THIS YEAR’S BOYS HONOREES are the 48th grouping we have chosen since we first launched our HS All-America project after the ’74 season.
Only one athlete earned A-A honors in three events, and that was AOY Colin Sahlman, who was No. 1 in the 2M, No. 2 in the mile and No. 3 in the 800.
There were also 13 performers who scored twice: Jordan Anthony (1/1), T’Mars McCallum (2/3) & Rodrick Pleasant (4/2) in the 100/200; Will Sumner (1/2) in the 400/800; Rheinhardt Harrison (4/5) in the 800/mile; Connor Burns (4/4) in the mile/2M; Malik Mixon (1/4) & Kendrick Smallwood (4/5) in the 110H/400H; Greg Foster (1/2) & Jaylen Lloyd (2/4) in the LJ/TJ; Zane Forist (2/2) in the SP/DT; Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan (3/1) in the SP/HT; Jeremiah Nubbe (1/2) in the DT/HT.
The ’22 boys team (for an explanation of the workings of our A-A selecting, check out the sidebar at the end of this story):
100 METERS | ||
1. | JORDAN ANTHONY # | (Tylertown, Mississippi) |
1)Mobile, 1)State, 6/1hs)USATF Junior; 10.14 | ||
2. | T’MARS McCALLUM | (Carolina Forest, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina) |
1)State, 1)New Balance; 10.13 HSL | ||
3. | PIERRE GOREE | (Duncanville, Texas) |
1)Texas Southern, 1)State, 1)Nike; 10.22 | ||
4. | *RODRICK PLEASANT | (Serra, Gardena, California) |
1)Texas Relays, 1)State, 2)New Balance, 4)Arcadia; 10.14 | ||
5. | *NIGEL ANCRUM | (Spring Valley, Columbia, South Carolina) |
2)adidas; 10.18 |
VERY LITTLE separated McCallum from reigning No. 1 Anthony. Each had 10 sub-10:50 races, and at the top end, McCallum’s list-leading 10.13 was only 0.01 faster. But while McCallum had a pair of in-season losses, Anthony was undefeated against preps… Nike winner Goree also went undefeated… Ancrum didn’t have any regular-season performances but closed well with an AAU Junior Olympics win… McCallum (=6), Anthony (=8) & Pleasant (=8) all moved into the top 10 on the all-time list.
200 METERS | ||
1. | JORDAN ANTHONY | (Tylertown, Mississippi) |
1)Mobile, 1)State, 1)USATF Junior; 20.35 HSL | ||
2. | *RODRICK PLEASANT # | (Serra, Gardena, California) |
1)State; 20.40 | ||
3. | T’MARS McCALLUM | (Carolina Forest, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina) |
1)State-5A, 2)New Balance; 20.71 | ||
4. | **JELANI WATKINS | (Klein Forest, Houston, Texas) |
1)State; 20.78 | ||
5. | IAN MYERS | (Brookland, Cayce, South Carolina) |
1)State-3A; 20.66 |
THE UNDEFEATED Anthony scored in terms of both quality (20.35 HSL) and quantity (6 sub-21 races) in securing a 100/200 double… Pleasant was also undefeated but didn’t have any post-season competition but nonetheless moves up from No. 5 last year… McCallum & Myers are the first-ever scorers from South Carolina… Last year’s No. 1 (and No. 2 in the 100) as a junior, Floridian Jaylen Slade turned pro.
400 METERS | ||
1. | WILL SUMNER | (Woodstock, Georgia) |
1)State, 1)Brooks; 45.78 | ||
2. | JUDSON LINCOLN | (Oakland Mills, Columbia, Maryland) |
1)State, 1)New Balance, 2)Brooks; 46.23 | ||
3. | *ZYAIRE NURIDDIN | (Academy, Montverde, Florida) |
1)Florida Relays, 2)State; 45.78 | ||
4. | DARIUS RAINEY | (Summer Creek, Houston, Texas) |
1)State, 4)Brooks, 4/1hs)USATF Junior; 45.92 | ||
5. | JUSTIN BRAUN # | (Central, Westerville, Ohio) |
45.65 HSL |
The Brooks race was a big one, with Sumner beating the New Balance winner to claim the overall top spot. Sumner was the only one to break 46 twice… Nuriddin matched Sumner with 7 sub-47s but had no post-season credentials… Reigning No. 1 Braun produced the year’s fastest time at his Regional but came up lame and had to miss State the next week.
