#3. Willis Upset In 100, Pulls Off Own Upset In 200
Maxwell Willis figured to be one of the favorites to break into the top two in the 100 meter dash finals on Wednesday morning at the World Youth Trials. After all, the rising senior at Bowie High School in Maryland had one of the fastest 100 PR's in the field at 10.40.
In the first half of the race with a strong start, Willis looked to be on his way to a win at one moment mid-race and at worse second place, but two shocking closers coming from the outside lanes in Micaiah Harris from Western Branch High School in Virginia and the inside lanes in Daniel Estrada from Northwest Guilford High School in North Carolina grabbed first place (Harris 10.68) and second place (Estrada 10.74) in the final meters.
Meanwhile, Willis faded to third place with a time of 10.76 on the outside looking in for a World Youth team spot. Willis was a state champion in all three sprint events (100, 200, and 400). Harris and Estrada were not known nationally before this weekend, but certainly no slouches in their respective states as Harris was a state runner-up to Noah Lyles in the Virginia 6A state 100 meter finals, while Estrada had won the North Carolina 4A state title in a wind-aided 10.46 personal best clocking.
After missing out on making the World Youth team in the 100, the last shot for Willis would come in the 200 meter finals racing against one of the fastest sprinters in his neighborhood, the Washington DC metro area neighborhood that is in Josephus Lyles from T.C. Williams High School in Virginia.
Lyles was coming off a personal best performance and victory earlier in the day in the 400 at 45.77 from the two-time New Balance Nationals 400 meter champion defeating a former US #1 in Keshun Reed of Texas (46.06). He had already earned his ticket to Colombia. Willis still was on the waiting list.
He decided to wait no more. Willis bolted out the first 100 meters in the 200 finals to gain the advantage which the late starting Lyles could not overcome to win the World Youth Trials 200 title in 21.18 clocking despite facing a -1.8 tailwind. Lyles, who nearly missed the race after they moved the race up earlier than scheduled, would qualify for his second event for the World Youth Trials in a runner-up 21.35 performance.
While Willis will be competing in his first international competition overseas in two weeks at the 2015 IAAF World Youth Championships, it will not be his first time facing international competition. At the Penn Relays and Great Southwest Classic this season, Willis raced against the Jamaicans including a wind-aided 20.55 runner-up 200 performance in the 200 against 2014 World Junior bronze medalist Michael O'Hara at Great Southwest. No O'Hara rematch in Colombia, but Willis along with the rest of this Mid-Atlantic region strong crew of American sprinters with Lyles, Harris, and Estrada will be looking to bring home plenty of medals for the United States.