Imagine breaking a high school national record in an event as a freshman. Tia Jones did that in 2016 in the 100m hurdles at the USATF Junior National Outdoor Track and Field Championship.
Prior to that meet, she ran 13.31 at the Coaches Invitational in March of the same year. Blasting out of the blocks in lane 5, Jones stayed low to the track until it was time to attack the first hurdle. The first couple of hurdles the field tried to keep within striking distance. By the time Jones approached the third hurdle, she started to pull away. She gained momentum by remaining low and quick in between the hurdles. When Jones hurdled the ninth barrier, the rest of the field was on hurdle eight.
GIRLS 100 METER HURDLES FINALS PLACE ATHLETE TEAM RESULT WIND H# 1 Tia Jones 9 Walton High School 13.31 1 2 Destinee Rocker 11 Arabia Mountain HS 14.36 1 3 Kelsey Heyward 12 J.L. Mann 14.63 1 4 Alexis Farley 12 Starrs Mill High School 15.11 1 5 Aniya Brown 12 J.L. Mann 15.23 1 6 Erica Evans 12 Woodward Academy 15.46 1 7 Kennedy Davis 11 Sandy Creek 15.73 1 8 Morgan Lewis 11 The Mount Vernon School 15.84 1
A few months later, Jones not only ran the fastest time in the country, but she broke the high school national record in the 100mH of 12.84 in June. In her first season, she won 21 of 25 races and never finished lower than third.
The Wheeler High School 2019 graduate's also owns the freshman, sophomore and junior class records in the 100mH. Along with breaking records, she won the gold medal at the Pan-American Junior Championships in 2017 and earned the bronze medal at the 2016 AAF U20 Championships in Poland. She decided to forego her commitment to the University of Oregon to be a professional hurdler.
