Eugene, Oregon — Over 8,000 athletes converged on Hayward Field for the 2023 USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships - the most athletes at the event in two decades. Summer Oregon weather provided a perfect backdrop for a week at the track - highlighted by countless personal bests, and dozens of national champions.
Roxanne Rivera (Pacific Coast Shock Waves) and Isabella Chu (AOC Ambler Track Club) went head-to-head in a tight race in the girls 11-12 1500m race walk. Rivera got the nod at the line, finishing in 9:04.29 to Chu’s 9:04.35. A similar race unfolded in the boy’s 11-12 division of the 1500m race walk between Joshua Varney (Unattached) and Maximus Chan (Umoja). The two battled through the line, with Varney coming out on top by a hair in 8:29.75 to Chan’s 8:30.03. In the men’s 17-18 2000m steeplechase, Mark Barajas (El Paso Wings Track Club) took a decisive win over the pack with his 6:13.48 finish. Running a personal record, his time beat the field by more than 10 seconds. Kimberly Beard (Get Strong First Track Club) highlighted the field events on day one with her 15-16 hammer throw record. Her massive 53.68m/176-1 bettered the previous record by over two meters and bested the competition by a solid 20 feet.
When Heather Durrant (Elgin Sharks Track) steps on the track, fans are sure to witness an impressive feat in the race walk. Tuesday morning’s 3000m race was no exception. Durrant walked her way to a national record in the women’s 17-18 division in an impressive 13:27.22 - over 30 seconds faster than silver medalist teammate Angelica Harris in 13:57.95. Clayton Stoil (Unattached) continued the race walking success of the day as he blew away the competition with his 13:34.08 win - almost a minute and a half faster than the field.
Roury McLoyen (Greenville Track) made a statement in the men’s 17-18 shot put to win the USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships title decisively. McLoyen broke the 65-foot barrier with his 19.92m/65-04.25 to take the win by well over a meter and was one of just two throwers in the field to surpass 60 feet. The Golden State Throwers swept the top three spots in the women’s 17-18 hammer throw, led by Angela Schykerynec with a 52.15m/171-01 heave. Four of Schykerynec’s throws would have been good enough for the win, with teammate Jean Ikenaga in second with her 46.13m/151-4 throw. Gracelyn Brown was just shy with her 45.03m/147-9 throw for third. Donna Douglas (RALVIS Raptors) added to the throws success on the third day with a dominant showing in the women’s 17-18 shot put. Her first-round heave of 14.65m/48-0.75 was all she needed to pull off the win, taking down the competition by over a meter and a half. An exciting competition unfolded between Aleah Morgante (Unattached) and Aleksandra Strem (Unattached) in the girls 13-14 pole vault. Morgante and Strem both cleared 3.25m/10-8 on their first attempt, but Morgante took the win based on number of attempts at previous bars. The boys 13-14 competition was similar, with Kingston Khoury (Unattached) and Micah Olsen (Alaska Pole Vault) going head-to-head to the last bar. Khoury cleared 3.45m/11-3.75 with ease on his first attempt, ultimately taking the win with that mark following three solid attempts at 3.60m/11-9.75. Olsen had two misses at 3.45m/11-3.75 before making the bar to earn a silver in the event.
Sophia Beckmon (The Inner Circle Track Club) kicked off a solid day of field event finals on Thursday with her decisive win in the women’s 17-18 long jump. Her 6.47m/21-2.75 bettered the field by half a meter and earned her the national record in the event by .11m. Topher Gabel (Unattached) left nothing up to question with his boy’s 13-14 high jump win as he cleared 1.96m/6-5 for a personal record. The 14-year-old bested the field by a whopping seven inches, with his closest three competitors each clearing 1.78m/5-10.
An exciting men’s 17-18 3000m kicked off Friday’s events on the track. Evan Bruce (Spokane Speed Academy) took the win with a season best time of 8:44.61 over Ethan Aidoo’s (Speed U Track Club) 8:51.92. Malia Lopez (Unattached) popped out an 8.94m/29-4 throw to take the girls 9-10 shot put title handily. A personal record, her winning mark came in the first round and bested the field by over a meter. In the boy’s 15-16 pole vault, Khaliq Muhammad (Unattached) took the title by an entire foot as he cleared 4.80m/15-9 for a personal record. He cleared the bar on his first attempt before making three solid tries at 4.95m/16-2.75. Addison Brown (Unattached) got her own dose of Hayward Magic in the 8U long jump as she leapt 4.00m/13-1.5 for the first time in her young career. The eight-year-old was the only to reach 4m and was the only to surpass the 13 foot barrier.
