Sophia Rivera of Brentwood (St. Louis, Mo.) is the most dominant thrower in the U.S. She leads all high schoolers in the shot put at 51-1¼ , is second in the javelin at 175-10 and 15th in the discus at 154-9--a mark that also ranks her fourth among Youth athletes.
2015 WORLD YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS (WYC)
At Cali, Colombia, July 15-19
2015 U.S. WORLD YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP TRIALS
At Benedictine University, Lisle, Illinois, June 30-July 1
Boys Report | Girls Report
May 29 Update
To be eligible to compete you must 1) be a U.S. citizen with a valid passport; 2) be born in 1998 or 1999; and 3) have met two qualifying standards, one standard for the U.S. World Youth Championship trials and a second standard for the World Youth Championships (there are two separate standards and two different time frames when marks must be achieved). Those 2015 World Youth Standards can be found on the separate Boys List and Girls List. Those marks must be made between October 1, 2014 and July 1, 2015. The 2015 U.S. Trials standards for the World Youth Championships are now listed. The qualifying window for the U.S. Trials for the WYC is between October 1, 2014 and July 26, 2015. Here is a link to the USATF web site for the U.S. Trials. http://www.usatf.org/Events---Calendar/2015/World-Youth-Track---Field-Trials.aspx)
Sixth in a Series -- Compiled by Mike Kennedy (e-mail mkentrk@aol.com )
PROSPECTS FOR U.S. WORLD YOUTH TEAM BEGAN TO TAKE SHAPE
State Meets Including California and the Great Southwest Invitational on Deck
FINAL ALERT: If there any chance that that you believe you can qualify for the World Youth Championships in Cali, Colombia in July you need to apply for a passport now. A week from now is probably too late.
With just over one month before the U.S. Trials at Benedictine University in Lisle (Il.) the picture of the U.S. team is beginning to take shape. Two things make this tough. Birthdates are not know for some athletes who otherwise would qualifying and a number of qualified athletes may chose not to try and qualify
BOYS
Sprints
Marks likely needed to make a WYC final
100--10.82. 200--21.53. 400--47.08.
. .
What makes this group tough to valuate is, in a word--football. In 2013, of the top 10 qualified athletes in the 100, nine did not go to the U.S. Trials, primarily because it conflicted in some way with football. That works out to three in thirty and it turns out 30 athletes have run 10.82, the same probable time to make the WYC final. T.J. Brock of Chaminade (West Hills, Ca.) is the leader in the 100 at 10.42 and has a wind-aided 10.20. His best 200 is 21.09. Shamon Ehiemua of Marshall (Missouri City, Tx.) leads the 200 at 20.89. Thirteen runners have bettered 21.53. Keshum Reed of Martin (Arlington, Tx.) leads the 400 at 45.75 but is the only runner under 47.31. However, Josephus Lyles of T.C. Williams (Alexandria, Va.) has run 47.50 and last year had a best of 46.25.
Distances
Marks likely needed to make a WYC final
800--1:50.28.
1,500--3:53.16 (worth 4:10.5 for 1,600).
3,000--8:27.29 (worth 9:03.5 for 3,200).
2000 Steeplechase--5:54.57.
Terrell Jackson of University (Memphis, Tn.), with an indoor 1:50.63, is just short of the WYC standard of 1:50.28. However, Brandon McGordy of Chantilly (Va.) has run 1:51.50 indoors but the mark was not eligible for qualification because it was run on a banked track. Isaac Cortes of Great Oak (Temecula, Ca.) turned in terrific double at the California Southern Section Division I final with a 1:51.44 for 800 and followed that up with a 4:06.84 for 1,600. Jack Salisbury of La Salle Academy (Providence, R.I.) has a best of 4:07.32 indoors converted from a mile. Jacob Ogden of Dana Hills (Dana Point, Ca.) is next at 4:08.24. Ben Veatch of Carmel (In.) is the leader at 3,000 at 8:23.92 enroute to an 8:53.42 at the Arcadia Invitational. Aiden Tooker of Saratoga Springs (N.Y.) is the leader at 3,200 with an 8:51.52 but is best event might be the 2,000 steeplechase--an event where no U.S. runner has bettered the WYC qualifying time of 6:05.0. However, Tooker has run 9:06.37 for the 3,000 steeplechase which projects to a time close to the 5:54.57 that likely would make the WYC 2,000 steeplechase final.
