USATF Press Release
GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Before Mother Nature dropped a storm of her own on the Irwin Belk Track Friday, home-state favorite Bryce Love
of Carolina Elite showed a little lightning of his own as he ripped to
a national youth record 51.76 in the midget boys' 400-meters prelims on
day four of the USA Track & Field National Junior Olympic Championships at North Carolina A&T State University.
Love smashed the previous record of 52.90, set by Xavier
Jones in 2007, and but for a bit too much wind would have laid claim to
the national youth 100 record as well. Aided by a
just-over-the-allowable 2.4 meters-per-second breeze, Love dashed to an
11.59 in the heats. The national youth record? 11.69, set in 2008.
Miami Northwest's Robin Reynolds, already a near-legend in youth track
circles, added to her gold medal collection with a win in the
intermediate girls' long jump, leaping a wind-aided 5.95
meters/19-6.25. She stayed busy the remainder of the day recording the
fastest qualifying times in the 400 (52.60, a personal best) and 100
(11.68).
Finals in 18 field events dominated Friday's action on the
medal stand. Windy and rainy conditions hampered the throwing events,
and rendered most performances in the horizontal jumps illegal for
record purposes. The top efforts of the day were turned in by Damion
Johnson of Baldwin County, who won the young men's long jump with a
very-windy 7.52m/24-8.25 leap, and World Youth team member Morgann
LeLeux of Louisiana, who took gold in the young women's pole vault with
a clearance at 3.85m/12-7.5.
Discus titles were won in impressive fashion by Aslynn
Halvorson in the young women's division (46.64m/153-0) and Danny Block
of Illinois in the young men's competition (57.50m/188-8).
Intermediate shot put golds went to Adrienne Alexander of
Metropolis (13.43m/44-0.75) and Jordan Roos (16.48m/54-1), while Derek
Eager of Seatown Express won the young men's javelin with a throw of
55.50m/182-1.
Andrea Guebelle of the Flying AJ's captured the young women's
triple jump title with a leap of 12.45m/40-10.25, and Derreck Edwards
of Track Houston won the intermediate boys' division at 14.42m/47-3.75w.
Other winners were: Mystasia Alexander of the LA Jets (midget
girls' javelin); Kira Larson of Team Nodak (youth girls' high jump);
Kennedy Blahnik of Wisconsin (youth girls' discus); Sasha Smallwood
(intermediate girls' pole vault); Robert Dunning of First Light (midget
boys' high jump); Sean Lee of USA High Jump
(bantam boys' high jump); Kushaal Tadepalli of Valley United (bantam
boys' shot put); and Hunter Hopkins of Rockwall Mustangs (youth boys'
javelin).
Competition resumes Saturday at 8 am with prelims in the 400 hurdles.
