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* Wakefield's Shawnti Jackson leans at the finish for the 100m win at the USATF U20 Championships in 11.07w.
Photo Credit: Kirby Lee/ USA Today Sports
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The 100m showdown between two of the nation's top sprint talents -- Wakefield (NC) junior Shawnti Jackson and Lake Oswego's (OR) Mia Brahe-Pedersen -- certainly did not disappoint.
It began in the preliminary rounds as Brahe-Pedersen and Jackson took to the track in Eugene looking to start their U20 debuts on a high note.
11.30 (-0.1) made for a new personal record for Jackson in heat two. 11.25 (+1.4) for Brahe-Pedersen not only set a new best, but broke the Oregon high school state record in heat one.
The two would enter the finals and compete against one another as the top seeds.
Then came the Shawnti show.
In a battle to the line between the two high schoolers, it was Jackson who crossed the finish first in the 100m finals.
Not only did she gain the win, but she posted one of the top all-condition times ever -- 11.07 (+2.6). That puts Jackson as the fourth fastest to ever do it, including non-wind legal times.
But let's not discount Brahe-Pedersen's performance. The sophomore only finished .02 behind Jackson in 11.09w, which puts her fifth on the all-conditions all-time list.
Both still have the 200m on Saturday to look forward to and prepare for. But for now, the two can celebrate not only earning the chance to compete in Colombia, but running some of the fastest 100m times ever seen by high schoolers.
STAT OF THE DAY
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11.07w
Shawnti Jackson's 100m-winning time, good for an all-conditions US No. 4 all-time performance.
Women's 10k Racewalk: Valeriia Sholomistska, a guest from the Ukraine, led from start to finish to win in a new meet record time of 46:46.97. For second, it came down to a mad dash to the line as the junior from Elgin Sharks Track Club (IL) Angelica Harris just pulled ahead of the young sophomore Talia Green of College Preparatory School (CA) to take silver.
Men's 10k Racewalk: Ryan Allen came away with the dominant win in the three-man field in 49:53.14. Langley's (VA) Clayton Stoil crossed the line in 54:15.71 for second.
Women's Heptathlon: Just 16 points separated Pittsburgh State's Blakelee Winn and the high school freshman from Emerald Ridge (WA) JaiCieonna Gero-Holt going into the final and perhaps most grueling event of the competition -- the 800m. A 2:26.32 800m earned Winn 740 points, enough to surpass event leader Gero-Holt for the heptathlon championship with 5,473 points scored. Gero-Holt finished second overall with 5,401, followed by Ruston (LA) graduate Bryanna Craig in third with a score of 5,388.
Men's Decathlon: Recent Emmett (ID) grad Landon Helms entered day two of decathlon competition in second place, but a strong showing in the latter five events helped him surge ahead of Cerritos College's Bryce Pearson and win the U20 championship.
Men's High Jump: The freshman from Mt. SAC and Ayala High School (CA) alum Marcus Monroe was the only competitor to clear 6-11.5 en route to the championship win. UCLA freshman and former Palo Alto (CA) standout Aaron Kim tied for second place with Texas native Jalan Rivers, both ending competition with a 6-10.25 clearance.
Men's Shot Put: Tarik Robinson-O'Hagan didn't stop his winning streak after claiming the hammer title on the first day of competition. The senior from Rhode Island and University of Mississippi signee threw 64-4.5 to earn yet another U20 win ahead of Murrieta Mesa (CA) senior Cade Moran in second and Baylor's Cooper Mack in third. Now, Robinson-O'Hagan will prepare to compete in two events in Columbia at the World U20 Championships later this summer.
Men's Long Jump: USC's Johnny Brackins had a busy day for himself competing in both the long jump and 110mH, but it was the field where he truly excelled. Brackins jumped 26-4.25 for the win, a foot greater than Florida State's Curtis Williams in second.
Women's 100m Prelims: Taking the track at Hayward Field for the second meet within the last week, NSAF Nationals 200m champion Mia Brahe-Pedersen didn't wait long to get down to business, running a new US. No. 1 11.25 (+1.4) in the first round to earn the top seed going into finals. Wakefield (NC) talent Shawnti Jackson clocked a new personal best of 11.30 (-0.1) to open up competition and entered finals with the second fastest time from the prelims. NSAF Nationals 100m champion Autumn Wilson also advanced easily with a heat win in 11.38.
Men's 100m Prelims: Baylor freshman Laurenz Colbert and Tylertown (MS) graduate Jordan Anthony cruised to finals berths, finishing 1-2 in the first heat in 10.29 (+2.3) and 10.31 (+2.3). Terrell Robinson Jr. of North Carolina's Mount Tabor barely sneaked into the finals by earning one of the last two spots on time.
Men's Pole Vault: It came down to a two-man competition between Hershey, Pa. high schooler Justin Rogers and Stanford's Garrett Brown, but it was Rogers who prevailed to clear 17-2.75 and earn the pole vault title.
Women's 100mH Prelims: Jalaysiya Smith made her presence well known in the prelims as the USC freshman and former De Soto (TX) hurdler clocked a rather quick time of 13.26 (+0.4) to lead all competitors going into finals. Simone Ballard of Texas' Katy Mayde Creek finished as the top high schooler in the first round in 13.56 (+0.5) and earned an automatic finals berth.
