July 26, 2024

Benjamin Wins Two Titles at National Junior Olympic Championships; Five Others Win in Texas

photo: Glenn Wachtman

The 2024 USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships concluded on Sunday (28-Jul) in College Station, Texas. The championships were held on the campus of Texas A&M University.

7571 athletes competed during the seven days of competition that began on Monday (22-Jul). USATF Pacific Northwest was represented by 197 athletes who competed in 282 individual events and 48 relay events.

USATF Pacific Northwest clubs represented at the championships were (# of athletes): Acceleration TC (1), Alpha Speed Academy (10), Auburn Elite TC (3), Bolt Track and Field (1), Bremerton Jaguars (4), Cascade Striders (20), Club Northwest (1), Federal Way TC (6), Flanagan Clan (1), Ford Sports Performance (22), Get Strong First TC (1), GLS Speed TC (16), High Voltage (16), King Cobras AC (2), Kitsap Fliers TFC (4), N1Sports Fighting Eagles TC (5), Rain City Flyers (2), Rainier Beach TC (7), Redmond Sprint (1), Royal T T&F (10), South Central Athletic Association (5), Team Blackout Elite TFC (22), Thriller Track & Field (4), Whisper Running (2), and Xtreme Speed TC (18).

The Pacific Northwest athletes won seven (7) national titles and earned 59 all-American honors (top eight in each event).

BENJAMIN WINS TWO NATIONAL TITLES AND A SILVER

Isaac Benjamin (Thriller Track & Field) earned three all-American honors as he won two national titles and added a runner-up finish. Competing in the Boys 15-16 division he won the 3000m and 2000m Steeplechase and finished second in the 1500m. In the 3000m, he stopped the clock at 8:39.21 to defeat Kiefer Wilcox of Nevada by over 16 seconds. In the 2000m Steeplechase he ran 6:02.93 to win by over 16 seconds. He just missed his personal best by .13 from his win at the Region 13 championships two weeks earlier In the 1500m he ran 4:04.68 as Wilcox took the win in 3:58.99. While Benjamin did not set any personal bests in Texas he came very close in all three events as cumulatively he was just 2.38 seconds off his personal bests across the three events.

CONGER "THE ROOKIE" WINS GOLD THEN ADDS SILVER

In just his first year of competing in the sport, Jaxon Conger (Royal T T&F) won a national title in the Shot Put and then a runner-up finish in the Discus Throw. Competing in the Boys 11-12 division Conger claimed the title in the Shot Put with a put of 14.75m (48-04¾). He defeated Decil Kellam of Texas by 2 feet 6 inches. In the Discus Throw he set a personal best by over three feet to earn the silver medal. His mark of 34.84m (114-06) only trailed the winning throw of 38.05m (124-10) by Jermaine Jones II of Indiana. Conger's teammate, Cordell Paige Jr., also competing in his first year, finished sixth in the Shot Put with a put of 11.42m.

ATKINS & BEARD WIN SECOND STRAIGHT TITLES

At last year's national championships in Oregon Casssandra Atkins (Alpha Speed Academy) won the 17-18 Girls Triple Jump. But she came to College Station as the #2 behind Kaeli Powe of Colorado. Through five jumps Powe held the lead with Atkins holding on to the silver medal spot but on her final jump, Atkins unleashed the winning jump of 12.59m (41-03¾) to defeat Powe by 2 inches. The mark was a personal best by 5½ inches. Her teammate, Addison Kelly finished third with a mark of 12.47m.

Atkins also finished 13th in the Long Jump with a best mark of 5.85m (19-02½).

Kimberly Beard (Get Strong First TC) won the Girls 15-16 Hammer Throw title last year in Oregon. This year she moved up to the 17-18 division but that did not stop her winning ways. She took the lead on the first throw of the competition and never looked back as she defeated runner-up Morgan Flaska of by over 14 feet. Beard's winning throw of 55.00m (180-05) was just 2 feet 8 inches shy of the national youth record set in 2014 by Lena Gieger. All of Beard's legal marks were better than Flaska's best mark. A month earlier Beard set a personal best of 186-06 finishing third at the USATF U20 Championships.

