Five national titles; 32 all-American honors for Pacific Northwest athletes at Junior Olympic nationals

Bates and Lee win national titles Plus

Tyler Bates and Hannah Lee each won a national title and then each added an additional all-American performance to their resumes.

Bates, a rising sophomore at Aberdeen High School, won the 15-16 boys Hammer Throw with a throw of 45.76m (150-1). His mark was 9 inches better than the 149-4 turned in by David Thilen of South Carolina.  He was just 5 inches shy of his career-best set in June at the Washington State High School Hammer Championships.  In the Discus Throw, Bates was in 13th place with one throw left but unleashed his best throw, a career-best, when he needed it most and finished in 8th place.  His throw of 42.38m (139-5) was just .12m (5") ahead of 9th place but far enough to secure the last all-American spot.  His previous career best throw was 133-9 from the Pacific Northwest championships in June.  He also finished 17th in the Shot Put with a mark of 12.53m (41-1½).

Lee, a rising junior at Peninsula High School, won the 17-18 girls 3000m in a time of 10:32.11 and then followed that up with a fourth place finish in the 1500m running 4:44.49. Both times were career-bests for Lee. In the 3000m, she crossed the line 3.55 seconds ahead of runner-up Eva Jess of Texas.  

We are the champions
Joining Bates and Lee as national champions were Jeremiah Nubbe, Kaia Swegler Richmond, and JaiCieonna Gero-Holt.

Nubbe, the 2021 Washington Gatorade Player of the Year, won the 17-18 Discus Throw with a best throw of 57.63m (189-1). Earlier in the season Nubbe, a rising senior at Rainier High School, set a career best of 200-2 which currently ranks #5 in the U.S. in 2021 and is the #4 high school throw in Washington state history.  The state record of 207-2 was set in  1997 by Vinnie Pecht (West Valley, Spokane).

Swegler Richmond, a recent graduate of South Whidbey High School, won the 17-18 girls 2000m Steeplechase running 7:26.14. She finished 10 seconds ahead of Corinn Brewer of Pennsylvania.

Four years ago at the national championships in Kansas JaiCieonna Gero-Holt   (4 Performance) won the girls 11-12 High Jump.  Fast forward to 2021 and Gero-Holt found herself at the top of podium once again.  In Jacksonville she cleared 1.70m (5-7) to win the competition by 2 inches over Amaya Bien-Aime of Florida.

All-American x 2

Joining Bates and Lee in earning two trips to the awards podium were Zach Davis (Rain City Flyers), Anthony Smith (Tahoma TC), Manav Bhatia (Rainier Beach TC), Geron White (Federal Way TC), and Hannah Ganashamoothy (Project 316).

Zach Davis finished second in both the 11-12 boys 1500m and 3000m.  In the 1500m he ran 4:42.22 and in the 3000m he stopped the clock at 10:15.68. Both times were career-bests for Davis.  In the 1500m he finished .69 seconds behind Evan Lillie of Iowa and in the 3000m he only trailed Michael Studer of Massachusetts who ran 10:00.80. 

Anthony Smith, a rising freshman at the University of Washington, finished second in the 17-18 boys 200m running 21.49 and then earned a bronze medal as he finished third in the 100m in 10.71.  In the semi-final of the 200m he ran 21.47 which is the high school #1 in Washington for 2021.

Manav Bhatia won a silver medal in the 13-14 boys Javelin Throw with a throw of 45.78m (150-2) and then earned his second trip to the awards podium with a fifth place in the Shot Put 14.33m / 47-0¼).  Bhatia's younger sister, Anvi Bhatia (Rainier Beach TC; 11-12 girls) also won the silver medal in the Javelin Throw.   Despite throwing with a fractured throwing hand she was able to still throw 30.90m (101-4).  Elle Cocco of South Carolina won the competition with a throw of 34.22m (112-3)  In June, prior to her injury, Bhatia won the USATF Youth Championships in Georgia, with a throw of 35.65m (116-11).

Geron White started the meet off with a fourth place finish in the 13-14 boys Pentathlon scoring 2619 points. The event was very competitive as the top four all were within 111 points.  The event winner was Colton Dean of Pennsylvania with 2730 points.  White had the best High Jump performance of the 31 competitors as he cleared 1.65m (5-5).  Four days later he finished eighth in the High Jump again clearing 1.65m.  In between he also finished 23rd in the 100m Hurdles running 15.81.
    
Hannah Ganashamoorthy, a recent graduate of Monroe High School, picked up her two all_American honors in the 17-18 girls Triple Jump and Long Jump.  In the Triple Jump she leaped 11.85m (38-10½) for fourth place and then finished fifth in the Long Jump with a mark of 5.66m (18-7).  Her Triple Jump performance was a career-best by 1¼ inches.

They make statues out of Bronze

USATF Pacific Northwest All-American Scoreboard:

Hannah Lee (Thriller TF) 17-18 girls 3000m
Kaia Swegler Richmond (unattached) 17-18 girls 2000m Steeplechase
JaiCieonna Gero-Holt (4 Performance) 15-16 girls High Jump
Jeremiah Nubbe (Yelm Tornado TC) 17-18 boys Discus Throw
Tyler Bates (unattached) 15-16 boys Hammer Throw

Anthony Smith (Tahoma TC) 17-18 boys 200m
Zach Davis (Rain City Flyers) 11-12 boys 1500m
Zach Davis (Rain City Flyers) 11-12 boys 3000m
Anvi Bhatia (Rainier Beach TC) 11-12 girls Javelin Throw
Manav Bhatia (Rainier Beach TC) 13-14 boys Javelin Throw
Thriller TF 17-18 girls 4x800m Relay

Anthony Smith (Tahoma TC) 17-18 boys 100m
Saydi Orange (Tahoma TC) 17-18 girls Javelin Throw
Gage Pedro (Yelm Tornado TC) 15-16 boys Hammer Throw

Hannah Lee (Thriller TF) 17-18 girls 1500m
Manisha Manogaran (Cascade Striders) 13-14 girls 3000m Racewalk
Hannah Ganashamoorthy (Project 316) 17-18 girls Triple Jump
Alisha Khan (Speed Unlimited) 11-12 girls Javelin Throw
JauVon James-Juneau (unattached) 17-18 boys Javelin Throw
Geron White (Federal Way TC) 13-14 boys Pentathlon

Narendra Manogaran (Cascade Striders) 17-18 boys 3000m Racewalk
Hannah Ganashamoorthy (Project 316) 17-18 girls Long Jump
Manav Bhatia (Rainier Beach TC) 13-14 boys Shot Put
Aaliyah Khan (Speed Unlimited) 13-14 girls Javelin Throw
Redmond Sprint Club 17-18 girls 4x400m Relay

Jakob Braunstein (unattached) 17-18 boys Javelin Throw
Olivia Conklin (4 Performance) 17-18 girls Heptathlon

Sutton Flint (Cascade Striders) 13-14 boys 200m Hurdles

Geron White (Federal Way TC) 13-14 boys High Jump
Reagan Ince (Tahoma TC) 17-18 girls High Jump
Tyler Bates (unattached) 15-16 boys Discus Throw
Cascade Striders 13-14 boys 4x100m Relay