Hurdles
Marks likely needed to make a WYC final
110 HH (36 inches)--13.74 (worth 14.07 over 39-inch hurdles).
400 LH (30 inches)--52.35 (worth 53.85 over 36 inch hurdles).
Damion Thomas of Northeast (Oakland Park, Fl.) leads the 110 hurdles at 13.64 followed by Norman Grimes of Canyon (Tx.) at 13.78 and Isaiah Lucas of Cypress Falls (Houston, Tx.) at 13.87. All three have excellent 300-hurdle times. Grimes is the national high school leader at 36.10 followed by Lucas at 36.56. Thomas has a best of 37.39. Infinite Tucker of Huntington, N.Y.) is the 400 hurdles leader at 53.24. The real wind-card in this event is Quincy Hall of Raytown South (Raytown, Mo.). Until this year he had never run in high school competition and limited his activity to summer AAU Junior Olympic competition where he was a national champion in the 400 hurdles and the 400 with best times of 52.19 and 46.71. He is in action this weekend at the state meet.
Jumps
Marks likely needed to make a WYC final
High Jump--6-9.
Pole Vault--15-7
Long Jump--23-10 ½
Triple Jump--49-6
Three jumpers have cleared 7-0 in the high jump. State champion Milton Harrell of Tylertown (Ms.) has been over three times with a best of 7-2. Jaron Brooks of Henry Clay (Lexington, Ky.) has a best of 7-1 indoors and Isaiah Holmes of Oakmont (Ca.) jumped 7-0 two weeks ago. Eleven jumpers have bettered 6-9. Amand Duplantis of Lafayette (La.) continues to lead the pole vault with his national freshman record of 17-4. Seven jumpers have cleared 16-0 and 12 are over 15-7. Ja'Mari Ward of Cahokia (Il.) leads both the long jump, at 25-7 ¼ indoors, and the triple jump at 51-11. The only other jumper to better the WYC qualifying standards in either event is Eric Washington of Austin (Decatur, Al.) at 23-11 ½ in the long jump.
Throws
Marks likely needed to make a WYC final
SP (5-kilograms)--60-1 (worth 57-1 with 12-lb. high school shot).
DT (1.5-kilograms)--183-0 (worth 173-0 for 1.62-kilo high school disc).
HT (5-kilograms)--230-0 (worth 215-0 with 12-lb high school hammer).
JT (700 grams)--227-1 (worth 212-0 with 800-gram javelin).
Jordan Geist of Knoch (Saxonburg, Pa.) and Adrian Piperi of The Woodlands (Tx.) have dominated both the shot and disc. Geist leads the shot at 69-1 and is second in the discus at 186-2. Piperi leads the discus at 188-2 and is second in the shot at 65-5¼. There is plenty of depth with 15 shot putters over 57-1 and ten over 173-0 in the discus. Bobby Colantonio of Barrington (R.I.) is the only hammer thrower to have bettered the WYC standard of 230-0 but he is a good one with bests of 256-6 with the 5-kilogram hammer and 243-7 with the heavier high school implement. No one has bettered the WYC standard in the javelin.
Multi-events
George Patrick of Brentwood Academy (Brentwood, Tn.) has not been in a regulation decathlon this year but his individual best indicate that he will be around 7,200.
GIRLS
Sprints
Marks likely needed to make a WYC final
100--11.91.
200--23.89.
400--54.38
Candace Hill of Rockdale County (Conyers, Ga.) and Katlin Whitney of Clermont (Fl.) lead the way in the 100 and 200. Hill is the U.S. Youth leader in both the 100 at 11.30 and the 200 at 23.05. Whitney has a yearly best of 23.06 in the 200 and 11.59 in the 100. Last year as a sophomore at East Ridge (Clermont, Fl.) she won the World Junior (under 20) champion 100 and 200 and had best of 11.10 and 22.49. Her 100 time was a high school record and world Youth record and her 200 time is a world Youth record that ranks second all-time on the prep list to the 22.11 run by Allyson Felix of L.A. Baptist (North Hills, Ca.) in Mexico City in 2003. If Whitney chooses to pass the U.S. Youth trials there is a deep bench led by Lauren Rain Williams of Oaks Christian (Westlake Village, Ca.). who has bests of 11.49 in the 100 and 23.10. However, last week she ran a wind-aided 200 in 22.68 to rank behind only Felix, Whitney, Marion Jones of Thousand Oaks (Ca.) and Chandra Cheeseborough of Ribault (Jacksonville,Fl.) on the all-time high school all-conditions list. In all, 21 Youth athletes have run 11.91 for 100 meters and ten have run 23.89 200 meters. Hannah Waller of Buchanan (Clovis, Ca.) is the leader in the 400 at 53.57. In all eleven athletes has run faster than 54.38.
Distances
Marks likely needed to make a WYC final
800--2:07.20.
