Athletes, Teams To Watch During AAU Regions This Weekend


We're in the thick of AAU Junior Olympic qualifying, and that means regional action across the country. 

We'll have you covered on MileSplit throughout the month with coverage of the Games, but in the meantime, we're going to bring you some of the best athletes and teams to watch out for at regional meets. 

You can watch all AAU Region meets live on FloTrack throughout the weekend. 

FloTrack Coverage: 

This weekend, meets in Missouri, North Carolina, Virginia and Indiana will present great quality across the board. 

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AAU Region 15 -- St. Charles, Missouri

Held at Lindenwood University, the Region 15 meet began June 28 and will go through July 1. This region is stacked with phenomenal talent, but perhaps the team to really keep an eye out for is Ultimate Speed Academy, which is set to bring a great amount of talent to the AAU Junior Olympic Games. 

In the boys 15-16 200m and 400m, Hasani Barr is coming back into focus after missing the spring season. The talented sprinter from Cardinal Ritter High School heads into the 200m with a seed time of 21.20 and has gone 47.40 in the 400m. Barr's teammate, Kemeric Winston, also will have a shot to qualify in the 100-200, with seed times of 10.76 and 21.48. Meanwhile, the duo's teammate, Brandon Miller, who's coming off a big 800m win at Brooks PR, is working toward breaking 1:49. He set the 15-16 national record last year at the Games in 1:49.87 and also broke 1:50 at the Missouri state championships. His brother, Derrick Jr. Miller, is a Iowa State University commit in football and will compete in the long jump. Justin Robinson, a Missouri state champion in the 200m and 400m, is entered in the 200m and 400m and has split an open 46.20 -- but he'll have to miss the Games since he'll be in Finland with Team USA at the U20 Championships. 

On the girls side, Alicia Burnett did not compete in her spring season, either, but is set to breakout this summer in the 15-16 100m and 200m. She was the 2017 champion in the 100m at Brooks PR and enters with seed times of 11.47 in the 100m and 23.90 in the 200m. Beyond Burnett, Blues Track Club's Jada Moore is a fine talent and enters in the 17-18 100m with a seed time of 11.90. She will also run in the 200m. Marvelous White, the young sprinter who manages diabetes while competing (above), will be back as well and will compete in the 100m, 200m and long jump as the top seed. 

AAU Region 25 -- Charlotte, North Carolina

This meet will be held at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte from June 28-July 1. Lights out Track Club's Savien Hayes is one to watch in the 17-18 division in the 200m and 400m. In the 400m, he's gone 48.6 and is looking to cut down to 47. Meanwhile, Hayes and . his teammate, Justin Burnette, will go toe-for-toe in the 200m. Both enter with times at 21.6. 

AAU Region 5 -- Hampton, Virginia

Competition is set to go down June 29 through July 1 at Hampton University. And one big team to watch out for is Western Branch Track Club, which is bringing a few athletes to its regionals. None is better set to have career days than Shardonnay Nichols, who will be competing in the 17-18 100m, 200m and 400mH. The hurdles, in particular, have become the Bruins' calling card over the years, and Nichols will look to break close to 60 seconds for her attempt. She enters as the top seed there. 

AAU Region 13 -- Indianapolis, Indiana

This meet starts June 20 and will go until July 1 at Warren Central High School. Much like Region 15, this qualifier will be dominated by a particular team, the Indiana Storm. The track club's contingent will be expansive. We should start with Noah Malone, entered in the 17-18 100m and 200m. His seed marks will put him ahead of the field from the start, with times of 10.87 and 21.65. On the girls side, his teammate, Jailyn Ross, is entered in the same division in the 100m and 200m, while Ramiah Elliott, a big name to watch out for, is entered in the 14-yo 100m, 200m and 400m. She's already run 56.54 in the 400m.