6/26/2016
CLOVIS, CALIFORNIA -- The final day of the USATF Junior Championships did not disappoint, as Michael Norman (Murrieta, California) turned in the performance of a lifetime in the men’s 200m, highlighting 15 finals on the final day of the 2016 USATF Junior Championships at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Norman runs into record books
Norman was superhuman on Sunday, turning in the third-fastest time in U.S. high school history with his 20.15 in the 200m finals. His time goes down as a meet record and the top junior time in the world this year, just .02 off the American junior record. sets him up well for a strong showing at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field.
Taylor McLaughlin adds to family medal haul
Winning gold runs in the McLaughlin family, as Michigan freshman Taylor McLaughlin (Dunellen, New Jersey) added to the family’s 400H medal haul with his victory in 50.74. McLaughlin’s sister, Sydney, is the American junior record holder in the event and took home 400H gold on Saturday. The elder McLaughlin staved off a surge from Amere Lattin (Missouri City, Texas) over the final three hurdles, as McLaughlin and Lattin will both represent Team USA in Poland. Lattin is also representing USATF in the 110H.
Bria Matthews completes TJ/LJ double to lead six double-discipline athletes
Georgia Tech’s Bria Matthews (Morrow, Georgia) pulled off the horizontal jump double at USATF Juniors, taking the women’s triple jump title on Sunday with her leap of 13.16m/43-02.25. Matthews won the long jump crown to start off jumps action Saturday, winning on her final jump of 6.49m/21-03.50.
The other USATF athletes slated to compete in multiple disciplines are Elena Bruckner (San Jose, California) in the shot put and discus, Emma Fitzgerald (Braintree, Massachusetts) in the heptathlon and javelin, Jayla Kirkland (Birmingham, Alabama) in the 100m and 200m, Lattin in the 110H and 400H and Bronson Osborn (Anaheim, California) in the shot put and discus throw.
Irby delivers in quartermile title
The World Youth silver medalist from 2015 wasted no time adding to her medal tally, taking her 23rd overall national title in 52.51. Irby, the Indiana Gatorade State Track Athlete of the Year, led from the gun and held off a charging Hannah Waller (Catonsville, Maryland) and Karrington Winters (Reynoldsburg, Ohio) from Ohio State, who finished in 53.34 for silver after Waller was DQ’d for a lane violation.
Photo finish in the men’s 400m
The men’s 400m final came down to the wire on Sunday night, as Baylor University’s Wil London III (Waco, Texas) and Missouri’s Kahmari Montgomery (Plainfield, Illinois) crossed the finish line simultaneously. London finished the race just ahead of Montgomery, with a time of 45.61, with Montgomery coming in second at 45.64. Both London and Montgomery will represent team USA in the World Junior Championships in July.
Efraimson repeats as USATF champ in the women’s 1500m
With 3000m champion Kate Murphy a scratch in the women’s 1500m final Sunday, it was a showdown between American junior record holder Alexa Efraimson (Camas, Washington) and 2015 adidas Dream Mile victor Christina Aragon (Billings, Montana) for the win. The two took out the pace quickly and the pack followed until halfway through, when the duo dropped the hammer. Efraimson, the 2014 USATF Junior champion, continued to push the pace and pulled away with 300m remaining to finish in 4:16.75. Aragon was on Efraimson’s heels in 4:18.07.
Carbin bests NCAA duo for high jump crown
Incoming Georgia freshman Darius Carbin (San Jose, California) got a taste of what his collegiate showdowns might look like, as he battled with UCLA’s Michael Burke II (Lemoore, California) and Oregon’s Benjamin Milligan (Portland, Oregon) to win the high jump on Sunday. Carbin had a clean sheet until 2.16m/7-1, where he had his first miss of the afternoon before clearing the height on his second attempt. Carbin recovered to clear his next two heights on the first attempt, reaching a new PB of 2.22m/7-3.25. Burke II and Milligan each cleared 2.19m/7-2.25 to register podium finishes Sunday, with Burke II edging Milligan due to his clearing 2.19m on his first attempt.
USATF qualifies three for 10k race walk in Bydgoszcz
In the morning, the race walks took center stage as 10km road race walk victors Cameron Haught (Yellow Springs, Ohio) and Anali Cisneros (Elgin, Illinois) won national titles in the 10,000m walk on the track as well. Haught and AJ Gruttadauro (Brockport, New York) walked a tactical race, with Haught making his move with 2k remaining. Haught, who had already punched his ticket to Poland by obtaining his standard prior to this weekend, put nearly 50m between him and Gruttadauro to win his second 10k title of 2016. On the women’s side, it was Cisneros from the gun.