800 METERS | ||
1. | CADE FLATT | (Marshall, Benton, Kentucky) |
1)State, 1)New Balance, 4sf)USATF; 1:46.48 HSL | ||
2. | WILL SUMNER | (Woodstock, Georgia) |
7/3hs)USATF Junior; 1:46.53 | ||
3. | COLIN SAHLMAN | (Newbury Park, California) |
1)Brooks; 1:48.07 | ||
4. | RHEINHARDT HARRISON | (Nease, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida) |
1)State; 1:48.05 | ||
5. | NICK PLANT # | (Canfield, Ohio) |
1)State, 2)Brooks; 1:48.52 |
AOY RUNNER-UP Flatt laid an all-out assault on Michael Granville’s venerable national record of 1:46.45 set in ’96. He produced all-time performances 2 (1:46.48), 3 (1:46.51), =4 (1:46.53), 7 (1:47.00) & 8 (1:47.04) in a brilliant undefeated-by-preps campaign… Sumner only broke 1:48 once, but his 1:46.53 gave him a share of the No. 4 time ever… Milers Sahlman and Harrison take spots 3–4 as last year’s runner-up, Plant, drops 3 places.
MILE | ||
1. | GARY MARTIN # | (Wood, Warminster, Pennsylvania) |
1)New Balance Indoor, 1)Penn Relays, 1)State, 1)New Balance 3:57.89 | ||
2. | COLIN SAHLMAN | (Newbury Park, California) |
1)Sundown, 13)Pre 3:56.24 HSL/3:39.06 HSL | ||
3. | *SIMEON BIRNBAUM | (Stevens, Rapid City, South Dakota) |
1)Arcadia, 1)State, 1)Brooks; 3:59.51 | ||
4. | **FERENC KOVÁCS’ | (Woodberry Forest, Virginia) |
3:39.88 | ||
5. | *CONNOR BURNS | (Southern Boone, Ashland, Missouri) |
2)State, 2)Music City; 3:58.83 |
EVEN BREAKING 4:00 didn’t guarantee an All-America place as the high-tech shoe era continued to help rewrite all-time lists… Sahlman broke 4:00 best of all, his list-leading 3:56.24 making him No. 3 ever (and his 3:39.06 No. 4 in the 1500), but that wasn’t quite enough to get him No. 1 as he didn’t run any of the big prep races and Martin had multiple wins in that category. Martin, No. 4 a year ago, was prolific, with 9 sub-4:05s compared to his California rival’s pair… Arcadia and Brooks wins helped earn Birnbaum No. 3… Kovács had a great summer running for his native Hungary, his 3:39.88 in the 1500 being worth a 3:57.48 mile… Rheinhardt Harrison ran 3:59.33 and didn’t score.
2 MILES | ||
1. | COLIN SAHLMAN # | (Newbury Park, California) |
1)Sundown, 1)Arcadia; 8:36.30+ HSL | ||
2. | *LEX YOUNG | (Newbury Park, California) |
3)Sundown, 2)Arcadia 8:38.72+ | ||
3. | *ROCKY HANSEN | (Christ, Arden, North Carolina) |
1B)Arcadia, 1)New Balance; 8:46.97 | ||
4. | *CONNOR BURNS | (Southern Boone, Ashland, Missouri) |
1)State, 1)Brooks, 11)Arcadia; 8:45.52 | ||
5. | *LEO YOUNG | (Newbury Park, California) |
2)Sundown, 26)Arcadia; 8:42.59+ |
AOY SAHLMAN moved to No. 3 on the all-time list with his year leader at Arcadia (8:33.32 for 3200m). He had earlier moved to No. 4 ever with his 8:38.72+ at the Sundown race… Sahlman was joined by twin teammates Lex (No. 2) and Leo (No. 5) Young as Newbury Park became the first school ever with 3 Rankers. Leo Young had his season terminated early by a viral infection… Burns was the only runner with a trio of sub-9:00 races.
