Lanese and Beard Set Records; Baker Triples at National Junior Olympics in Eugene

Results 

The 2023 USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships concluded on Sunday (30-Jul) in Eugene, Oregon. The championships were held at Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon.

7719 athletes competed during the seven days of competition that began on Monday (24-Jul).  USATF Pacific Northwest was represented by 479 athletes who competed in 752 individual events and 100 relays.  

Pacific Northwest athletes won 16 national titles, set three (3) national records, had six (6) runner-up finishes, and turned in an additional 61 all-American performances by finishing in the top eight in an event. In total, Pacific Northwest athletes earned 83 trips to the awards podium to receive championship medals and all-American honors. 

USATF Pacific Northwest clubs represented at the championships were (# of athletes):

Acceleration TC (3), Alpha Speed Academy (25), Auburn Elite TC (3), Barron Park Striders (5), Bolt Track and Field (15), Bremerton Jaguars (10), Cascade Striders 28), Federal Way TC (27), Flop House High Jump Club (1), Ford Sports Performance (43), FW Elite (1), Get Strong First TC (1), GLS Speed TC (19), Heir Track & Field (19), HIFO Sports TC (6), High Voltage (17), King Cobras Athletic Club (16), Kitsap Fliers TF Club (15), Mercer Island Bluebirds (5), Northwest Pole Vault Club (6), PNW Tornado TC (7), Rain City Flyers (22), Rainier Beach TC (12), Ready Set Go Sprinters (6), Royal T Track & Field (5), Seattle Masters AC (1), Sonic Boom Running Club (2), South Central Athletic Assoc (9), Speed Unlimited (4), Tahoma TC (5), Team Blackout Elite Track & Field Club (26), Thriller Track & Field (6), Washington TF Academy (7), West Seattle Road Runners (7), Whisper Running (2), Xtreme Speed TC (34).

BEARD AND LANESE - THE RECORD SETTERS

On day 1 of the championships, Kimberly Beard (Get Strong First TC - pictured above) set the tone for the entire Pacific Northwest enclave as she won the 15-16 Girls Hammer Throw for the second year in a row and set a new USATF youth national record. The record-setting throw of 53.68m (176-01) came in round three as she broke the existing record (51.13m / 167-09) by over eight feet. It was Beard's personal best by over eight feet. She also finished 16th in the Discus Throw and 17th in the Shot Put.
  At last year's championships in Sacramento, despite being at the "bottom" of the age division, Quenton Lanese (Barron Park Striders - pictured above) won both the 1500m and 3000m setting a new 11-12 national youth record in the 3000m.  Now a year older he came to Eugene to defend his titles and possibly re-write the record books. The original schedule had the 3000m finals on Saturday and the 1500m finals on Sunday but a last-minute change resulted in both finals taking place on Saturday making the double more difficult. Well, Lanese did not flinch as he ran to victory and set new national records in both races. The 3000m came first at 10 AM. He was able to easily distance himself from the field and won by over 16 seconds; stopping the clock at 9:26.59 to break his record of 9:31.17. Of note, is that last year he broke the record by seven seconds so within a span of a year he has lowered the record by over 12 seconds. Twelve hours later he returned to the track to defend his 1500m title but the victory would not come as easy in the 1500m as it did earlier in the day in the 3000m. With 400m to go, he trailed Victor Jaimez-Solorio Jr. of California by a second with the rest of the pack trailing by another five seconds. Lanese used a 1:05.6 final lap to overtake Jaimez-Solorio who could only manage a 1:08.5 final circuit. Lanese's time of 4:19.31 broke the national record of 4:22.05 set in 2012 by Coleman Mitchell. Jaimez-Solorio also dipped under the record running 4:21.07.

In the same races, Lanese's Barron Park Striders teammate James Levitt finished fourth in the 3000m (9:50.17 - personal best) and 13th in the 1500m (4:46.17). 

Lanese's twin sister, Caitlin Lanese picked up the family's third all-American honor as she ran to a sixth-place finish in the 3000m. Her time was 10:50.90. She also finished ninth in the 1500m running a personal best of 5:03.55; just .03 seconds shy of earning a second all-American honor.

THREE TITLES IN 24 HOURS FOR BAKER

Braelyn Baker (Redmond Sprint Club - pictured above) was one of only two athletes in Eugene to win three individual titles and all three titles came within a 23-hour span. On Saturday she ran to victory in the 200m running 23.42 to defeat Nasya Williams of Texas. She returned the following day and within a 30-minute span won the 100m and then the 400m Hurdles. In the 100m, she narrowly edged out Iyonna Codd of Nevada as both were credited with a time of 11.77. In the 400m Hurdles she set a new personal best of 59.20 to defeat Keilee Hall by over one second.

