DES MOINES, IOWA -- In one of the more anticipated finals of the AAU Junior Olympic Games on Saturday, two premier sprinters from Texas went head-to-head yet again.
This time around, there was little question.
In Round 2, it was Jayden Finley.
Finley, a rising high school junior at Richland High School, located northeast of Fort Worth, never trailed and and pumped through the finish in 10.53 (-0.4) seconds, overcoming a solid race from Jones, who tried to track Jones over the final 30 meters but came up just short, following in 10.57.
The result followed the duo's prior head-to-head in the UIL Class 5A 100m final, which saw Finley finish third and Jones fourth ...the pair posting identical times of 10.41 seconds. There, you could have wondered just how even these two were.
On Saturday, though, they put it to rest. Finley lined up in Lane 4, Jones in 5. All eyes were on the Texans in the middle of the track.
Finley's performance highlighted a highly-successful weekend that also included a 4x100 title with DeSoto Nitro in 40.60 seconds. In a brilliant coaching decision, Finley did not run anchor but the second leg -- the longest stretch of the race -- and helped shut the door.
In the 100m, Finley drilled down. Before his championship-winning moment, he ran times of 10.39 and 10.46 seconds, respectively. He finished as the fastest overall male in the 100m at the AAU Junior Olympic Games.
That being said, all wasn't lost for Jones.
He nabbed a 15-16yo title in the 200m final on Thursday, clocking a time of 21.15 seconds.
Jones remains of the country's top prospects. A rising junior at Lake Belton High School, Jones is supremely capable in the 100m, 200m and long jump, owning elite-level marks in each event.
Will these two face each other again?
We're betting on it.
