55 National Champions crowned on penultimate day of USATF National Junior Olympic Track and Field Championships

SACRAMENTO, California — The sixth day of the USATF National Junior Olympic Track and Field Championships was the most exciting yet, with two more meet records and 55 event finishers becoming USATF national champions.

The very first race of the day was one of the most exciting, with Ava Padilla (Unattached/USATF Pacific) holding off Charlene Evangelista (Unattached/USATF Pacific) in the last few steps of the girls 11-12 3000 to win the title. Padilla finished in 10:25.28 to Evangelista’s 10:25.79, with the two girls over 100m ahead of third. The boys 11-12 3000m followed immediately after and continued the hot start to the day, with Quenton Lanese (Barron Park Striders/USATF Pacific Northwest) running 9:31.17 to shatter the previous meet record of 9:38.52. The silver medalist, Elias Thronson (Delta Hawks/USATF Pacific), also ran well under the record with his 9:35.74 finishing time.

Beaux Hudson (Track Houston Youth Track/USATF Gulf) ran an impressive time of 26.08 to win the boys 9-10 200m by well over a second. In the girls 11-12 200m, Sa’Niyah Williams (ATL Zoom Athletics/USATF Georgia) blasted out of the turn to take the title decisively in 25.66 seconds – almost a second ahead of the field.

In one of the most memorable Races of the entire week, LeRoy Horton (Team Blackout Elite Track/USATF Pacific Northwest) ran 22.25 to emerge victorious in the boys 15-16 200m where the top seven finishers were separated by only half of a second. With nearly the entire field entering the home stretch shoulder-to-shoulder, the crowd was left staring at the jumbotron to see where each athlete finished. When the dust settled, Harlow Tong (Minnesota Sprint Factory/USATF Minnesota) had finished second in 22.28 and Trarrell Beckford (Speed ​​Academy/USATF Florida) was third in 22.35.

Makenna Herbst (Unattached/USATF San Diego-Imperial) held off Taylor Brown (North Texas Jackrabbits/USATF Southwestern) to win the girls 15-16 800m title by a lean, finishing in 2:15.00 to Brown’s 2:15.22. Herbst ran near the lead throughout and used a well-timed kick to surge into the lead and Sprint her way to a national title. In the boys 15-16 800m, Hey Ricks (Unattached/USATF Southern California) ran a masterful last lap to put almost three seconds on the field, winning dominantly in 1:54.78.

The evening of 4x100m Relays started with a bang, with the boys 8 and under division race seeing gold and silver separated by only one hundredth of a second. New Era Elite Track’s Anchor Dailan Maples (New Era Elite Track/USATF Southern California) held off a valiant challenge from Track Houston’s Elijah Griffin Jr (Track Houston Youth Track/USATF Gulf), finishing in 58.30 to Track Houston’s 58.31.

The field action Featured another meet record, this time in the Women’s 17-18 pole vault. Tessa Mudd (Mt. Pleasant Track Club/USATF South Carolina) soared to a clearance of 4.27m/14-00 on her first attempt, besting the previous record of 4.24m and winning the competition by two feet.