ANDREWS THE JUNIOR OLYMPIC VETERAN WINS FOURTH CAREER NATIONAL TITLE

Kenyon Andrews is a Junior Olympic veteran. He started competing in the program way back in 2014 - 10 years ago! And he was competing in local meets two years earlier. Back then he was competing in the 8 & under division. Over the years, he has won three national titles and earned 12 all-American honors. His previous titles were won in the 8U 800m (2016), 9-10 Triathlon (2018), and 11-12 Pentathlon (2019). This year competing in the 15-16 division he came to College Station as the #1 seed in the 400m Hurdles and that held to form as he won convincingly in a new personal best time of 52.77 to notch national title number four. He defeated Noah Van Der Linden of Texas by 1.5 seconds, lowering his personal best by .71 seconds. The mark established a new Pacific Northwest association record. His name now appears on the Pacific Northwest Association record list in every age division from 8U to 15-16.

Andrews also ran the 2nd leg on the GLS Speed Track Club's 4x400m relay that finished second. Their time of 3:14.12 established a new association record. His teammates on the relay were Aiden Morton, Dionysus So-Gilmore, and Sutton Flint.

Flint, who established the association record of 14.21 at the Region 13 championships, finished second in the 15-16 110m Hurdles running 14.32, and was also 10th in the 400m Hurdles (57.44).

MURRAY CLAIMS TRIATHLON TITLE

Prior to this year Avery Murray best individual finish at a national championship was 19th (7-8 400m in 2022) but this year he found the Triathlon and he soared to the top of the awards podium as he won the national title in the 9-10 division. Despite a late start on Monday, due to severe weather, Murray was able to narrowly take the win as the top three were separated by only 18 points. Going into the final event, the 400m, Murray trailed eventual runner-up Myron Edwards, Jr. of Missouri by 132 points but ran 8.67 seconds faster than Edwards which was enough for him to leapfrog over Edwards to win the competition by just 10 points.

BROWN SPRINTS TO TWO SILVER MEDALS

Two years ago while competing in the 7-8 division Sora Brown (Ford Sports Performance) finished fourth in both the 100m and 200m at the national championships in California. Fast forward to 2024 and once again he finished in the same place in both the 100m and 200m but improved on those placings. In College Station he finished second in the Boys 9-10 100m and 200m. In the 100m he stopped the clock at 12.74 (+w) finishing just .03 seconds behind Andrew Akinkuolie of Texas. In the 200m he ran 27.17 and only trailed Avery Robinson of California who won in 26.50.

YES, THERE IS A SILVER LINING

In addition to the runner-up finishes by Benjamin, Brown, Conger, Flint, and the GLS Speed TC 4x400m Relay winning silver medals were:

Zachariah O'Keefe (Xtreme Speed TC, Boys 13-14 800m, 2:01.86)
Riley Tricas (Xtreme Speed TC, Boys 17-18 1500m, 3:59.53)
Soliè Anderson (Ford Sports Performance, Girls 11-12 Long Jump, 5.14m)

STATUES ARE MADE OF BRONZE

Four Pacific Northwest athletes finished third in their events to earn trips to the awards podium to receive their bronze medals and all-American hats. They were:

Tyler Bates (Unattached; Boys 17-18 Hammer Throw, 59.35m)
Richard Baker Jr. (Team Blackout Elite TFC; Boys 17-18 Long Jump, 7.56m)
Addison Kelly (Alpha Speed Academy; Girls 17-18 Triple Jump, 12.47m)
Chloe Wilson (Cascade Striders; Girls 13-14 High Jump, 1.60m)

.....AND WE HAVE MORE DOUBLE ALL-AMERICANS

A total of six (6) Pacific Northwest athletes earned multiple individual all-American honors. Joining the already mentioned (Benjamin, Brown, and Conger) were:

Hailee Foster (High Voltage; Girls 13-14 5th High Jump, 5th Pentathlon)
Keira Isabelle Tupua (Unattached; Girls 15-16 6th, Discus Throw, 7th Shot Put)
Geron White (Federal Way TC; Boys 17-18, 4th High Jump, 6th Decathlon)

FULL LIST OF PACIFIC NORTHWEST ALL-AMERICANS

NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
Isaac Benjamin (Thriller Track & Field) Boys 15-16 3000m
Isaac Benjamin (Thriller Track & Field) Boys 15-16 2000m Steeplechase
Kenyon Andrews (GLS Speed TC) Boys 15-16 400m Hurdles
Casssandra Atkins (Alpha Speed Academy) Girls 17-18 Triple Jump
Jaxon Conger (Royal T T&F) Boys 11-12 Shot Put
Kimberly Beard Get Strong First TC Girls 17-18 Hammer Throw
Avery Murray (Team Blackout Elite TFC) Boys 9-10 Triathlon