110 HURDLES | ||
1. | MALIK MIXON # | (Westlake, Atlanta, Georgia) |
1)State, 1)Brooks, 1)USATF Junior, 3)Arcadia; 13.27 HSL | ||
2. | *ANDRE KORBMACHER | (Squalicum, Bellingham, Washington) |
1)Arcadia, 1)State, 1)Nike, 5/3hs)USATF Junior; 13.44 | ||
3. | JADYN MARSHALL | (St. Mary’s, Stockton, California) |
1)Texas Relays, 1)Mt. SAC, 2)Arcadia; 13.49 | ||
4. | KENDRICK SMALLWOOD | (Poteet, Mesquite, Texas) |
1)State, 2)Texas Relays, 2)Brooks 13.49 | ||
5. | JASON HOLMES-WILLIAMSON | (Calvert, Towson, Maryland) |
1)New Balance, 2)Florida Relays, 8/5hs)USATF Junior; 13.59 |
LAST YEAR’S No. 4, Mixon moved up 3 spots. He and Korbmacher split in their two meetings, but Mixon won the more-important national Junior title. The Georgian’s list-leading 13.27, which gave him a share of No. 5 on the all-time list, came in winning World Junior silver… Marshall is the younger brother of ’19 No. 1 Jamar Marshall.
300/400-METER HURDLES | ||
1. | YAN VAZQUEZ’ | (Red Mountain, Mesa, Arizona) |
1)Arcadia, 1)Mt. SAC, 1)State, 1)Great Southwest, 1)Nike, 2/2hs)USATF Junior; 36.40/50.18 HSL | ||
2. | KODY BLACKWOOD | (North, McKinney, Texas) |
1)State-5A, 1)USATF Junior, 2)Texas Relays; 36.14/50.62 | ||
3. | GRANT WILLIAMS | (Celina, Texas) |
1)State-4A, 3)Texas Relays, 3)USATF Junior; 36.68/50.82 | ||
4. | MALIK MIXON | (Westlake, Atlanta, Georgia) |
1)State, 3)Arcadia, dq)USATF Junior; 35.84 HSL | ||
5. | KENDRICK SMALLWOOD | (Poteet, Mesquite, Texas) |
1)Texas Relays, 2)State-5A; 36.24 |
BUSY-BUSY-BUSY! Nobody else remotely approached Vazquez for high-level competition wins. Not until he was running at the Junior level did he lose. He switched allegiance to Puerto Rico at the World U20 level… The best of three Texans who rated, Blackwood beat Vazquez at the USATF Juniors…
4 x 100 RELAY | ||
1. | DUNCANVILLE | Texas |
1)Texas Southern Relays, 1)Texas Relays, 1)State, 1)Nike 39.98 HSL | ||
2. | KLEIN FOREST | Houston, Texas |
2)Texas Southern Relays, 2)State; 40.11 | ||
3. | SHADOW CREEK | Houston, Texas |
3)Texas Relays, 3)State; 40.28 | ||
4. | BUFORD | Georgia |
40.05 | ||
5. | IMG | Bradenton, Florida |
1)Florida Relays, 1)Nike; 40.38 |
UNDEFEATED LIST LEADER Duncanville recorded the =No. 8 performance ever as the year’s only sub-40 performer. Overall, they cranked out no fewer than 10 sub-41 clockings… Klein Forest lost only to Duncanville… Shadow Creek made it a sweep of the top 3 spots for Lone Star foursomes… No non-Texas team has been No. 1 since Serra (Gardena, California) in ’13.
4 x 200 RELAY | ||
1. | MARSHALL | Missouri City, Texas |
1)Texas Southern Relays, 1)State-5A; 1:23.60 | ||
2. | KLEIN FOREST | Houston, Texas |
2)Texas Southern Relays, 1)State-6A; 1:23.37 HSL. | ||
3. | DUNCANVILLE | Texas |
1)Texas Relays, 2)State-6A, dnf) Texas Southern Relays; 1:23.90 |
FOR THE 11TH TIME, Texas foursomes swept all 3 places… Klein Forest led the yearly list and became No. 3 ever with its 1:23.37, but Marshall was undefeated and beat Klein at the Texas Southern Relays.
