national champion and bronze medalist, respectively, will jockey for the title of best athlete. After the decathlon, Filip continues in the long jump, triple jump and high jump.

Alexa Harmon-Thomas can expect very few idle moments at the Junior Olympics. The high jump silver medalist from the junior national outdoors will make a play for four titles in the heptathlon, 100m hurdles, high jump and long jump in the women’s 17-18 age group bracket. Harmon-Thomas represented Team USA in the heptathlon and open high jump at World Youth Championships.

Youth Outdoor Champions Competing at Junior Olympics

There are multiple winners and medalist from the 2013 USA Youth Track & Field Outdoor Championships competing at the Junior Olympics. Here are few standout performers:

Caleb Roberson sets his sights on another gold medal in the boys’ 11-12 pentathlon. Roberson amassed 2,915 points establishing a new National record in the event at the youth outdoor championships in Edwardsville, Ill. He also won the 100m and the 80m hurdles.

Three weeks after capturing three national titles at youth outdoors, Kendal Drewery looks to win the same three events at the Junior Olympics. Drewery’s bid for a repeat three-peat in the girls’ 11-12 division is difficult as she ranks second in the pentathlon and long jump, and seventh in the 80m hurdles.

Jalien Hicks was triumphant twice at youth outdoors in the 100m and 400m in a span of three hours in the boys’ 7-8 age group. He hopes to win those events and add 200m at the Junior Olympics.

On the girls’ side in the same age bracket, Zahra Bryant hopes stand on top of the medal stand in the 100m, 800m and javelin throw. Bryant secured championship titles in the 800m and javelin in Edwardsville.

Tight Competitions and Standout Performances

The men’s 17-18 shot put cannot be any closer. Julian Nunally and Michael Budick arrive with regional bests of 17.33m/56-10.25 leading all qualifiers. The two top competitors for the shot put will also collide in the discus throw.

Semira Killebrew edged Michel Parker by one hundredth of a second for the best seed time in the 100m dash at 12.42. Killebrew won national championships in the girls’ 11-12 division of the 100m and 200m at the USA Youth Outdoor Track & Field Championships last month.

Devianna Salcedo’s qualifying time of 10:15.53 in the girls’ 11-12 3,000m is 33 seconds better than the second best time. Salcedo established the national youth indoor championship record for the event in 2012 with a time of 12:08.89.

Tairyn Montgomery easily leads the field heading into the girls’ 15-16 javelin throw competition. She posted a throw of 46.16m/151-5 nearly 10 meters beyond the closest competitor. Montgomery attempts first place finishers in the heptathlon, 800m and long jump as well.

For more information and live results of the USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships, visit www.usatf.org.

Joey Lamar
Communications Intern
USA Track & Field
e-mail