West Coast AAU JO's Top 5 Performances to Look Out For

Track meets across the nation are starting to appear on the schedule for the remainder of the 2020 outdoor season. Another opportunity for athletes to step onto the track -- or in the circle, or on the runway -- is at the 2020 AAU West Coast Junior Olympic Games from Saturday through Sunday in Las Vegas, Nevada.

This meet is expected to have top-notch competition from all over the country throughout different discplines. Let's check out the top five competitions for the weekend. 

1. Desert Dream Take Two: Gavin Schurr vs Anthony Smith

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Who is ready for another sprint matchup between Fairview's (CO) Gavin Schurr and Eastside Catholic's (WA) Anthony Smith in the 100m and 200m? These two athletes battled it out at the Desert Dream Last Hurrah in Arizona in mid-June, all while setting personal bests in the 100m, 200m and 400m events. Schurr had the better day in winning the 100m and 200m, with a 10.56 and 21.47. Smith, meanwhile, went 10.62 and 21.63.

Now that the pre-race jitters and the rust were shaken off from not being able to compete in four months, both athletes will step onto the track once again. Neither is seeded as favorite in either event. So will they win? Can either athlete take the victory?

On the boys' side, Kansas signee and Eastview (MN) graduate AJ Green will face University of Southern California signee and Jesuit (CA) graduate Chase Gordon. Green, the two-time MSHSL state champion in the 800m, stepped on to the track this outdoor season at the Leander Spartans Invitational. His winning time of 1:52.62 is the eighth fastest time in the nation.This past week, he also went 1:52.05 in Dallas the Track Dynamite Invitational.

Gordon's last race on the track was in March when he ran a 1:54.80 at the Sacramento State High School Classic, but he was also the returning runner up from last year's CIF State Track and Field Championship and ran a career best 1:51.74 in that race. This will be a competitive race as Green will be looking to break the 1:50 mark this weekend. Another athlete to be aware of is Lansing's (KS) Terry Robinson, who won a Kansas state championship in 2019 and ran 1:52.66 in June against Green at Leander. 

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And then there's Bellevue Eastside Catholic's (WA) Kate Jendrezak on the girls side. The UCLA signee is coming off personal bests in the 200m and 400m from the Desert Dream Last Hurrah a month ago. And with Jendrezak sharper at the moment, with having a few recent races underneath her belt this outdoor season, it will be interesting to see just how fast she goes in the 800m. She is scheduled to run both the 200m and 800m this weekend. She has not competed in an 800m competition since the USATF U20 Outdoor Championships in June last year where she ran her fastest time of 2:09.71.

3. Tyus Wilson Shooting for High Marks

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*Tyus Wilson clears 7-0.25 in the high jump for an indoor personal best*

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One of the best high jumpers in the nation this indoor and outdoor season will be stepping up to the bar once again at the 2020 AAU West Coast Junior Olympic Games. Sterling's (KS) rising senior Tyus Wilson cleared back-to-back personal bests.

During the 2020 indoor season, he cleared 7-0.25, just a quarter of an inch shy of tying the nation's highest jump of the season. His first jump of the outdoor season became a personal best of 7-0, which was a two-inch improvement at the Covid Classic in June. 

4. Chrystal Herpin Keeping Her Undefeated Streak Alive

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As an individual who has not competed during any of the previous indoor seasons, Herpin has left an impression in the circle during her previous outdoor seasons. So far this year, Chrystal Herpin of Pearland Dawson (TX) competed in four different meets where she threw the discus and shot put. She won every competition before the coronavirus put a pause on the outdoor season in March. 

Last outdoor season, Herpin was ranked No. 13 in the nation in the discus with a throw of 160-5 and No. 20 in the shot put with a throw of 47-5 respectively. With her first throws of the season out of the way, Herpin is just five inches short of her furthest shot put mark. 

5. Lucheyona Weaver Looking to Hurdle The Competition

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* Lucheyona Weaver runs a personal best and one of the top times this year with a 13.63 in the 100mH at the Louie Bing Memorial Classic

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Weaver, who owns the nation's second-fastest FAT/wind legal 100mH of 2020, will compete in the 100mH, 100m and 200m sprint events at the 2020 AAU West Coast Junior Olympic Games. She's a returning FHSAA State Champion in the 100mH and has showed improvements in the 60mH over the last three years.

Weaver progressed from a 9.79 in 2018, 8.91 in 2019 and 8.60 this year to be the 13th fastest female in this event. With her top speed and strength, she's not an athlete to underestimate. 

Related Links: 

• How to watch the 2020 AAU West Coast Junior Olympic Games
• Breaking down distance/throws at the West Coast JO Games