SECOND PLACE

Sora Brown (Ford Sports Performance) Boys 9-10 100m
Sora Brown (Ford Sports Performance) Boys 9-10 200m
Zachariah O'Keefe (Xtreme Speed TC) Boys 13-14 800m
Isaac Benjamin (Thriller Track & Field) Boys 15-16 1500m
Riley Tricas (Xtreme Speed TC) Boys 17-18 1500m
Sutton Flint (GLS Speed TC) Boys 15-16 110m Hurdles
Soliè Anderson (Ford Sports Performance) Girls 11-12 Long Jump
Jaxon Conger (Royal T T&F) Boys 11-12 Discus Throw
GLS Speed TC Boys 15-16 4x400m Relay

THIRD PLACE

Chloe Wilson (Cascade Striders) Girls 13-14 High Jump
Richard Baker Jr. (Team Blackout Elite TFC) Boys 17-18 Long Jump
Addison Kelly (Alpha Speed Academy) Girls 17-18 Triple Jump
Tyler Bates (Unattached) Boys 17-18 Hammer Throw

FOURTH PLACE

Braelyn Baker (Redmond Sprint) Girls 17-18 200m
Lauren Balousek (Ford Sports Performance) Girls 13-14 400m
Geron White (Federal Way TC) Boys 17-18 High Jump
Brooklyn Long (High Voltage) Girls 7-8 Long Jump
Shane Kang (The Throws Club) Boys 15-16 Javelin Throw
GLS Speed TC Boys 15-16 4x100m Relay

FIFTH PLACE

Nicholas Altheimer (Kitsap Fliers TFC) Boys 17-18 100m
Kirra Narlock (Federal Way TC) Girls 11-12 1500m
Hailee Foster (High Voltage) Girls 13-14 High Jump
Hailee Foster (High Voltage) Girls 13-14 Pentathlon
Avery Goldwire (Cascade Striders) Girls 15-16 Heptathlon
High Voltage (7-8 Girls 4x100m Relay)

SIXTH PLACE

Carter Kimble (Royal T T&F) Boys 11-12 200m
Keith Hunter (High Voltage) Boys 17-18 1500m
Kason Carta (GLS Speed TC) Boys 15-16 110m Hurdles
Cordell Paige Jr. (Royal T T&F) Boys 11-12 Shot Put
Keira Isabelle Tupua (Unattached) Girls 15-16 Discus Throw
Anvi Bhatia (Rainier Beach TC) Girls 15-16 Javelin Throw
Geron White (Federal Way TC) Boys 17-18 Decathlon
Cascade Striders Girls 11-12 4x800m Relay

SEVENTH PLACE

Cache Tait (Cascade Striders) Boys 11-12 3000m
Aaliyah Alicea-Murray (Team Blackout Elite TFC) Girls 13-14 200m Hurdles
Kylie Lidstrand (Xtreme Speed TC) Girls 15-16 2000m Steeplechase
Amarianna DeMyers (Royal T T&F) Girls 11-12 High Jump
Brody Wetmore (Unattached) Boys 15-16 Pole Vault
Romeo Cabansag III (Xtreme Speed TC) Boys 15-16 Long Jump
Aaliyah Khan (GLS Speed TC) Girls 15-16 Triple Jump
Zoe Jackson (Ford Sports Performance) Girls 7-8 Shot Put
Maya Lord-Roberson (Rainier Beach TC) Girls 13-14 Shot Put
Keira Isabelle Tupua (Unattached) Girls 15-16 Shot Put
GLS Speed TC GLS Speed TC Boys 17-18 4x400m Relay

EIGHTH PLACE

Zariah TecleMariam (Team Blackout Elite TFC) Girls 7-8 200m
Mila Tsai (Xtreme Speed TC) Girls 17-18 3000m
Bishop Lord-Roberson (Rainier Beach TC) Boys 9-10 1500m Race Walk
Emir Reed (Royal T T&F) Boys 9-10 Shot Put
Alisha Khan (GLS Speed TC) Girls 15-16 Javelin Throw
Grace Degarimore (Thriller Track & Field) Girls 17-18 Javelin Throw
GLS Speed TC Girls 17-18 4x100m Relay
Royal T T&F Boys 17-18 4x400m Relay
Xtreme Speed TC Boys 17-18 4x800m Relay

The complete Pacific Northwest Results Scoreboard can be found here.