1,500--4:26.54 (worth 4:46.0 for 1,600 meters)
3,000--9:26.82 (worth 10:08.0 for 3,200 meters)
2,000 steeplechases--6:52.82.
Aaliyah Miller of Boyd (McKinney, Tx.) is the national 800 leader at 2:05.04 and Kamryn McIntosh of Suffern (N.Y.) is right behind at 2:06.00 followed by Samantha Watson of Rush-Henrietta-Sperry (Henrietta, N.Y.) at 2:08.71. There could be between a rematch between Miller and Watson, who were 1-2 at the USATF national Junior Olympic 15-16 final, where Miller prevailed 2:06.06.28 to 2:06.35. Julia Heymach of Lamar (Houston, Tx.) is the Youth leader at 4:23.51 for 1,500 meters, 4:40.87 for 1,600 meters and 10:14.62 for 3,200. Fiona O'Keeffe of Davis (Ca.) is the 3,000 leader at 9:30.20 on the way to running 3,200 meters at the Arcadia Invitational. Destiny Collins of Great Oak (Temecula, Ca.) has run 4:43.69 for 1,600 , The U.S. has performed very well in the last three WYC in both the 800 and 1,500. The U.S. has not sent an entrant to the WYC in the 3,000 since the first WYC when there were no qualify standards. Alex Harris of North Rockland (Thiells, N.Y.) is the 2,000 steeplechase leader at 6:52.82.
Hurdles
Marks likely needed to make a WYC final
100 HH (30 inches)--13.77 (worth 14.07 with 33-inch hurdles).
400 LJ--60.06.
The battle for the two spots in the 100 hurdles alone should be worth the trip to Lisle (Il.). Tonea Marshall of Seguin (Arlington, Tx.) is the leader at 13.44 followed by Alexis Duncan of DeSoto (Tx.) at 13.45. Three other runners are less than .06 seconds behind. Mecca McGlaston of Dublin (Ca.), who competed in her first three weeks coming back from a long injury, has run 13.86. Last year she had best of 13.63 and 13.54w. In all, there 17 runners who have bettered 14.07 in what is probably the deepest U.S. event. Sydney McLaughlin of Union Catholic (Scotch Plains, N.J.), the national leader at 400 meters at 58.65, has yet to run at 100 meters, where, last year she was second in the U.S. Junior championships to Duncan, 13.33 to 13.34. Reonna Collier of Vacaville (Ca.), who was second to McLaughlin in the 400 hurdles at the U.S. Junior championships, is right behind McLaughlin at 59.57. Miller is the 300 hurdles leader at 41.56.
Jumps
Marks likely needed to make a WYC final
HJ--5-8.
PV--12-8½.
LJ--19-5½.
TJ--41-4.
Vashti Cunningham of Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nv.) set a national high school record and equaled the U.S. Junior (under 20) record of 6-4 ¼ in the high jump at the Mt. San Antonio Relays but there are indication she may choose not to compete at the U.S. Youth trials. Last year she was eligible to compete at the World Junior championships in Eugene (Or.) but chose instead to compete on the AAU Junior Olympic circuit during the summer. Tyra Gittens of Ensworth (Nashville, Tn.) is the only other jumper over 6-0 but three others have bettered the 5-9 ¾. Colleen Clancy of Smithson Valley (Tx.) is the pole vault leader at 13-6 along with Carson Dingler of First Presbyterian (Macon, Ga.). There are 10 other vaulters who have bettered 12-8. Tara Davis of Agoura (Agoura Hills, Ca.) is the long jump leader with her 20-6 at the California Southern Section Division II win at Cerritos College. She had three other legal jumps over 20 feet. Freshman Titiana Marsh of Thomas Dale (Chester, Va.) is the only qualifier in the triple jump with her indoor 41-2 effort and is also qualified in the long jump at 19-10. Davis has a best of 40-11 ½ in the triple jump.
Throws
Marks likely needed to make a WYC final
SP (3-kilograms)--51-10 (worth 45-10 with 4-kilogram shot).
DT--148-4.
HT (3 kilograms)--206-11 (worth 186-11 with 3-kilogram hammer).
JT (500 grams)--161-4 (worth 151-4 with 600-gram javelin).
