* adidas Outdoor National boys decathlon winner Kenneth Byrd competes in the shot put.
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Recap written by Ashley Tysiac, Olivia Ekpone and Cory Mull
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GREENSBORO, N.C. -- With 10 events down, Kenneth Byrd could finally breathe.
The Connelly Springs East Burke (NC) High School sophomore, competing in just his second full decathlon over his high school tenure at adidas Outdoor Nationals on Sunday, scored 6,508 points, earning himself the nation's third-best point total on the season -- only Kaden Passey (6,768) and Aiden Carter (6,536) have been better.
But as a sophomore? That mark stands in the MileSplit database as No. 5 in the class all-time, too. And with two more seasons left, one would have to suspect that Byrd has a chance to get to 7,000 points, or, dare we say it, maybe even 8,000?
That would put Byrd in elite company. Only Gunnar Nixon has ever done that before.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Byrd's moment was long and plenty. He was first in the high jump (2.00m), first in the discus (39.41), first in the pole vault (4.75m), third in the javelin (50.33m), third in the long jump (6.12m) and third in the 110mH (15.55).
He finished off his lineup with a 5:17.25 in the 1,500m.
Like any good decathlete, he was pretty good in a wide selection of things, and great in a few things.
A total of three boys broke 6,000 points, with Tennessee native Sam Fisher following with 6,444, Perry's Brayden and Javin Richards with 6,399 and 6,201 points.
Boys Championship 110 Hurdles Decathlon: The decathletes kicked off the final day of competition at adidas Outdoor Nationals, and it was Perry's (OH) Javin Richards who clocked the fastest time of the morning of 14.81 for 873 points. Overall decathlon event leader Sam Fisher of Tennessee Track Club finished second in 14.96.
Girls Middle School Elite 800m: West Genessee's (NY) Chloe Fietze claimed the win by a second in 2:22.24, legging past Bridget McKee, who was second in 2:23.52. Anaiah Berry was third in 2:24.00.
Boys Middle School Elite 800m: Pulaski County's (VA) Cole Boone entered the sub-2 club on Sunday, clocking a winning time of 1:59.73. Drew Johnson, of Charlotte, North Carolina, followed in 2:01.71 while Allen Israe Fulton was third in 2:03.03.
Girls Freshman Elite 800m: Martha Layne's (AR) Emma Kendall clocked a winning time of 2:18.63 to win the division. Kendall Johnson was second in 2:19.35 while Jillian Parks was third in 2:20.85.
Boys Freshman Elite 800m: Altaevon Grant of Georgia surged in the final straightaway, winning in 1:59.19, just a hair over Easton Crist (NJ), who as second in 1:59.65.
Girls National Elite 800m: Charlotte's Natalie Martin authored a winning time of 2:16.18, while Reagan O'Quinn was second in 2:16.63. Lake Norman's (NC) Lily Yampolsky was third in 2:17.36.
Boys National Elite 800m: The final lap was where this race was decided, and specifically in the final 100 meters. That's where Jadon Rahman closed for a winning time of 1:56.19, as he held off Grant Goldsmith (1:56.33) and Aidan Neilson (1:56.34).
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"I expect myself to be here, but I know I have to work hard." -- Micah Larry, Championship Long Jump Winner
Girls National Elite 400m Hurdles: American Heritage freshman Rachari Wildgoose ran a personal best time, winning the division in 1:03.63. The Florida talent held off Kayleigh Stargell, who was second in 1:04.27, and Cymia Yourish of (DC) St. John's College.
Girls Championship 400m Hurdles: Montverde Academy's Michelle Smith, a sophomore, dominated the section in resounding fashion, hitting for a U.S. No. 2 time of 59.96. Aniya Woodruff was second in 1:03.06 while Joslyn Hamilton was third in 1:04.05.
Boys National Elite 400m Hurdles: Nansemond River's Charles Wall-Davis may have clipped the final hurdle, but it was no match for his pace throughout, as he won the division and set a new overall best for the distance at 55.15 seconds. Vaughn DeVaughn was second in 55.40 while Derek Montgomery was third in 55.70.
Boys Championship 400m Hurdles: Coastal Georgia Track Club's and Richmond Hill High School's Jasai Taylor went under 54 seconds for the third time in his career to win in a U.S. No. 18 time of 53.90 seconds. He did that in the second-to-last heat, too. Morgan Lewis was second in 54.86 seconds, while Deondre Hardy was third in 55.25.