The full roster for Team USA heading to #Bydgoszcz2016 will be announced in the coming days. Next up for USATF athletes are the Hershey Youth Championships in Millersville, Pennsylvania, June 28-July 3, and the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field in Eugene, Oregon, beginning June 30 and running through July 10.
For full results, please visit USATF.org. Fans can follow along with the USATF Junior Championships on social media by using #USATFjrs on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Fans can watch #USATFjrs on demand with a USATF.TV +PLUS subscription (sign up here).
Quotes
Bria Matthews - Women’s Triple Jump
“I’m really excited, I thought I was going to jump about 45 feet or something. I didn’t but it still went pretty good.”
“I am always looking to set a new PR. I liked the competition, but mainly I’m competing against myself.”
Alexa Efraimson - Women’s 1500m
“I felt really good today, I was really excited to get into the race and get that bid to Poland.”
“I think I have a lot of experience under my belt, and I know at the World level there are going to be girls that have raced at the Pro level as well, so I think it will be a really good race overall.” (On looking forward to the World Junior Championship.)
Diego Zarate - Men’s 1500m
“It was pretty hot out there today, but not too hot to hustle. I just got in my mind that I was going to go, so I just took off and it went pretty good.”
“I just wanted to go for the win, I wanted to make this team so badly, it’s been something I have been working towards all year, obviously a big accomplishment for me.”
Emma Fitzgerald - Women’s Heptathlon
“It feels so good, I am so happy right now. The first day was very bad, I ended with zero confidence and tears. It was just a much better day [today].”
Michael Norman - Men’s 200m
“It’s a good feeling to win, I’m still a little disappointed in how I executed the race, but I can’t be mad about a PR and a meet record.”
Darius Carbin - Men’s High Jump
“I finally got a PR in after the whole outdoor season, and after fixing a few things, it feels good to win this meet and go on another international team.”
Connor Bandel - Men’s Discus
“I can’t even describe the things that I’m feeling right now, coming in not being the favorite, and coming in with a big PR, I wasn’t expecting it, and I’m so incredibly happy with how it happened.”
Jayla Kirkland - Women’s 200m
“I have two races to run [at World Junior Championships] I feel like I’m going to do great in both races, I’m actually very excited to run in Poland.”
Rachel Baxter - Women’s Pole Vault
“I am so excited, last year in Poland wasn’t my best meet, so I knew I had to come out here and do better. I have that chance again, and I know I can do it.”
Wil London III - Men’s 400m
“For me to come out here in this weather and do what I did it felt great. I knew it was going to be a big weekend for me.”
Lynna Irby - Women’s 400m
“I am looking forward to hopefully getting back to that :51, and hopefully getting gold this time [in Poland] but we will see how everything works out.”
Taylor McLaughlin - Men’s 400m hurdles
“It was a little bit of a slow start, but overall I got what I wanted out there today to make the team. Now it’s all about recovery and getting my body ready for a whole new set of races.”
Alyssa Wilson - Women’s Shot put
“All of the stress that was on my shoulders fell off when I found out that i had placed first. So it feels good to have that number one spot.”
By The Numbers
Hottest temperature - 108F
Hottest track temperature - 138F
Number of meet records set - 8
Number of HS records set - 1
2016 USATF Junior Championships
Men
|
Event
|
Women
|
Noah Lyles
|
100
|
Candace Hill
|
Vincent Crisp
|
800
|
Samantha Watson
|
Zachary Snider
|
5,000/3,000
|
Kate Murphy
|
Thomas Pollard
|
10,000/5,000
|
Fiona O'Keeffe
|
Alex Rogers
|
3,000 Steeplechase
|
Devin Clark
|
Marcus Krah
|
110/100 hurdles
|
Alexis Duncan
|
Taylor McLaughlin
|
400 hurdles
|
Sydney McLaughlin
|
Darius Carbin
|
High Jump
|
Nicole Greene
|
Ja'Mari Ward
|
Long Jump
|
Bria Matthews
|
Charles Brown, Jr
|
Triple Jump
|
Bria Matthews
|
Christopher Nilsen
|
Pole Vault
|
Rachel Baxter
|
Adrian Piperi
|
Shot Put
|
Alyssa Winters
|
Connor Bandel
|
Discus
|
Elena Bruckner
|
Hudson Keffer
|
Javelin
|
Katelyn Gochenour
|
Bobby Colantonio
|
Hammer
|
Joy McArthur
|
Cale Wagner
|
Decathlon/Heptathlon
|
Emma Fitzgerald
|
Contributed by Andrew Eisch, USATF Communications
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