4 x 400 RELAY | ||
1. | SUMMER CREEK | Houston, Texas |
1)Texas Relays, 1)State-6A; 3:09.92 HSL | ||
2. | ST. THOMAS AQUINAS # | Ft. Lauderdale, Florida |
1)State-4A, 2)Texas Relays, 2)Florida Relays; 3:12.80 | ||
3. | CATHEDRAL | Los Angeles, California |
1)State, 1)Nike; 3:13.87 | ||
4. | NORTHWESTERN | Miami, Florida |
1)Florida Relays, 2)State-3A; 3:13.06 | ||
5. | BULLIS | Potomac, Maryland |
2/1us)Penn Relays, 4)New Balance; 3:11.90 |
UNDEFEATED LIST LEADER Summer Creek was an easy choice for No. 1, having a bulge of some 2 seconds on the year’s next fastest… Runner-up Aquinas had great volume (7 sub-3:16 races) in moving up a spot from ’21… Cathedral was undefeated.
4 x 800 RELAY | ||
1. | CENTRAL | Hinsdale, Illinois |
1)Nike, 2)State; 7:32.15 HSL (3 races sub-7:50, 1 sub-7:40) | ||
2. | RIDGE # | Basking Ridge, New Jersey |
1)New Balance Indoor, 2/1us)Penn Relays, 2)Nike 7:32.79 (3 races sub-7:50, 1 sub-7:40) | ||
3. | WEST | Springfield, Virginia |
1)New Balance, 2)New Balance Indoor, 3/2us)Penn Relays; 7:42.37 (5 races sub-7:50) | ||
4. | NORTH | Columbus, Indiana |
1)State 7:37.90 (2 races sub-7:50, 1 sub-7:40) | ||
5. | MOUNDS VIEW | Arden Hills, Minnesota |
3)New Balance 7:36.72 (2 races sub-7:50, 2 sub-7:40) |
RIDGE’S SHOT AT 3 straight No. 1s fell just short as Central beat the Jersey squad in the Nike race, where they produced the Nos. 8 & 9 performances ever… Central became the first Illinois No. 1 since ’07.
4 x MILE RELAY | ||
1. | NEWBURY PARK | California |
1)New Balance Indoor; 16:29.31 HSR | ||
2. | UNION CATHOLIC | Scotch Plains, New Jersey |
1)New Balance; 17:12.34 | ||
3. | CHRISTIAN BROTHERS | Lincroft, New Jersey |
2)New Balance; 17:33.68 |
NEWBURY PARK DESTROYED the former national record by some 20 seconds as Aaron Sahlman (4:11.37), Leo Young (4:06.86), Lex Young (4:07.34) & Colin Sahlman (4:03.74) averaged 4:07.33 in their 16:29.31.
SPRINT MEDLEY | ||
1. | SUMMER CREEK | Houston, Texas |
1)Texas Relays; 3:19.87 HSL | ||
2. | WEST | Springfield, Virginia |
1)New Balance; 3:23.08 | ||
3. | UNION CATHOLIC | Scotch Plains, New Jersey |
1)Arcadia, 2)New Balance; 3:23.51 |
SUMMER CREEK ran the event only once, but a convincing Texas Relays win at 3:19.87 missed the national record by just 0.29. Darius Rainey anchored in 1:50.05.
DISTANCE MEDLEY | ||
1. | RIDGE # | Basking Ridge, New Jersey |
1)New Balance Indoor, 1)Nike; 9:53.40 HSL | ||
2. | AREA | Butler, Pennsylvania |
1)New Balance 9:56.84 | ||
3. | NEWBURY PARK | California |
1)Mt. SAC; 9:55.24 |
RIDGE PRODUCED the No. 5 time ever (and fastest-ever indoors) in moving up a spot from last year… The leading contenders never went head-to-head.
HIGH JUMP | ||
1. | BRANDON POTTINGER’ | (Palmer, Miami, Florida) |
1)VA Showcase, 1)New Balance Indoor, 1)State, 1)adidas, 2)Florida Relays; 7-1 | ||
2. | *RIYON RANKIN | (Brunswick, Georgia) |
1)Florida Relays, 1)State; 7-1 | ||
3. | *JACE POSEY | (Strake, Houston, Texas) |
1)State; 7-4¼ HSL. | ||
4. | TIM WATSON | (Simsbury, Connecticut) |
1)New Englands Indoor, 1)State, 1)New Englands, 1)Nike, 2)Nike Indoor; 7-¾ | ||
5. | ELIAS GERALD | (Westlake, Saratoga Springs, Utah) |
1)Nike Indoor, 1)Arcadia, 1)State; 7-2 |
POSEY HAD A HUGE GAP over the rest of the field with his list-leading 7-4¼, but that out-of-the blue performance wasn’t enough to earn him any better than No. 3, as he had only one other meet at 6-10 or higher… It was the consistent Pottinger — 9 meets over 6-10 and 4 over 7-0 — who had the best record. The Jamaican edges out Rankin, who beat him at the Florida Relay but had no post-season honors.