Men's 110mH Prelims: Davidson College freshman Jayden Smith -- formerly of Saint Christopher's in Richmond -- ran by far the quickest prelim time of 13.33, followed by Pittsburgh State's T.J. Caldwell and Johnny Brackins of USC.
Women's 400m Prelims: Two collegians -- Mekenze Kelley of Coastal Carolina and Kennedy Wade from Texas A&M -- led the way with the top two prelims time of 52.57 and 53.18, but Raytown South (MO) junior and recent New Balance Outdoor Nationals 400m champion Zaya Akins also threw down a solid 53.25 performance to smoothly advance to the finals on Saturday. Another high school junior -- Madison Whyte -- finished fourth in the prelims in 53.38 to round out the top half of finals qualifiers.
Women's Long Jump: It was an event dominated by high schoolers, and US No. 3 long jumper India Alix added her first U20 championship to her name with a 20-3 mark, just a couple inches ahead of Sophia Beckmon from Oregon City. The two were the lone competitors to leap over 20 feet, followed by sophomore Alyssa Banales in third and ninth-ranked high schooler Kayla Watson in fourth.
Men's 400m Prelims: Charlie Bartholomew of Oklahoma State, and formerly McKinney Boyd (TX), was the lone preliminary competitor to dip under 46 seconds, running 45.99 to advance as the top seed to the finals. A slew of collegians rounded out the eight qualifiers, but recent Summer Creek (TX) grad Darius Rainey snuck in for the last automatic spot.
Women's 400mH Prelims: Former youth middle distance and hurdle star Michaela Rose, now of LSU, showed out per usual on Friday evening to earn the top qualifying spot for Saturday's finals in 58.14. Current high school girls 400mH leader Akala Garrett from North Carolina wasn't too far behind Rose as she easily ran a time of 58.49 for the second fastest first round time. The finals will also feature the second best high school 400m hurdler in the country in Myla Greene, who fan 59.05 in the prelims to advance.
Men's 400mH Prelims: The high schooler from Arizona Yan Vazquez ran a huge personal best of 51.36 to come away with the prelim win ahead of Grant Williams, Matthew Wilkinson and Kody Blackwood, all of whom dipped under 52 seconds to advance.
Women's Discus: Siniru Iheoma from Princeton had a big third round throw of 178-8 to move her into first place through the end of the competition. Right behind her was Missouri's Ames Burton with a mark of 177-5. Colorado signee Giavonna Meeks will serve as the World U20 alternate behind her third place throw of 173-5, which moves her up to US No. 3 on the season.
Women's 100m Final: The matchup between Mia Brahe-Pedersen and Shawnti Jackson produced a race for the ages, as Jackson clocked the fourth fastest all-conditions 100m in high school history for the championship win in 11.07 (+2.7), just hundredths of a second ahead of the Lake Oswego (OR) sophomore in 11.09 (+2.7). But the two weren't the only high schoolers to put on a show -- Autumn Wilson finished third in 11.14 (+2.7) to complete the high school sweep of the podium spots.
Men's 100m Final: Laurenz Colbert lived up to his top seeding and booked his trip to Colombia with a 10.21 (+1.2) win. He'll be joined by Alabama-Huntsville's Michael Gizzi, who earned the silver in 10.28 (+1.2). Brandon Miller was the top high school finisher, placing fifth in 10.42 (+1.2).
Men's 110mH Final: He entered finals as the fourth seed, but the graduate from Westlake (GA) Malik Mixon came out on top when it mattered most. The hurdler headed off to USC in the fall earned the win in 13.28 (2.6), followed by T.J. Caldwell and Jayden Smith, who were the top two seeds heading into the finals.
Women's 100mH Final: It'll be a duo of collegians headed to the World U20 championships in the short hurdles. Jalaysiya Smith of USC followed up her stellar prelim performance with the national title in 13.21 (+0.4), and Georgia freshman Eddiyah Frye placed second again when it mattered most in 13.26 (+0.4). Myla Greene's 13.50 (+0.4) held for fourth and the top high school time of the finals, and it's worth noting that her fourth-place finish came just after running the 400mH prelims.
USA SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
Men's 800m
Cade Flatt lined up on Friday for yet another attempt at the 800m high school national record -- his third in the last week, to be exact.
After running 1:46.53 for second overall in the prelims to finish just shy of the 1:46.45 mark to beat yet again, the Marshall County (KY) grad didn't focus on the negative.
Instead, it meant one more shot at a record-breaking performance on Friday night.
However, Flatt's historic 2022 outdoor season came to a close in the 800m semifinals, running 1:47.00 and failing to advance to Saturday's finals.
Record or not, Flatt will go down as one of the fastest high school athletes over 800m on record, despite falling short of Michael Granville's all-time leading time. The soon-to-be Mississippi freshman not only capped off his final outdoor season with three straight races clocking 1:47 or below, but ended it on one of the biggest stages for U.S. track and field, going head-to-head with some of the top professionals.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
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"Still learning to race, but I feel like I belong."
Cade Flatt on racing against professionals at the USATF Outdoor Championships.