Day Six Winners

3000m: Girls 11-12 Division

Ava Padilla – Unattached – 10:25.28

3000m: Boys 11-12 Division

Quenton Lanese – Barron Park Striders – 9:31.17

3000m: Girls 13-14 Division

Adria Favero – Wolfpack Running Club Utah – 10:03.32

3000m: Boys 13-14 Division

Kevin Steinman – Cal Coast Track – 9:25.27

3000m: Girls 15-16 Division

Alexis Leone – Unattached – 10:05.55

3000m: Women 17-18 Division

McKenna Kozeluh – North Idaho Blaze – 10:16.27

200m: Girls 8 & Under

Mila Woolforde – Black Lightning – 30.17

200m: Boys 8 & Under

Christopher Flowers – Arizona Rising Suns – 28.64

200m: Girls 9-10 Division

Shawn Lawrence – Fresno Flyers Track Club – 27.61

200m: Boys 9-10 Division

Beaux Hudson – Track Houston Youth Track

200m: Girls 11-12 Division

Sa’Niyah Williams – ATL Zoom Athletics – 25.66

200m: Boys 11-12 Division

Brandon LaFell Jr. – Dave Bethany Track Club

200m: Girls 13-14 Division

Somto Igwilo – Major Impact Track – 24.63

200m: Boys 13-14 Division

Jalen Aguilar-Carnes – Lane 5 – 22.14

200m: Girls 15-16 Division

Brooke Jackson – Track Houston Youth Track – 24.64

200m: Boys 15-16 Division

LeRoy Horton – Team Blackout Elite Track – 22.25

200m: Women 17-18 Division

Aniyah Bigam – North Texas Jackrabbits – 23.90

200m: Men 17-18 Division

Carter Cukerstein – Legion TC-NY – 21.21

800m: Girls 8 & Under

Meilani Tickey – NX Level Athletx – 2:43.91

800m: Boys 8 & Under

Idris Cooper – Afterburners Track – 2:31.83

800m: Girls 9-10 Division

Kunusasha Medas-king – Midas Touch – 2:28.85

800m: Boys 9-10 Division

Abram Velazquez – Do Right Educational Sports – 2:24.20

800m: Girls 11-12 Division

Ava Padilla – Unattached – 2:16.39

800m: Boys 11-12 Division

Wade Swain – Full Stride – 2:10.89

800m: Girls 13-14 Division

Katelyn Kliesch – Ocean Breeze Wave Runners – 2:13.59

800m: Boys 13-14 Division

Jerry’s Witter – Velocity Kids Club – 2:03.13

800m: Girls 15-16 Division

Makenna Herbst – Unattached – 2:15.00

800m: Boys 15-16 Division

Xai Ricks – Unattached – 1:54.78

800m: Women 17-18 Division

Sasha Crawford – North Texas Cheetahs Track – 2:08.56

800m: Men 17-18 Division

Andrew Specht – LV SPEED – 1:53.01

4x100m: Girls 8 & Under Division

Valley United Track Club – Beth Nwachukwu, Kennedy Terrell, Tahari Skinner, Nyla Hurston – 1:02.57

4x100m: Boys 8 & Under Division

New Era Elite Track – Kayden Wilson, Ishmael Kirkland, Jordan McClain, Dalian Maples – 58.30

4x100m: Girls 9-10 Division

Las Vegas Heat – Miley Crowley, Anylah Gooden, Audriyonna Jones, Lullianna Lilly – 54.97

4x100m: Boys 9-10 Division

Track Houston Youth Track – Jeremy Foreman II, Beaux Hudson, Aston Brazier, Josiah Young – 53.55

4x100m: Girls 11-12 Division

San Diego Elite Youth Track – Livia Allison, Lilah Black, Daylani Daniels, Aniya Scott – 50.69

4x100m: Boys 11-12 Division

Dave Bethany TC – Kallen Brigham, Ryan McFarland, Caiden Lawrence, Tramon Williams Jr – 48.63

4x100m: Girls 13-14 Division

Black Lightning – Marley Scoggins, Justine Wilson, Alaya Graves-Hogains, DeAuna Louis – 46.75

4x100m: Boys 13-14 Division

Track Houston Youth Track – Chase Stayman, Marrel Davis III, Bryderick Robins, Dilyn Smith – 44.00

4x100m: Girls 15-16 Division

Track Houston Youth Track – Nita Koom-Dadzie, Avia Jones, Mackenzie Collins, Laila Payne – 46.38

4x100m: Boys 15-16 Division

Track Houston Youth Track – Jaden Jenkins, Oluwatobiloba Tobi Hasstrup, Benjamin Haywood, LeAnderay Collins II – 42.43

4x100m: Women 17-18 Division

Windy City Hammers – Sydney Weaver, Jayden Eickhoff-Brown, Asia Thomas, Madison Saunders – 45.93

4x100m: Men 17-18 Division

Athletic Performance R – Dariante Hall, Tsegaya Fazarro, Will Quintana, Emmanuel Ekong – 40.60

Long Jump: Boys 8 & Under Division

Ian Millage – Unattached – 3.63m

Long Jump: Girls 11-12 Division

Olivia Scott – The Inner Circle Track Club – 4.79m

Long Jump: Boys 11-12 Division

Tramon Williams Jr – Dave Bethany TC – 5.12m

Long Jump: Boys 13-14 Division

Rhoan Kaulder II – Maximum Velocity Track & Field – 6.68m

High Jump: Girls 13-14 Division

Mary Taylor – Dave Bethany TC – 1.60m

High Jump: Girls 15-16 Division

Kyra Bakke – The Inner Circle Track Club – 1.60m

Javelin Throw: Girls 15-16 Division

Sofia Wydra – TNT Track and Field Academy – 41.03m

Javelin Throw: Men 17-18 Division

Troy Cocco – Mt. Pleasant Track Club – 62.39m

Discus Throw: Girls 11-12 Division

Arisa Bisofa – Boas Throwing Club – 33.63m

Discus Throw: Girls 13-14 Division

Brielle Lawson – Afterburners Track – 36.19m

Shot Put: Boys 9-10 Division

Del’Qwan Morrow II – 3M Track Club – 8.94m

Shot Put: Boys 13-14 Division

Benjamin Hiestand – Unattached – 14.44m

Pole Vault: Women 17-18 Division

Tessa Mudd – Mt. Pleasant Track Club – 4.27m

A full list of results can be found here. Watch all the action live on USATF.TV+.

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