POLE VAULT | ||
1. | *MADDOX HAMM | (Scottsboro, Alabama) |
1)PV Summit, 1)adidas Indoor, 1)Texas Relays, 1)State; 18-1 HSL | ||
2. | JUSTIN ROGERS | (Hershey, Pennsylvania) |
1)Penn Relays, 1)State, 1)New Balance, 1)USATF Junior, =2)Millrose, 3)New Balance Indoor; 17-3 | ||
3. | LANDON HELMS | (Emmett, Idaho) |
1)Oregon Relays, 1)State, 2)Arcadia, 2)Nike; 17-2 | ||
4. | *CODY JOHNSTON | (Hobart, Indiana) |
1)State, 3)New Balance, 5/4hs)USATF Junior, 6)New Balance Indoor; 17-0 | ||
5. | *WYATT STEWART | (Madison Central, Richmond, Kentucky) |
1)State, 2)PV Summit, 2)New Balance, =6)New Balance Indoor; 17-7 |
THE PROLIFIC HAMM had 18-footers both indoors and out and had no fewer than 16 meets over 17ft in going undefeated. He’s the first junior to be No. 1 since Mondo Duplantis in ’17 and the first from Alabama ever to rate No. 1… 19 times a 16-footer, Rogers had a great post-season with New Balance and USATF Junior wins… The versatile Helms also had the year’s highest decathlon score.
LONG JUMP | ||
1. | GREG FOSTER | (Lawrenceville School, Lawrenceville, New Jersey) |
1)Millrose, 1)Nike Indoor, 1)Penn Relays, 1)New Balance; 25-6¼ | ||
2. | *JAYLEN LLOYD | (Central, Omaha, Nebraska) |
1)State, 1)Nike; 25-5½ | ||
3. | AARON DAVIS | (Summer Creek, Houston, Texas) |
1)Texas Relays, 1)State, 2)Nike, 3/1hs)USATF Junior; 25-3¾ | ||
4. | *MICAH LARRY | (Academy, Montverde, Florida) |
1)VA Showcase, 1)State, 2)Nike Indoor, 2)adidas Indoor; 25-11½ HSL | ||
5. | *ASHTON TORNS | (Westlake, Austin, Texas) |
2)New Balance Indoor, 2)Texas Relays, 2)State, 3) Nike; 25-3¾ |
THE UNDEFEATED FOSTER won major invitationals indoors and out… Lloyd was also unbeaten and won over Davis at Nike… Larry’s list leader came out of the blue at the Florida State meet; his next-best jump was more than a foot shorter.
TRIPLE JUMP | ||
1. | DAMILARE OLUKOSI | (Travis, Richmond, Texas) |
1)State, 1)Nike; 51-8¾ HSL | ||
2. | GREG FOSTER | (Lawrenceville School, Lawrenceville, New Jersey) |
1)Nike Indoor, 1)New Balance; 51-¾ | ||
3. | BRANDON GREEN # | (Ruston, Louisiana) |
1)State, 2)Nike Indoor; 51-6¼ | ||
4. | *JAYLEN LLOYD | (Central, Omaha, Nebraska) |
1)State, 2)New Balance; 50-6. | ||
5. | RYAN JOHN | (Valley Stream North, Franklin Square, New York) |
1)State, 2/1us)Penn Relays, 2)New Balance; 49-8¼/50-1¼w |
LIST LEADER OLUKOSI was undefeated and finished his season with a Nike win. He had 9 meets at 49-plus… Long jump No. 1 Foster was undefeated here too but jumped very few times, with only a pair of 49-foot meets… Green moves up two places from his No. 5 last year.
