Michta Goes Back-to-Back on Day Two of Junior Olympics

7/23/2013

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Katie Michita (Nesconset, N.Y.) won her second consecutive Junior Olympic National Championship igniting a thrilling second day of competition at the USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships 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.

The free, live online broadcast of the USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships lives on USATF.tv. The broadcast began with the opening ceremony and will run through July 28. Coverage of the first two days is 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.

Michta, the sister of 2012 Olympian Maria Michta, followed in her sister’s winning footsteps by claiming the 17-18 women’s 3,000m race walk title in a time of 15:23.06. Michta finished strong completing her final lap under two minutes in 1:59.36. Last year, she finished with the top time in girls’ 15-16 age bracket.

Kendal Drewery (Waldorf, Md.) won the 11-12 girls’ pentathlon with 3,118 points, 300 more than the second-place finisher. Drewery placed first in the three of the five events. The long jump proved to be her best event of the day with mark a of 5.13m/16-10, bettering the nearest competitor by more than 19 inches. This is Drewery’s second national title in three weeks, she also won the pentathlon at the Youth Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

On the boys’ side in the same age group, Caleb Roberson (Mira Loma, Calif.) bettered his peers in three of the five events taking home gold in the pentathlon. Roberson’s most impressive performance occurred in the 80m hurdles, where he clocked in at 12.25, while running into a 1.6mps headwind. Like Drewery, Roberson also won this event at Youth Outdoors.

Olivia Vincent (Seattle, Wash.) occupied the top spot on the podium after scoring 4,907 points to win the 17-18 women’s heptathlon. Vincent, who led after day one by only three points, finished second in the high jump (1.65m/5-05), shot put (10,85m/35-07.25) and 800m (2:24.72). She finished third in the javelin (33.09m/108-07). Vincent is scheduled to compete later this week in the 100m hurdles, long jump and high jump.

Wolf Mahler (Temple, Texas) made up a 332-point day one deficit to triumph in the men’s 17-18 decathlon. Mahler’s name was at the top of the results board in the 400m (48.26), 110m hurdles (14.44) and pole vault (4.85m/15-11). He finished second in the 100m dash in 11.18 seconds. Mahler also electrified the crowd in Des Moines, Iowa en route to a personal best and a USA Junior championship title in the decathlon, this is his second title in a month.

In the 15-16 boys’ decathlon, Giovanni Basso (Roselle,Ill.) amassed 5,660 points narrowly escaping Aggie Stadium with a win. Basso, the leader after day one, hung on with a clutch performance in the 1500m (5:03.79), the final event of the day. Basso competes for three other titles in the long jump, triple jump and javelin throw later this week.

There were 13 Junior Olympic National Champions crowned Tuesday, below is a complete list.


Tuesday’s Junior Olympic National Champions

Lauren Harris (Omaha, Neb.), 9-10 Girls’ Triathlon, 1,329 points
Jonathan Johnson (Cypress, Texas), 9-10 Boys’ Triathlon, 946 points
Kendal Drewery (Waldorf, Md.), 11-12 Girls’ Pentathlon, 3,118 points
Caleb Roberson (Mira Loma, Calif.), 11-12 Boys’ Pentathlon, 2,813 points
Emma Fitzgerald (Wayland, Mass.), 15-16 Girls’ Heptathlon, 4,698 points
Olivia Vincent (Seattle, Wash.), 17-18 Women’s Heptathlon, 4,907 points
Giovanni Basso (Roselle, Ill.), 15-16 Boys’ Decathlon, 5,660 points
Wolf Mahler (Temple, Texas), 17-18 Men’s Decathlon, 7,276 points

Caitlin Palacio (San Jose, Calif.), 15-16 Girls’ 3,000m Race Walk, 15:31.81
Andy Vasquez (Omaha, Neb.), 15-16 Boys’ 3,000m Race Walk, 15:07.63
Katie Michta (Nesconset, N.Y.), 17-18 Women’s 3,000m Race Walk, 15:23.06
Alexander Peters (Barlett, Ill.), 17-18 Men’s 3,000m Race Walk, 13:54.72

Joshua Whitener (Dallas, Ga.), 17-18 Men’s Hammer, 61.24m/200-11

Competition resumes Wednesday morning at 8 a.m. with the preliminary rounds of the 15-16 boys’ 400m hurdles and runs through Sunday. 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
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