Boys Championship 200m Qualifying: Nigel Ancrum continued his hot streak this weekend, clocking the fastest prelim performance with a time of 21.06w (+2.7) seconds. Jordan Ware, the state champion sprinter from Memphis Central, was second overall during qualifying in 21.21 (+1.5) while Eric Young was third in 21.23 (+2.7).
Girls Middle School Elite 400m: Yolanda Calhoun, a seventh-grader from Triad Baptist in Kernersville, North Carolina, held off her competition to win in 58.30 seconds. Cheyenne Love was second in 58.95 while Aria Alexander was third in 59.11. Race Video
Boys Middle School Elite 400m: Quincy Wilson is developing quite the legend. The 14-year-old won in a new U.S. No. 1 eighth-grade time of 49.65 seconds. Story l Race Video
STAT OF THE DAY
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49.65 seconds
Eighth-grader Quincy Wilson's winning time in the boys middle school 400m, good for US No. 1 among middle schoolers.
Girls National Elite 4x400m: St. John's College (DC) took charge, ushering in a winning time of 4:02.03 to fend off Bulldog Track Club (4:02.43) and Evanston (4:04.91).
Boys National Elite 4x400m: The foursome from C.H. Flowers (MD) won by just three hundredths of a second, clocking a time of 3:24.05 behind the efforts of Deon Windham, Josiah Blake, David Gilbert and Jalen Riley. Norview (VA) was second while St. John's College (DC) was third in 3:26.53.
Girls Championship 400m: The inside lane had little to no effect for JaMeesia Ford, who lowered her overall career best time down to 53.42 seconds, earning her a national title on Sunday.
The Jack Britt (NC) junior continued to press in the second half, edging the likes of Sanu Jallow, who came on strong in the final 50 meters to finish second in 54.44, while Madison Gardner was third in 54.82 seconds. Jackrabbit athlete Sydney Harris was fourth in 55.03.
Boys Championship 400m: Butler (NC) sophomore Josiah Wrice claimed the win in 47.93 seconds, outlasting Josh Knox (48.04), Micahi Danzy (48.05) and Austin Gallant (48.08).
Girls Championship 4x100m: Hickory Ridge (NC) posted a top 50 performance in the 4x100, winning in 46.66 seconds. Track 757 was second in 47.26 while Nansemond River was third in 47.85.
Boys Championship 4x100m: A barreling anchor gave Lowndes (GA) the win in 41.77 seconds, with the foursome consisting of Jacarre Fleming, Michael Eady, Keylan Hicks and Tydreke Thomas.
Girls Championship 800m: Running completely solo, Dillard's Raquel Edwards posted a winning time of 2:13.93, splitting 64 and 69 seconds over the two-lap race.
Boys Championship 800m: Greenville, South Carolina native Saxon Brown held off a late charge to win the 800m in 1:54.30, though he held on after going out in 53.16. Jack Klein was second in 1:55.37 while Eli Sterling was third in 1:55.41.
Girls Championship Mile: Bailey Ranta, coming off her third-place performance in the 2-mile on Saturday night, went 4:58.21 less than 24 hours later to win the girls mile.
The Toledo recruit went 75 seconds on her last lap to claim the sub-5 performance, beating out Zoe Arrington's 5:05 and Meredith Gotzman's 5:09.
Boys Championship Mile: Fifty-eight seconds was what it took to win in the last 400 meters in this wild race, which turned up the heat over the second half.
Lima Perry's Brady Yingst, who won an OHSAA Division III Championship just a few weeks ago, dropped a massive negative split over his final 800 meters to win in 4:12.58, fighting off a valiant rally from Central Dauphin's Timothy Roden, who was second in 4:12.62. By a hair.
And so it came down to the last 400 meters.
Yingst started to move with 200 meters to go, only to see Roden respond late. Ezra Burrell, last night's 2-mile champion, was third overall in 4:19.56.
Girls Championship 200m: Jameesia Ford made it 2-for-2 on Sunday with another win at the distance, clocking a U.S. No. 25 time of 23.57. Taylor Gullatte was second in 24.39 seconds while Ryan Davis was third in 24.62.
