Team USATF set to compete at 2017 Pan American Junior Championships

7/14/2017

 

TRUJILLO, Peru -- Team USATF’s brightest young stars are set to compete at the 2017 Pan American Junior Championships in Trujillo, Peru. The three-day meet kicks off Friday, July 21 and runs through Sunday, July 23.

The 85-athlete roster is highlighted by some of the most accomplished juniors in the United States, including high school stars Tara Davis (Agoura, California), Tyrese Cooper (Miami Gardens, Florida) and Adrian Piperi (The Woodlands, Texas) as well as rising NCAA talent Taylor Werner (Bloomsdale, Missouri) and Brandee’ Johnson (Suffolk, Virginia).

On the women’s side, the team is highlighted by the U.S high school record holder in the hurdles, Tia Jones (Marietta, Georgia) and Davis, the American junior record holder in the long jump. While this will be Jones’ first time representing Team USATF at Pan Am Juniors, she won bronze in the event at the IAAF U20 Championships in 2016 and set a world youth best at the 2016 USATF Junior Championships in Clovis last June. Davis is also no stranger to international competition. The Agoura, California native brought home a gold medal in the long jump from the IAAF World Youth Championships in 2015.

Joining Davis and Jones in the sprint events will be Brandee’ Johnson, who recently completed a stellar freshman season at the University of Florida. Johnson was the bronze medalist in the 400m hurdles at the IAAF World Youth Championships in 2015 and represented Team USATF at the IAAF U20 Championships last year.

The distance events will be highlighted by Werner and Michelle Magnani (Moorpark, California), both of whom have represented the United States internationally before. Werner was eighth at the Great Edinburgh Cross Country Challenge and capped a tremendous freshman campaign at the University of Arkansas, qualifying for all three NCAA Championships and earning All-American honors at the 2016 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships. Magnani of Oklahoma State University earned all Big-12 honors in cross country and was the USATF Junior Cross Country Champion in 2017. She represented Team USATF at the IAAF U20 Cross Country Championships finishing 37th.

On the men’s side, the roster is highlighted by the 2015 IAAF World Youth Champion in the shot put, Piperi and Cooper, the high school national champion at 200 and 400 meters. Piperi, a University of Texas signee, is the 2017 UIL Texas 6A State Champion and the 2017 USATF Junior Outdoor runner-up. Cooper completed an impressive 200-400 double at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals, winning the 200m in 20.99, just 34 minutes before he won the 400m title in 45.89.

In the distance events, IAAF U20 Cross Country team member Alec Haines (Stillwater, Oklahoma) will represent Team USATF in the 5000m. Haines capped a successful first year at Oklahoma State University with a pair of top-10 finishes at the Big-12 Indoor Track and Field Championships in the mile and 3000m to go along with his 2017 USATF Junior Outdoors title in the 5000m.

Fans can join the conversation by following USATF on Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook and using the hashtag #PanAmJrs.

For more information regarding the 2017 Pan Am Junior Championships, please visit the Peruvian Federation’s Facebook page for schedule, live streaming information and more.

