EUGENE, OREGON, June 18–19 — To break hurdles records, racing at Hayward Field has apparently become mandatory.
On the same surface where Tobi Amusan and Ja’Kobe Tharp ran to the fastest times ever, 4 records in the 110H went down in less than an hour on the USATF Junior (U20) Championships’ Friday second day.
Also, prep senior Tate Taylor (Harlan, San Antonio, Texas) lowered his HSR in the 200 and Jayden DeLeon (Oakland Mills, Columbia, Maryland) took down Olympic relay gold medalist Quincy Wilson in the 400.
In most events, the top 2 here qualified to represent Team USA at the World U20 Championships (August 5–9, also in Eugene). As host, the United States may enter one per event even without the requisite standard.
In the 110s earlier this season, Andrew Jones (Collins, Spring, Texas), and Rylan Hainje (Franklin Central, Indianapolis) had flirted with the 13.08 HSR set by Wayne Davis of Raleigh, North Carolina, in ’09 — but neither survived the prelims here.
In the first heat, Texas State frosh Ja’Shaun Lloyd won in 13.04, breaking the American Junior Record 13.05 set by Tharp in ’24.
In the second heat, Georgia frosh Le’Ezra Brown lowered the AJR to 12.95 with a negative wind (-0.6). Zacchaeus Brocks of Detroit Catholic Central was 2nd in 13.00, breaking Davis’s HSR.
Jones crashed the last barrier in heat 1 and was subsequently DQed for hooking a hurdle. Hainje, who ran 13.05 without a wind gauge on May 28, false-started in heat 2.
In the final, Brocks, an Ohio State recruit, edged Brown by 0.002, both timed in 12.98 (12.975 and 12.977). So another HSR for Brocks.
Lloyd was 3rd in 13.01 and Joshua-Kai Smith (Gar-Field, Woodbridge, Virginia) 4th in 13.06 — which would have been the HSR an hour before.
Brown retained the AJR and is No. 3 all-time in the Junior hurdles behind France’s Sasha Zhoya, who clocked 12.72 at altitude in ’21 and Cuba’s Kendry Menéndez who hurdled 12.93 last year.
Recordsetter Brown, who reached the NCAA semis on this same track a week earlier, told RunnerSpace.com, “I’ve been putting in the pain all year long and it paid off… We gotta work on my start when I get back. I was looking but I didn’t panic. As a high schooler I always panicked and, as you all know, I failed a lot of times here. I just stayed patient, snapped over the hurdles, trail leg over. And the rest is history.”
He added that Bulldog hurdle coach Karim Abdel Wahad “has been telling me all the time, ‘Your trail leg is making you your money,’ so that’s what it’s gonna do.”
With his 19.94 half-lap clocking, Taylor — who opted out of high school meets all season as he competed for a club — knocked 0.03 off the standard he set June 06 at the Lone Star GP meet in College Station, Texas.
Blake Hamilton (Tompkins, Katy, Texas) sprinted to 2nd in 20.02 and moved to No. 2 all-time among high schoolers. On the ATL, both Texans now stand ahead of Noah Lyles and his 20.09 from ’16. Hamilton won Texas’s 6A state meet in a windy (4.6) 19.86, the No. 1 all-time all-conditions performance.
A fourth HSR was set by Keenen Davis (Carroll, Washington, DC) with a 400H time of 49.20. That bettered the 24-year-old mark of 49.38 by Kenneth Ferguson of Detroit’s Mumford High. Miller Warme (Kamiak, Mukilteo, Washington) was 2nd in 49.28, also under the HSR.
Jones, after his straightaway hurdles mistake, was on the team until the last two steps, finishing 3rd in 49.48 — and now No. 4 all-time high school.
In the 400, DeLeon’s 44.52 win over Wilson (Bullis, Potomac, Maryland) was the third-fastest high school time ever, behind 44.10 and 44.20 marks by Wilson. The celebrated Bullis senior, who had edged DeLeon by 0.01 at New Balance Indoor Nationals, was timed in 44.84. Cameron Tucker (Robinson, Concord, North Carolina) placed 3rd in 45.15.
On the meet’s first day Taylor won the 100 in 10.15 over Ohio State frosh Kyler Brown (10.21). Texas prep Dillon Mitchell (King, Houston) placed 3rd in 10.23.
Elsewhere on the track, Michigan frosh Henry Dixon (54.52) and Noah Bontrager (Westview, Topeka, Indiana) (54.68) closed fast in middle distance contests. Dixon’s 54.52 last lap wrapped up his 3:48.50 win at 1500, and Bontrager took the 3000 in 8:32.53 off a 54.68 final circuit. Bontrager makes Worlds as the lone USA representative.
In the field, Simon Rosselli (Mead, Spokane) threw the discus 205-7 (62.67) to climb to No. 6 on the all-time U.S. list and No, 3 AT among preps. Jaxon Jerabek (IMG, Bradenton, Florida) vaulted 18-1¼ (5.52) to outduel Isaiah Whitaker (Central Catholic, Bloomington, Illinois) at 17-11 ¼ (5.47).
USATF JUNIOR MEN’S MEDALISTS
100(-1.3): 1. Tate Taylor (TxHS) 10.15; 2. Kyler Brown (OhSt) 10.21; 3. Dillon Mitchell (TxHS) 10.23.