DOUBLE GOLD FOR COLLIER AND RODRIQUEZ-VILLEN

On day one of the championships Sydney Collier (Cascade Striders - pictured above) struck gold in the 15-16 Girls 2000m Steeplechase as she won the first of two national titles in Eugene. Her winning time of 7:13.21 defeated Saylor Stevenson of Texas by over three seconds. Five days later she claimed the 3000m in a time of 10:23.90; nine seconds ahead of Avery Boydston of Kansas.
  Joining the elite club of being a multiple national champion was Martina Rodriguez-Villen (Rain City Flyers - pictured above) who won the 9-10 Girls 800m and 1500 titles as both were contested on Saturday. The 800m went off at 3:45 PM and she ran to victory stopping the clock at 2:26.47; nearly three seconds ahead of Aneesa Tientcheu of Texas. Just under five hours later she won the 1500m by over three seconds defeating Lindsey Carney of New Jersey. She also finished 12th in the 400m running 1:07.06. Competing in the same three events with Rodriguez-Villen was her Rain City Flyers teammate Leah Kussick. Kussick finished fourth in the 1500m (5:15.77) and sixth in the 800m (2:34.46 - personal best), and 45th in the 400m (1:13.01).

ATKINS AND WHITE WIN AND RETURN TO THE PODIUM AGAIN

Casssandra Atkins (Alpha Speed Academy) claimed the 17-18 Girls Triple Jump with a mark of 12.28m (40-03½).  She earned her second all-American honor by placing third in the Long Jump with a leap of 5.85m (19-2½); a personal best by two inches.
  Back in 2017, Geron White (pictured above) finished fifth in the 9-10 Boys High Jump and ninth in the Triathlon at the national championships held in Kansas. Fast forward six years and White improved on these placings while now competing in the 15-16 division. In the High Jump he leaped to the national title with a clearance of 1.95m (6-4¾); defeating Robert Campbell of Indiana by two inches. Earlier in the week he finished seventh in the Decathlon scoring 5262 points; a personal best by over 600 points. He also finished 25th in the Long Jump.

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS....OF USATF

Earning individual gold medals were Ciana Johnson (Rain City Flyers), Tyson Daniels (Ford Sports Performance), and Martin Ekure (Rain City Flyers).

Ciana Johnson ran to victory in the 13-14 Girls 800m running a personal best time of 2:15.92. She outlasted Reilly Thomas of Oregon who earned the silver medal running 2:17.26. Johnson's previous best was 2:17.83 in winning the Region 13 title two weeks earlier. She also anchored the Rain City Flyers to an eighth-place finish in the 4x800m relay.

Tyson Daniels won the 11-12 Boys Shot Put with a mark of 15.86m (52-0½). He defeated region 13 rival Owen Forsyth (USATF Inland Northwest) by over five feet. The mark was a personal best by over five feet.

Martin Ekure won the 9-10 Boys Triathlon scoring 807 points to defeat Dylan Wright of Texas by 94 points. He also finished 26th in the 800m (2:41.75) and propelled his 4x400m relay team to a 14th place finish.

RELAY GOLD FOR FORD SPORTS PERFORMANCE

In the Boys 15-16 4x100m relay the Ford Sports Performance squad dominated the competition as they got the stick to the finish line in 41.35; nearly a full second ahead of runner-up Dave Bethany TC of Texas. The relay members were Sage Salopek I, T'Andre Waverly, Zaire Griffin, and Akeem Murph Jr. Griffin also picked up an individual visit to the awards podium as he placed sixth in the 100m running 10.96. He came to Eugene with a personal best of 10.97 from his win at the Region 13 championships but lowered that to 10.95 in the first round and then 10.89 in the semi-finals.

Finishing sixth in the same 15-16 4x100m relay was the GLS Speed Track Club. They stopped the clock at 43.00. Their legs were covered by Aidan MacDonald, Eric De Oliveira, Roan Krishnamurthy, and Reylen Witherspoon.

Other relay teams earning trips to the awards podium were:

•  GLS Speed TC (4th, 4x100m 17-18 Boys)
•  Cascade Striders (4th, 4x800m 11-12 Girls)
•  Ford Sports Performance (5th, 4x100m 8U Boys)
•  Rain City Flyers (8th, 4x800m 13-14 Girls)
•  Xtreme Speed TC (8th, 4x800m 17-18 Boys)

YES, THERE IS A SILVER LINING

Winning silver medals for their runner-up finishes were: 

• Oliver Hale (Rain City Flyers, 800m 8U Boys, 2:35.13)
• Andrew Shirley (Alpha Speed Academy, Pole Vault    17-18 Boys, 5.00m)
• Jonathan Frazier (Team Blackout Elite, 400m Hurdles 17-18 Boys, 52.48)
• Kasia Larsen (Ford Sports Performance, Long Jump 13-14 Girls, 5.35m)
• Shyne Jones (Heir Track & Field, High Jump 9-10 Girls, 1.28m)
• Savannah Shead (Ford Sports Performance, Javelin Throw 8U Girls, 15.96m)

Hale also finished third in the 1500m running 5:18.94.

