Sacramento, CA — Two new national records were set during the prelims on the third day of the USATF Hershey National Junior Olympic Track and Field Championships.
Fifteen additional athletes were crowned Junior Olympic champions after the completion of their respective field events.
The USATF Hershey National Junior Olympic Track and Field Championships continue Thursday through Sunday and will be broadcast live on USATF.TV+. The broadcast will begin each day at 8:00am PT with the first scheduled running event.
Live results can be found here and the competition schedule here.
Yasmin Lopez (Pacific Coast Shock Waves) broke the first national record of the day in the girl’s 8 & under 800m prelim. Throughout the race Lopez maintained a growing lead on the rest of the field and crossed the finish line in 2:34.35. The previous record of 2:38.11 belonged to her older sister, Yamilet set in 2016.
In the girl’s 11-12 200m prelim, Payton Payne (Glenarden Track) set the second national record of the day. Payne ran 24.34 to break the previous record of 24.37 set by Adaejah Hodge last year.
Kamiya Dendy (Unattached) won the women’s 17-18 high jump with a clearance of 1.75m/5-8.75. Dendy passed the first six heights of the competition, coming in at 1.65m/5-5. With four athletes remaining at 1.75m, Dendy was able to be the sole athlete to clear the height for the title.
On his first throw of the competition, Leighton Little (Carolina Eagles) won the boy’s 9-10 javelin throw. Little threw 37.05m/121-6 to win the event by over six feet. Braylon Gates (Pirate Track Club) also had his best throw on his first attempt. Gates had a throw of 35.06m/115-0 to take home the silver medal.
Hana Moll (Performance), Tatum Richards (Unattached) and Amanda Moll (Performance) fought for the title in the girl’s 13-14 pole vault. All three girls successfully cleared 3.55m/11-7.75 and missed their final height of 3.70m/12-1.75. First place was awarded to the athlete with the least amount of misses on the most successful height. Hana only had one miss, giving her the title, Richards placed second and Amanda placed third.
The boy’s 15-16 triple jump was decided by a half an inch. On the final attempt of the prelims, Dillon Peters (Unattached) jumped 14.07m/46-2 and Malcom Beavans (Saints Track Club) jumped 14.06m/46-1.5. After the first jump of the finals, Peters passed on his last two jumps and Beaven tried to go for the gold, but came up short.
Nathan Cooper (Unattached) was the only athlete over 58 feet in the men’s 17-18 shot put. Cooper threw 17.80m/58-4.75 on his final throw of the prelims to take the lead. On his second throw of the finals series, he bettered his prelim throw with 17.93m/58-10 to secure his USATF Junior Olympic Championship.
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Day 3 Champions
Triple Jump
Boy’s Triple Jump, 13-14, Brandon Hills (Colorado Springs Striders), 13.27m/43-6.5
Boy’s Triple Jump, 15-16, Dillon Peters (Unattached), 14.07m/46-2
High Jump
Girl’s High Jump, 9-10, Lauren Ash (Plyometric Fusion), 1.30m/4-3.25
Women’s High Jump, 17-18, Kamiya Dendy (Unattached), 1.75m/ 5-8.75
Shot Put
Girl’s Shot Put, 15-16, Chrystal Herpin (Unattached), 13.38m/43-10.75
Women Shot Put, 17-18, Christalee Kirby (The Throwing Factory), 14.01m/45-11.75
Men’s Shot Put, 17-18, Nathan Cooper (Unattached), 17.93m/58-10
Javelin
Girl’s Javelin, 8 & Under, Kylie Vega (El Paso Wings TC), 18.47m/60-7
Boy’s Javelin, 8 & Under, Lucas Beyon (Marin Waves Track and Field), 27.81m/91-3
Boy’s Javelin, 9-10, Leighton Little (Carolina Eagles Track and Field), 37.05m/121-6
Boy’s Javelin, 11-12, Maxwell Illuzzi (New Jersey Striders), 39.74m/130-4
Pole Vault
Girl’s Pole Vault, 13-14, Hana Moll (Performance), 3.55m/11-7.75
Boy’s Pole Vault, 13-14, Wyatt Stewart (Team Kentucky), 4.40m/14-5.25
Long Jump
Girl’s Long Jump, 15-16, Nadia Collins (Tallahassee Zoom Track), 5.63m/18-5.75
Men’s Long Jump, 17-18, Clayton Keys (Track Houston), 7.40m/24-3.5