SHOT | ||
1. | TUCKER SMITH # | (North, Columbus, Indiana) |
1)State; 72-½ HSL | ||
2. | ZANE FORIST | (Carson City-Crystal, Carson City, Michigan) |
1)State, 1)Midwest MOC, 1)Nike; 67-5 | ||
3. | TARIK ROBINSON-O’HAGAN # | (Woonsocket, Rhode Island) |
1)State, 1)New Balance, 2)New Englands; 69-¼ | ||
4. | MATTHEW RUEFF | (Seven Lakes, Katy, Texas) |
1)Texas Relays, 1)State; 68-1¾ | ||
5. | *MICHAEL PINONES | (East Central, San Antonio, Texas) |
2)State, 2)Nike; 67-6 |
MOVING UP A SPOT from his runner-up rating as a junior, the undefeated Smith was the year’s only 70-footer (plus 71- and 72-footer). He had 8 of the year’s top 10 throws, but was absent from post-season competition… Forist (Nike) and Robinson-O’Hagan (New Balance) each had a big June win, but the Michigander was clearly superior in volume of long throws.
DISCUS | ||
1. | JEREMIAH NUBBE # | (Rainier, Washington) |
1)Oregon Relays, 1)State, 1)Nike; 207-4 | ||
2. | ZANE FORIST # | (Carson City-Crystal, Carson City, Michigan) |
1)State, 1)Midwest MOC, 4) Nike; 207-9 | ||
3. | *BRENDON SEE | (JSerra, San Juan Capistrano, California) |
1)Stanford, 1)State, 2)Arcadia, 2)Nike, 4)Mt. SAC; 203-10 | ||
4. | CADE MORAN | (Murrieta Mesa, Murrieta, California) |
1)Arcadia, 1)Mt. SAC, 2)State, 7)Nike 207-4 | ||
5. | CASEY HELM | (Madison, Kansas) |
1)State; 2)Texas Relays; 214-1 HSL |
THE NIKE MEET featured prominently, with the first 4 all competing there, topped by Nubbe. The busy Washingtonian (also No. 2 in the hammer) had 13 meets over 190, 7 over 200. The first from Washington to be No. 1 here, he moved up 2 spots from last year… Last year’s winner, Forist gets No. 2 here in a season which featured 15 meets over 190… Californians take slots 3 & 4, See winning their head-to-head series 3–2.
HAMMER | ||
1. | TARIK ROBINSON-O’HAGAN # | (Woonsocket, Rhode Island) |
1)State, 1)New Englands, 1)New Balance; 250-9 HSL | ||
2. | JEREMIAH NUBBE | (Rainier, Washington) |
1)Oregon Relays, 1)Nike; 245-5 | ||
3. | ASHER ROBBINS | (Barrington, Rhode Island) |
2)State, 2)New Balance; 228-8 |
UNDEFEATED LIST LEADER Robinson-O’Hagan moved to No. 7 on the all-time list with his 250-9. He had 17 meets over 220, 13 over 230, 8 over 240… Also undefeated, Nubbe became No. 8 ever with his 245-5.
JAVELIN | ||
1. | DASH SIRMON | (Walla Walla, Washington) |
1)Oregon Relays, 1)State, 1)Nike; 221-1 | ||
2. | JACK LARRIVIERE | (Jesuit, New Orleans, Louisiana) |
1)State; 228-10 HSL | ||
3. | DREW MRUK | (Wyoming, Exeter, Pennsylvania) |
3)Penn Relays, 1)State, 1)New Balance 215-0 | ||
4. | MILES HIGGINS | (Ligonier Valley, Ligonier, Pennsylvania) |
4)Penn Relays, 2)State, 2)New Balance; 213-4 | ||
5. | SAM JENNINGS # | (Pendleton, Oregon) |
10) State; 213-5 |
THE LONGEST MARK belonged to Larriviere; not bad for a first-year thrower. But with no post-season competition he ends up just behind Nike winner Sirmon, the year’s only other 220-footer… Jennings drops a spot from his ’21 finish.
SPECIAL RECOGNITION | ||
**FERENC KOVÁCS’ | (Woodberry Forest, Virginia) | steeple |
Kovács, who represented Hungary internationally, led the steeple at 8:52.25, moving him to No. 3 on the all-time list.