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

A total of 17 Pacific Northwest athletes earned multiple individual all-American honors.  Joining the already mentioned (Atkins, Baker, Collier, Hale, Kussick, Lanase, Rodriguez-Villen, and White) were: 

• Tyler Bates (Unattached; 17-18 Boys, 7th Discus, 7th Shot Put).
• Isaac Benjamin (Thriller Track & Field), 15-16 Boys, 3rd 2000m Steeplechase, 6th 3000m)
• Beau Berry (Mercer Island Bluebirds, 9-10 Girls, 7th 800m, 7th 1500m), 
• Camille Clark (Ford Sports Performance, 9-10 Girls, 4th 200m, 7th 100m), 
• Jared Fry (Unattached, 9-10 Boys, 4th High Jump, 8th Triathlon),  
• Beliya Tidd (Cascade Striders, 13-14 Girls, 4th 200m Hurdles, 5th Long Jump), 
• Miller Warme (HIFO Sports TC, 13-14 Boys, 4th 100m Hurdles, 8th 400m), 
• Cameron Weir (Ford Sports Performance, 15-16 Girls, 3rd 200m, 5th 100m).

AND YES, THERE ARE EVEN MORE ALL-AMERICANS

In addition to those already mentioned the following 30 athletes earned all-American honors:

THIRD PLACE

Isaiah Englund (Federal Way TC)  High Jump 13-14 Boys
Keith Hunter (High Voltage) 1500m 17-18 Boys
Lexi Vanderlinde (Heir Track & Field) High Jump    11-12 Girls
Maya Kirtman (Ford Sports Performance) Long Jump 9-10 Girls
Teagan Kemper (West Seattle Road Runners) 1500m    9-10 Girls

FOURTH PLACE

Amari Mason (Ford Sports Performance) Shot Put 9-10 Boys
Lindsey Koch (Northwest Pole Vault Club) Pole Vault 17-18 Girls
Nevaeh Millard (Team Blackout Elite) High Jump 11-12 Girls

FIFTH PLACE

Clyde Hawkins IV (Heir Track & Field) Shot Put 9-10 Boys
Lauren Balousek (Ford Sports Performance) 400m 13-14 Girls
Oden Hatcher (Unattached) High Jump 15-16 Boys
Royce Miller (South Central Athletic Assoc) 100m 13-14 Boys
Sutton Flint (Cascade Striders) 400m Hurdles 15-16 Boys

SIXTH PLACE

Ava Enriquez (Northwest Pole Vault Club) Pole Vault 15-16 Girls
Chase McGee (Unattached) Pole Vault 17-18 Boys
Ian Cook (Unattached) 2000m Steeplechase 15-16 Boys
Manav Bhatia (Rainier Beach TC) Javelin Throw 15-16 Boys
Maxwell Makinde (Rainier Beach TC) Long Jump 8U Boys
Maya Lord-Roberson (Rainier Beach TC) 3000m Race Walk 13-14 Girls
Molly Ryan (High Voltage) Triathlon 9-10 Girls

SEVENTH PLACE

Alejandro Miramontes (Federal Way TC) 1500m 15-16 Boys
Berry Crosby (Xtreme Speed TC) Long Jump 15-16 Boys
Bishop Lord-Roberson (Rainier Beach TC) 1500m Race Walk    9-10 Boys
Jasmine Johnson (Federal Way TC) Pentathlon 13-14 Girls
Lennox Kis-Young (High Voltage) Javelin Throw    8U Boys
Tresley Love (HIFO Sports TC) 400m 17-18 Girls

EIGHTH PLACE

Aaron Moore (Ford Sports Performance) 200m 8U Boys
Ellie West (Unattached)  Pole Vault 13-14 Girls
KeyShawn Shepard (HIFO Sports TC) 2000m Steeplechase 17-18 Boys
Tahj Henley (Team Blackout Elite) 100m 8U Boys

The complete Pacific Northwest Results Scoreboard can be found here.  

The 2024 championships are scheduled for College Station, TX; July 22-28.

The 2023 USATF National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships will be held in Louisville,, KY on December 9.