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2007 Finish Line USA Junior Track & Field Championships get under way Wednesday

Posted June 18th, 2007 at 10:31 AM by Jeanie Rebb

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

The stars of track and field’s next generation are coming to Indianapolis to aim for a spot on the Team USA Pan American Junior Athletics Championships roster during competition this weekend at the 2007 Finish Line USA Junior Track & Field Championships.

The competition will take place June 20-24 at the Michael A. Carroll Track & Soccer Stadium on the campus of IUPUI in downtown Indianapolis. The 2007 Finish Line USA Junior Track & Field Championships is the qualifying meet for the 2007 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships and is being held in conjunction with the 2007 AT&T USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, the final meet of USATF’s 2007 Visa Championship Series. The top two finishers in each event will be eligible for selection to the Team USA junior roster. The final roster will be selected by the conclusion of competition on Sunday.

ESPN2 will broadcast the Championships live from 8-9 p.m. on Friday, June 22, and tape-delayed from 7-8 p.m. Saturday, June 23. The meet will air live on NBC from 2-3 p.m. Saturday, June 23, and from 1-3 p.m. on Sunday, June 24. All times are Eastern.

Among the top junior athletes to watch are:

*The 2006 USATF Youth Athlete of the Year, Gabrielle Mayo (Raleigh, N.C.) headlines the junior women’s 100m and 200m. The 2006 IAAF World Junior 100m silver medalist, Mayo was also a member of the gold medal winning 4×100m relay, won the 2006 USA Junior women’s 200m in a meet record time of 22.88 and finished 2nd in the 100m.

She will be challenged in the 200m by 2005 World Youth 100m champion and 200m silver medalist Bianca Knight (Ridgeland, Miss.). Knight and Mayo were the lead-off and anchor legs, respectively, of the 4×100m relay team that set the World Junior record of 43.29 at the Road to Eugene in 2006.

*Bryshon Nellum (Los Angeles, Calif.) will aim for double gold in the junior men’s 200m and 400m. A two-time California state champion in those events, Nellum set Calif. state records of 20.43 (200m) and 45.54 (400m) in winning his titles this year.

*2006 USA Junior women’s 1,500 meter champion Danielle Tauro (Ocean County, N.J.) is back to defend her title. Tauro is a two-time Millrose Games girls’ 1 mile champion and the 2006 Nike Outdoor Nationals champion.

* 2006 USA Junior women’s 3,000 meter champion Jordan Hasay (Arroyo Grande, Calif.) will compete against Tauro in the junior women’s 1,500m. The Mission Prep High School sophomore was the 2007 USATF Junior Cross Country champion and will compete in the 3,000m at the IAAF World Youth Championships in July.

*2007 Nike Outdoor Nationals champion William Wynne (Kennesaw, Ga.) will compete in the junior men’s 400 meter hurdles. The 2005 and 2006 USA Junior Olympic champion, Wynne set the intermediate boys’ 400m hurdles record (51.56) in 2006. He also will compete in the 110m and 400m hurdles at the World Youth Championships in July.

*Ke’Nyia Richardson (Oakland, Calif.), who set the national high school indoor record in the triple jump at the National Scholastic Championships in March, will compete in the junior women’s long jump and triple jump. She was the 2006 USA Junior triple jump champion and jumped 13.82m/45-4.25 at this year’s California High School State meet. She also is entered in the women’s triple jump in the open (elite) division.

*2006 USA Junior women’s pole vault champion Tori Anthony (Palo Alto, Calif.) will look to repeat her performance from last year after setting both the USA high school indoor (4.33 meters/14 feet 2.5 inches) and outdoor (4.30m/14-1.25) records this year. Anthony also is entered in the open (elite) division.

*2006 Finish Line USA Junior men’s 1,500m champion Andrew (AJ) Acosta (El Camino, Calif.) will try to defend his title and earn another in the junior men’s 5,000m.

*2006 USA Junior champion and American Junior record-holder Walter Henning (South Huntington, N.Y.) will aim for another record in the junior men’s hammer throw. Henning has a season-best of 78 meters/255 feet 11 inches and enters the meet after winning back-to-back Nike Outdoor National titles.

*2005 USA Junior pole vault champion Michael Morrison (Chesapeake, Va.), a freshman at the University of Florida, will compete for titles in the junior men’s pole vault, long jump and decathlon.

*2006 USA Junior runner-up Brandi Cross (Missouri City, Texas) will race for the title in the junior women’s 400 meters. She was a member of the gold medal-winning 4×400m relay at the 2006 IAAF World Junior Championships. She will face stiff competition from 2007 Nike Outdoor National 400m champion Jessica Beard (Euclid, Ohio), who has a season-best 51.63. Beard also was a member of the gold medal-winning 4×400m relay at the 2006 IAAF World Junior Championships.

For more information and complete results from the 2007 Finish Line USA Junior Track & Field Championships, visit http://www.usatf.org/events/2007/USAJuniorOutdoorTFChampionships/.

Written by: Kelcey Zutavern
Via: USA Track and Field