Sophia Rivera of Brentwood (St. Louis, Mo.) is the most dominant thrower in the U.S. She leads all high schoolers in the shot put at 51-1¼ , is second in the javelin at 175-10 and 15th in the discus at 154-9--a mark that also ranks her fourth among Youth athletes. Competition is very tough in all three events. Even if national high school and U.S. Youth record holder Madison Wiltrout of Connellsville (Pa.) chooses to compete at the Pan American Junior championships rather that the WYC, the javelin is loaded with Katelyn Gochenour of Marian (Omaha, Nb.) at 167-2 and Taiyn Montgomery of Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Ca.) at 164-4. Last year Montgomery threw 168-1 and Gochenour 167-0. Elena Bruckner of Valley Christian (San Jose, Ca.) is the national high school leader in the discus at 182-8 and there are 10 other throwers who have thrown over 148-4 which would have advanced to the WYC final based on an average of the last two World Youth Championships. Behind Rivera nationally in the shot put is sophomore Kathleen Young of Warrensburg-Latham (Warrensburg, In.) at 50-10, which is also ranks second among Youth athletes. With the Youth athletes at the world level throwing the lighter shot there is about a six-foot difference between the 3-kilogram and the 4-kilogram shot. There are ten U.S. athletes that have bettered 45-10--a mark that likely would advance the WYC final. Courtney Jacobson of Toll Gate (Warwick, R.I.) is the hammer leader at 178-00. That equates to about 198-0 with the lighter Youth weight. The WYC qualifying standard is 196-10.
Multi-events
Tyra Gittens has not competed in a regular heptathlon this year but her results in individual events indicated that she will be over 5,000 points.
U.S. Trials Qualifying Information (a must-read)
The United States is the seven-time defending World Youth team champion. The U.S. Trials are scheduled in just under two months at Benedictine University in Lisle (Il.). The first two finishers in each event, provided they have met the IAAF World Youth championships standard, will be placed in a pool and the U.S. team will be selected from that pool. Since 2001 there have been between 40 and 55 athletes selected, although in recent years the number has been between 40 and 43.
The 2013 U.S. World Youth team was made up of 43 athletes. The USATF has fixed the size of recent teams at around 40, twenty of which are paid for by the IAAF. The general guideline that has been used in selecting the U.S. team has been a demonstrated ability to advance to the finals of the World Youth Championships. Those standards are much higher than the entry standards set by the IAAF. However, the tougher standards have resulted in between five and ten athletes, who have shown that ability to reach the World Youth Championship finals, not being selected. With the success of U. S. Youth-age athletes (born in 1998 or 1999) at last year at the IAAF World Junior championship in Eugene, there is a high likelihood that additional well deserving athletes might not be selected. An example of the success selection method, 2013 World Youth Championships saw 19 of 20 girls selected for the U.S. team made WYC finals. Unless the size of the 2015 team is increased, there is a high likelihood that U.S. will again deny deserving athletes the invaluable experiences that can only be gained in competitions such as the WYC.
Perhaps the most important thing that athletes can do is to be sure to have a U.S. passport valid through 2015. You must have a passport with you when you participate in the U.S. World Youth trials. You will not be able to get a passport at the U.S. trials. Be sure to allow at least six weeks from the time that you apply for a passport until it is sent to you. You can apply for a passport through the Post Office. Getting a passport is a long-term investment. It is good for 10 years and there is every reason to believe that athletes with the talent to qualify for the World Youth Championships will have need of a passport multiple times in the next 10 years.
A special note concerning the following events: 1,500 meters, 3,000 meters 2,000-meter steeplechase and 400-meter hurdles. All athletes must have a qualifying mark in these specific events to that meet the IAAF standards for entry into the World Youth Championships. You can not substitute 1,600, mile, 3,200, two-mile or 300-meter hurdles times to meet the IAAF standards. Because the distance standards are very tough, athletes are advised to compete in 1,500 and 3,000 races against college-open athletes. You can use times in those events to qualify. In the 100, 200, 100-meter hurdles and 110-meter hurdles plus the long jump and the triple jump, qualifying marks must be accompanied by wind readings of 2.0 meters per second or less. It should be noted that the hurdle heights at the U.S. Trials will be the heights at the WYC. The hurdle heights will be three inches shorter in the boys 110 and 400 hurdles and the girls 100 hurdles.
Although the World Youth Championships is an outdoor event, indoor marks may be used to qualify. However, the running events must take place on flat-floor tracks of 400 meters or less.
Here is the U.S.A. Track and Field website link for the U.S. Trials for the 2015 World Youth Championships.
http://www.usatf.org/Events---Calendar/2015/World-...
Here is a link to the 2013 U.S. Trials for the WYC that will give you an idea of what to expect in 2015. This includes results from the U.S. Trials in 2013.
http://www.usatf.org/Events---Calendar/2013/World-...
Here is the IAAF website for the 2015 World Youth Championships. That also includes the results from the 2013 World Youth Championships. When take comes up click on History for 2013 results.
http://www.iaaf.org/competitions/iaaf-world-youth-...