200(0.8): 1. Taylor 19.94 HSR (old HSR 19.97 Taylor ’26) (4, x WJ; 2, x AJ);
2. Blake Hamilton (TxHS) 20.02 (8, x AJ; 2, 3 HS);
3. Cy Lugo (CaHS) 20.33.
400: 1. Jayden Deleon (DCHS) 44.52 (HSL) (4. 10 AJ; 2, 3 HS);
2. Quincy Wilson (MdHS) 44.84 (x, =7 HS);
3. Cameron Tucker (NCHS) 45.15 (10, x HS).
800: 1. Stefon Dodoo (TxAM) 1:48.59; 2. Kaleb Burroughs (SC) 1:48.68; 3. Henry Risser (Wi) 1:48.80.
1500: 1. Henry Dixon (Mi) 3:48.50; 2. Nate Stadtlander (OkSt) 3:49.27; 3. Brian Burns (ArHS) 3:50.52.
3000: 1. Noah Bontrager (InHS) 8:32.53; 2. Grady Lenn (WiHS) 8:34.58; 3. Owen Powell (Wa) 8:42.53.
St: 1. Eli Fitchen-Young (Duke) 8:58.48; 2. Austin Carrera (Wich) 8:58.71; 3. Sam Darmanie (Vand) 9:04.63.
5000: 1. Juan Gonzalez (Or) 14:13.06; 2. Jack Bidwell (Mi) 14:13.15; 3. Tristan Yoder (Prin) 14:13.26.
110H(0.5): 1. Zacchaeus Brocks (MiHS) 12.98 HSR (old HSR 13.00 Brocks in heats) (5, 6 WJ; 2, 2 AJ);
2. Le’Ezra Brown (Ga) 12.98 (=5, =6 WJ; =2, =2 AJ);
3. Ja’Shaun Lloyd (TxSt) 13.01 (10, x WJ; 3, x AJ)
4. Joshua-Kai Smith (VaHS) 13.06 (2, 3 HS.
Heats: I(0.2)–1. Lloyd 13.04 AJR (old AJR 13.05 Ja’Kobe Tharp (Aub) ’24) (8, 10 WJ);
2. Smith 13.13 PR (HSL) (3, 5 AJ; 2, 2 HS);
3. Hamblin 13.23 PR (7, x HS).
II(-0.6)–1. Brown 12.95 AJR (old AJR 13.04 Lloyd in heats) (3, 4 WJ);
2. Brocks 13.00 HSR (old HSR 13.08 Wayne Davis [Southeast, Raleigh, NC] ‘09) (=8,x WJ; 2, 2 AJ).
400H: 1. Keenen Davis (DCHS) 49.20 HSR (old HSR 49.38 Kenneth Ferguson [Mumford, Detroit, Mi] ’02);
2. Miller Warme (WaHS) 49.28 (2, 2 HS);
3. Andrew Jones (TxHS) 49.46 (4, 5 HS).
Heats: I: 1 Davis 49.40 (HSL) (2, 2 HS).
5000W: 1. Gael Plasencia (CaHS) 22:42.41; 2. Ian Britt (MeHS) 23:22.48; 3. Ansh Patel (IlHS) 30:07.81.
Field Events
HJ: 1. Gage Voyles (KenSt) 7-4¼ (2.24); 2. Maddox Krotzer (NCHS) 7-3 (2.21); 3. Etoro Bassey (TxAM) 7-3.
PV: 1. Jaxon Jerabek (FlHS) 18-1¼ (5.52); 2. Isaiah Whitaker (IlHS) 17-11¼ (5.47); 3. Taylor Waters (CoSt) 17-9¼ (5.42).
LJ: 1. Quincy Isaac (Mi) 25-3½ (7.71); 2. Tymir Phillips (PaHS) 24-11w (7.59); 3. Zahkarri McGlothin (MsHS) 24-6¼ (7.47).
TJ: 1. Miles Nesmith (TnHS) 52-5¼ (15.98); 2. Justin Arogundades (GaHS) 52-4½ (15.96); 3. Jayden Thrower (MsSt) 52-0 (15.85).
JrSP: 1. Omar Hussein (ArSt) 68-9¾ (20.97); 2. Michael Kpomassy (UTEP) 65-7 (19.99);
3. Mekhi Malcolm (SCHS) 64-11¼ (19.79) (HSL).
JrDT: 1. Simon Rosselli (WaHS) 205-7 (62.67) (HSL) (3, 7 HS);
2. Chris Marcell (WiHS) 200-6 (61.11) (9, x HS);
3. Noah Rau (NeHS) 199-3 (60.74).
JrHT: 1. Kayden Hulet (NvHS) 239-1 (72.88) (HSL) (6, x HS);
2. Charles Sullivan (NYHS) 222-1 (67.70); 3. Ryan Evans (RIHS) 214-11 (65.51).
JT: 1. Nolan Carey (PennSt) 217-9 (66.38); 2. Jaxon Talley (LaHS) 212-3 (64.70); 3. Leighton Little (NCHS) 211-10 (64.56).
JrDec: 1. Brody Foster (TnHS) 7604 (HSL) (6, x AJ; 4, 6 HS);
2. Darius Jones (Wi) 7547; 3. Tyler Warnick (Web) 7504.
