A near three hour weather delay slowed down Saturday's portion of USATF Junior Nationals considerably but many prep athletes still competed well, qualifying for the US Junior National team. The best performance of the evening came from Oregon junior Elijah Greer(pictured right by Margot Kelly), who won the mens 800m dash in 1:47.68, a high school U.S. #4 all-time and a junior class record. On the girls side Cydney Ross (MO) and Shanay Briscoe (TX) picked up first place finishes in the 800m dash and high jump respectively. See what else took place on the second of three days in Ohio.
The third and last day of Nike Outdoor Nationals takes place Saturday and the final events of the weekend are looking outstanding. While many great races and field events take place earlier in the day, the opening ceremony on the track starts at 5:15 p.m. (EST). The top events of the day are the boys and girls mile, boys 800m dash, boys shot put, girls hammer throw and the boys and girls distance medley relays. Keep checking back throughout the day as we provide coverage of each event.
The first day of the USATF Junior National T&F Championships got off to a great start Friday as athletes from across the country conviened at Ohio State University. Leading the way on Day 1 was Roxi Grizzle (Tonganoxie, KS). Grizzle (pictured left by Margot Kelly) placed second in the womens javelin competition with a U.S. #5 all-time effort of 170-03. Elsehwere, Booker Nunley (Garner, NC) ran one of the fastest prep marks ever in the 110m hurdles, taking home the title with his 13.40 effort. With two more days of competition remaining, this weekend in Ohio promises to be exciting.
The decision for many athletes this year was hard. Go to Nike Outdoor Nationals, our sports high school track and field champion, or take their talents to Ohio and compete at the USATF Junior National T&F Championships and try to make the world team. Both meets fell on the same weekend this year, so athletes had to make a choice. Well, it turns out many of the top athletes across the country want their shot to make Team USA and the Junior National meet is loaded with talent. See who's got a shot to make the team.
The decision for many athletes this year was hard. Go to Nike Outdoor Nationals, our sports high school track and field champion, or take their talents to Ohio and compete at the USATF Junior National T&F Championships and try to make the world team. Both meets fell on the same weekend this year, so athletes had to make a choice. Well, it turns out many of the top athletes across the country want their shot to make Team USA and the Junior National meet is loaded with talent. See who's got a shot to make the team.
The final official week of the high school track and field season is here. With Nike Outdoor Nationals (NC) and USATF Junior Nationals (OH) taking place this weekend, most of the top prep athletes will be competing for their final time this season. Marquee match-ups dot the start lists at each competition with historic match-ups taking place. Championships will be won, records will be broken and MileSplit will be on-site at both locations.
Nike Outdoor Nationals
USATF Junior T&F Nationals
The Gatorade Player of the Year Program announced Wednesday morning that Chanelle Price (Easton, PA) (pictured left by Victah Sailer of 
Speed was the name of the game at the Midwest Meet of Champions Saturday in Michigan. Seniors from Indiana, Ohio and Michigan gathered in the attempts to earn regional bragging rights. While many events put up great results, none showed more talent than the 400m dash, where Ohio shined the brightest. On the girls side, Ohio took home 1st and 4th place finishes with speedster Meshawn Graham going sub 54 seconds once again, while the boys swept the top three places with John Gaugenti going sub 47 seconds to lead the way.
Athletes from over 15 states will travel to Lisle, Illinois this weekend to take part in the fourth annual Midwest Distance Gala. This year's edition offers the best fields yet, with some incredible competition across the board, capable of running some of the nation's best times this season. Leading the way are Foot Locker finalists Rob Finnerty, Bobby Nicolls and Emily Sisson, middle-distance stars Andrew Perkins, Mat Smoody and Ashley Verplank, and coast-to-coast competition in Oregion's Taylor Morgan and Maryland's Graham Bazell. See which events are a must-see this weekend.
Being undefeated in a track event is a hard thing to do over the course of two years. It's even harder when the state you run in is the always strong distance state of Illinois. Well, Mat Smoody (Palatine, IL) (pictured left by Paul Kwak) accomplished just that two weeks ago, wrapping up his Illinois season with his second consecutive state 800m title. The Wisconsin-bound senior came into the season ranked ninth among returnees nationally, but with some major accomplishments this season and a stronger base, Smoody is looking towards Greensboro, North Carolina and winning a national title. See what Smoody has to say on a variety of topics, including his tactical state race, how he got into running and what exactly his shoulder tattoo is of.
USATF Junior T&F Nationals
News came this morning from FLRunners.com editor Jason Byrne that Florida sprint sensation Jeff Demps (pictured left by Jason Byrne) is entered in the 100m dash at Sunday's Prefontaine Classic. Demps' addition makes him the third high school athlete in the professional meet, joining Chanelle Price of Pennsylvania and Luke Puskedra of Utah. This is a great opportunity for the University of Florida-bound Demps to improve upon his 100m time and perhaps earn an invitation to the Olympic Trials. 
What a fantastic weekend it's been. Big championship style invitationals (Golden South, Golden West, Great Southwest) state meets (Ohio, Minnesota, New Hampshire, etc.) and the prestigous Prefontaine Classic hosted great high school competition all weekend long. A handful of U.S. top ten all-time performances took place, including Ryann Krais' (pictured left by Alan Versaw) U.S. #2 all-time heptathlon.
What a season it's been for California's Christine Babcock. The Woodbridge H.S. senior ran 10:04.03 for 3200m at the Arcadia Invitational, taking Jordan Hasay to the line and running one of the top ten fastest times ever in the event. However, Babcock really broke onto the national landscape when she ran 4:36.57 for 1600m at her Master Section Championships, one of the fastest times ever run. At the California State Championships this past weekend Babcock ran the fastest 1600m ever with her winning time of 4:33.82, and when converted ranks her as the second fastest miler in prep history. See what Babcock has to say in this exclusive interview, where she talks about her record-breaking race, why she didn't run Foot Locker, and much more.
The Great Southwest Track and Field Classic kicks off at the University of New Mexico Thursday as some of the top multi-event athletes in the country take part in the heptathlon and decathlon. Starting Saturday, the rest of this incredible invitational takes place, where dozens of U.S. top ten ranked athletes will go head-to-head in a full slate of events. MileSplit will be on-site providing coverage all weekend long.
The Great Southwest Track and Field Classic kicks off at the University of New Mexico Thursday as some of the top multi-event athletes in the country take part in the heptathlon and decathlon. Starting Saturday, the rest of this incredible invitational takes place, where dozens of U.S. top ten ranked athletes will go head-to-head in a full slate of events. MileSplit will be on-site providing coverage all weekend long.
With so many great results this past weekend, we wrap-up the weekend and look ahead in our weekly News & Notes section. This week we discuss a freshman shot put sensation not named Nick Vena, the big 1600m race in Minnesota on Saturday, other state action and the Prefontaine Classic. (Pictured left is Ryan Crouser of Oregon (wearing #65) and his cousin Sam Crouser. Ryan has throw 60-02 this year in the shot put as a freshman. Photo by Kim Spir)