Boys Championship 200m: Memphis Central (TN) junior Jordan Ware, brushed off what may have been the deepest field in all of adidas on Sunday, winning the 200m in a wind-legal time of 21.10 (+0.5) seconds. The win gave Ware, a two-time champion in Tennessee, his first national title. Nigel Ancrum was second in 21.35 while Eric Young was third in 21.40.
Girls Championship Distance Medley Relay: The BCK Thoroughbreds went solo on this one and won in a time of 12:59.57.
Girls Championship 4x400m: Nansemond River closed on the competition and ran away with this one, producing a dominant victory in a time of 3:48.04. The next closest competitor, Freedom Woodbridge (VA), was eight seconds back in 3:56.24. Lowndes was third in 3:56.99.
Boys Championship 4x400m: A monster kick anchor leg from Austin Gallant brought Battlefield back from second place to earn the event win in 3:17.26. The squad from Tallahassee Zoom took second overall behind a heat one winning performance of 3:19.72.
Boys National Elite Long Jump: Elijah Rowe, an underclassmen from Coral Springs (FL), won with a mark of 22 feet, 7 inches. That effort came on his first attempt. Kyle Johnson of Montverde Academy was second with a jump of 6.84 meters while Peabody's Alan Paulino was third in 6.67m.
Girls Championship Long Jump: Ninth grader Kya Crooke set a significant new personal best of 1.80 meters to win her first high school national title.
Girls Championship Long Jump: On her second attempt, Brookwood (GA) junior Chloe Perryman her best attempt of the day, hitting 19-1 on the board to claim the overall title. It was her fifth such mark over 19 feet on the season. Juliette Laracuente, of Marengo Highland (OH), and Kori Randle, of Raleigh, North Carolina, finished second and third, respectively .
The junior from Fayetteville, North Carolina won both the 200m and 400m across Sunday's action
Girls Middle School Elite Shot Put: Laila Jones, the multiple-time youth national champion from North Carolina, continued her strong history of success with a win and a winning throw of 11.95m (39 feet, 2 inches), which came on her first attempt. It was just three inches shy of her personal record. Riley Vaugh was second with a mark of 11.80m, while Lauren Curry was third with a mark of 11.14m.
Girls National Elite Shot Put: Cuthbertson's Elizabeth Sawicki secured the overall win with a throw of 12.28m (40-3), a strong performance for the reigning third-place finisher at the North Carolina state championships. Camryn Massey was second with a throw of 12.10m and Aliyah Robertson was third in 12.06m.
Girls Championship Shot Put: Jacksonville Mandarin senior Damoni Kelly claimed the win with a throw of 44 feet, 5 inches. McKynzie Mauney was second in 13.45m and Skylar Soli was third with a mark of 13.00m.
Girls Championship Hammer: Skylar Soli claimed the win with a mark of 49.06 meters. Grace Leis was second (41.46m) while Faith Anderson was third (39.90m).
Boys Championship Discus: Cody Shultz, a junior from Point Pleasant (WV) coming off state championship in the event back on May 19, won the discus with a winning mark of 52.90m (173-6). Matthew Aubel was second (51.30m) while Nathan Lau was third (50.78m).
Boys Championship Pole Vault:
Boys Championship Long Jump: Monterde Academy's hit the board on all six attempts, but he secured his winning mark of 23 feet, 10 inches on his last one. Tyson Adams was second with a mark of 7.23m, while Sterling Weldon was third with a jump of 7.00m.
Boys Championship High Jump: Palmer Trinity School's Brandon Pottinger won himself a state title with a mark of 2.05m (6 feet, 8 inches), clearing that mark on his first try. He went up to 6-10 on his next try, the only athlete to do so. Silas Griffin was second with a mark of 2.0m.
Girls Championship High Jump: Kya Crooke, a freshman from Indianapolis Heritage Christian (IN), raised her personal best a full three inches and skied for a clearance of 5 feet, 11 inches, garnering her a national title. That mark is also a new U.S. No. 8 mark. Heidi Hudson was second with a mark of 1.75m while Emmani Shaw was third with a leap of 1.70m.
PHOTO OF THE DAY
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* Saxon Brown takes the boys 800m championship win in dramatic fashion with a time of 1:54.30.
UP NEXT
Day 3 concluded competition at adidas Outdoor Nationals, hosted at North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, N.C. To view complete coverage from the meet, check out our compiled content here.