Pan American Junior Championships - Team USATF Roster

First	Last	Event	Hometown
Obiageri	Amaechi	Discus Throw	Princeton, NJ
Joseph	Anderson	110m Hurdles	Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Sanaa	Barnes	High Jump	Keller, TX
Laurie	Barton	800m	Clemson, SC
Timothy	Bason	3000m Steeple	Plainsboro, NJ
Rachel	Baxter	Pole Vault	Orange, CA
Tarrik	Brock Jr	100m	Winnetka, CA
Cravont	Charleston	4x100m Relay	Charlotte, NC
Liam	Christensen	Javelin Throw	Mt Pleasant, SC
Nayeli	Cisneros	10k Race Walk	Elgin, IL
Caitlin	Collier	800m	Jacksonville, FL
Cameron	Cooper	800m	Detroit, MI
Tyrese	Cooper	200m	Miami Gardens, FL
Tierra	Crockrell	Heptathlon	Calabasas, CA
Steven	Cross	10,000m	Merritt Island, FL
Gabriele	Cunningham	200m	Raleigh, NC
Tate	Curran	Pole Vault	Redondo Beach, CA
Tara	Davis	100mH/Long Jump	Agoura, CA
Carson	Dingler	Pole Vault	Bolingbroke, GA
Samantha	Drop	5000m	Lancaster, PA
Sarah	Edwards	3000m Steeple	Bellingham, MA
Eric	Edwards Jr	110m Hurdles	Houston, TX
Taylor	Ewert	10k Race Walk	Beavercreek, OH
Rhesa	Foster	Long Jump	Clovis, CA
Kyle	Garland	Decathlon	Philadelphia, PA
Jordan	Geist	Shot Put	Cabot, PA
Katelyn	Gochenour	Javelin Throw	Logan, IA
Abigail	Green	3000m	Bethesda, MD
Isaiah	Griffith	Triple Jump	Lincoln, NE
Alec	Haines	5000m	Stillwater, OK
Justin	Hall	Long Jump	Blue Springs, MO
Quincy	Hall	400m Hurdles	Visalia, CA
Alexandra	Harris	3000m Steeple	Stony Point, NY
Cameron	Haught	10k Race Walk	Enon, OH
Joshua	Hernandez	Hammer Throw	El Paso, TX
Brian	Herron	4x400m Relay	Decatur, GA
Dennis	Hicks	Triple Jump	Northridge, CA
Isaiah	Holmes	High Jump	Roseville, CA
Sean	Hooper	4x400m Relay	Fort Worth, TX
Terrell	Jackson	800m	Memphis, TN
Courtney	Jacobsen	Hammer Throw	East Greenwich, RI
Brandee’	Johnson	400m Hurdles	Suffolk, VA
Tia	Jones	100m Hurdles	Marietta, GA
Josephus	Lyles	400m	Clermont, FL
Michelle	Magnani	1500m	Moorpark, CA
Symone	Mason	100m	Miami, FL
Arria	Minor	4x400m Relay	Denver, CO
Jasmine	Moore	Triple Jump	Grand Prairie, TX
Nathan	Mylenek	3000m Steeple	Clarkston, MI
Samantha	Noennig	Shot Put	Mayville, WI
Ariel	Okorie	Heptathlon	Junction City, KS
Gabriel	Oladipo	Discus Throw	Missouri City, TX
Sydney	Otto	Javelin Throw	De Pere, WI
George	Patrick	Decathlon	Brentwood, TN
Dylan	Peebles	200m	Raleigh, NC
William	Petersson	Javelin Throw	Frisco, TX
Adrian	Piperi	Shot Put	The Woodlands, TX
Cory	Poole	400m Hurdles	Gainesville, FL
Aidan	Reed	10,000m	Cedar City, UT
Jaevin	Reed	400m	Frisco, TX
Madeleine	Reed	1500m	Highland Village, TX
Sha’Carri	Richardson	4x100m Relay	Dallas, TX
Syaira	Richardson	4x100m Relay	Suffolk, VA
Cole	Riddle	Pole Vault	Surprise, AZ
Takyera	Roberson	400m	Conroe, TX
Jaimie	Robinson	Triple Jump	Chicago, IL
Jelena	Rowe	High Jump	Sauk Village, IL
Masai	Russell	400m Hurdles	Upper Marlboro, MD
Anthony	Schwartz	4x100m Relay	Pembroke Pines, FL
Zach	Shinnick	400m	Glendora, CA
Rebekah	Smith	4x100m Relay	Irmo, SC
Justice	Summerset	High Jump	Tucson, AZ
Laulauga	Tausaga-Collins	Discus Throw	Spring Valley, CA
Cooper	Teare	1500m	Alameda, CA
Cameron	Thompson	Hammer Throw	Cortlandt Manor, NY
Hannah	Truniger	5000m	Watertown, MN
Eduardo	Uria	10k Race Walk	McAllen, TX
Eric	van der Els	1500m	Norwalk, CT
Ja'Mari	Ward	Long Jump	Centreville, IL
Turner	Washington	Discus Throw	Tucson, AZ
Taylor	Werner	3000m	Bloomsdale, MO
Maxwell	Willis	100m	Highland Village, TX
Alyssa	Wilson	Hammer/Shot	Jackson, NJ
Nicholas	Wolk	5000m	McMurray, PA

Kyle Levermore

Communications Intern, USATF

kyle.levermore@usatf.org