A weekend of finals kicked off early Saturday morning with an age group record in the boy’s 11-12 3,000. Quenton Lanese (Barron Park Striders) blew through the line in 9:26.59, blowing away the competition by a longshot, with his closest competitor, Eli Hernandez (Mount Diablo Heat) finishing in 9:43.48. Gianna Rahmer (Albuquerque Athletics Track) dipped below 10 minutes in the girls 13-14 3,000m for the first time in her career with her winning time of 9:59.85. She won her age division final handily, with her nearest competitor nearly three seconds behind. Melanie Doggett (Major Impact Track) left it all on the track in the girls 9-10 200m, and her effort paid off with an age division record. Doggett ran a speedy 24.10 to take the win by a second over Bryhn Williams’ (Dave Bethany T.C.) 25.14. The boy’s 13-14 200m final was one of the most competitive of the day, resulting in a photo finish between Jaelen Hunter (Compton Electric Speed) and Carson Caldwell (Athletic Performance). The pair crossed the finish in a quick 22.22, with Hunter taking the nod by mere thousandths of a second in 22.213 to Caldwell’s 22.219. Conditions were just right for the girls 11-12 800m final as some of the best in the U.S. toed the line. Led by Laila Kirk’s (New Era Elite Track) winning 2:18.73, every single finalist ran a personal best. An evening of 4x100s was highlighted by Compton Electric Speed’s national 13-14 record. Jayden Brown, Jaelen Hunter, Kamil Pelovello, and Kaedyn Burroughs blazed their way to a 43.14 finish to take the win over Athletic Performance’s 43.28. The Inner Circle Track Club (Olivia Hicks, Sophia Beckman, Isabella Kneeshaw, and Mia Brahe-Pedersen) made a statement in the women’s 17-18 race, winning by more than a second with their 44.50 finish. Deshawn Turner (Unattached) took down the national record in the boy’s 8U 1500, narrowly missing a sub-5 time with his 5:01.95. Turner’s time was a whopping twelve seconds faster than his nearest competitor. Quenton Lanese (Barron Park Striders) followed suit later in the evening with the kick of the day to break the 11-12 age division 1500m record in 4:19.31. Victor Jaimez-Solorio Jr. (Pacific Coast Shock Waves) was close behind, bettering the previous record as well with his 4:21.07 finish. Jathiyah Muhammad (Mission Valley Track & Field) cleared a meet record 4.28m/14-0.5 in the women’s 17-18 pole vault to take the win by well over two feet. Her clearance made her the only vaulter to surpass four meters at the event and took the win handily.
Jasir Fontenot (Mercury San Diego) took a massive win in the boy’s 13-14 hurdles to better the age division record. His 12.74 bested the field by nearly a second, with James Hawkins Jr. (Unattached) in second in 13.53. The women’s 17-18 100m finals came down to a photo finish for first and third place in an incredible race. Braelyn Baker (Redmond Sprint Club) and Iyonna Codd (Nevada Track Club) leaned at the line for first, with Baker coming out on top with her 11.762 to Codd’s 11.768. Kayla Jackson (Afterburners Track) and Kayla McBride (SH Speed Houze) raced for third, finishing in 11.89 with Jackson getting the lean. GetBizzy Athletics’ 4x400m team ran away with gold in the girls 9-10 division. A’Nya Cole led off the quartet, passed off to Alayah Cannon who got the baton to Ta’niya Stewart before Ayalani Hill anchored the team to a 4:30.08 season best to win by seven seconds over the Florida Elite Track Club. Compton Electric Speed lived up to their club’s name in the boy’s 13-14 4x400m final as Jaelen Hunter, Kamil Pelovello, Jayden Brown, and Kaedyn Burroughs ran a meet record age division time of 3:22.38 - seven seconds faster than their nearest competitor. Cal’von Baker (Spartan Track Club Hawaii) had quite the day in the men’s 17-18 high jump as the only competitor in the field to clear higher than two meters. Baker cleared 2.04m/6-8 to take a decisive win in the event before making three good attempts at 2.14m/7-0.25. Capping off a week at Hayward, Spencer Young (Los Angeles Jets) showed off incredible talent in the women’s 17-18 javelin as she launched the spear 46.37m/152-1 to take the win by nearly three meters over Hallee Hughes’ (Unattached) 43.89m/144. A full list of results can be found here and on-demand coverage of the event will be made available at USATF.TV+.