Summary to be updated after completion of final day of events on Sunday.
Group AAA indoor 55 meter and outdoor 100 meter dash champion Mustaq'eem Williams of Forest Park has been rolling this week at Morgan State University for the USATF National Junior Olympics. After cruising through the first round of the 100 meter dash with a 10.62 clocking to advance, Williams turned it up a notch in the semi-finals with the state's fastest time in the 2012 outdoor season with a field-leading time of 10.39. Williams had a previous best of a 10.48 wind-aided performance from the state meet finals.
His USATF JO semi-final and wind legal (1.0) performance is fifth fastest all-time in Virginia high school history behind only Ben Singleton (John F. Kennedy '94 - 10.36), Tyrone Turpon (Heritage (Lynchburg) '90 - 10.37), Andre Cason (Green Run '86 - 10.38), and Lashawn Merritt (Woodrow Wilson '04 - 10.38). In the finals, Williams was a tad slower at 10.53 and finished as a national runner-up to Aldrich Bailey from Texas. James Robinson's Ayo Raymond made the 100 finals with Williams and finished 8th at 10.81 to earn All-American honors as well.
Accomplishing so much over the past year as a sophomore, easy to forget that Williams has two more years of high school to set the 100 meter dash state record which he is only three hundredths of a second away from establishing. Also competing in the 200 meter dash, Williams made the finals of the event on Saturday and dropped his personal best down from 21.37 to 21.18 in Baltimore to place third to become an All-American.
Woodberry Forest rising junior Eric Ways claimed a USATF Junior Olympic National title on Sunday in the finals of the intermediate boys 400 meter dash. Ways, who ran a personal best of 48.28 at the USATF regional qualifier meet, was the second fastest qualifier out of the semi-finals with a 48.65 clocking and only three hundredths of a second slower than the top qualifier. In the finals, Ways who is a native from North Carolina but attends boarding school at Woodberry Forest during the school year, pulled away from his fellow North Carolina sprinter in Jamaree Murray (48.77) for a 48.39 victory. Next track season in Virginia will see two returning national champions at 400 meters between Michael Cherry (New Balance Nationals) and Ways (USATF National JO's).
Charlottesville's David Johnson, a New Balance Nationals runner-up in the triple jump twice this year in both indoor and outdoor, was a national runner-up once again but at the USATF National Junior Olympics. Johnson (a PR of 49'10.25") was a distant runner-up to Felix Obi (49'8.50") of Texas with his mark of 48'5.50", but wraps up a very successful high school career on a high note as a USATF JO runner-up.
A Group AAA state champion indoor and outdoor in the pole vault, Felecia Majors of South County was just off her personal best height of 12'7" in the event with a clearance of 12'3.50" at Morgan State to earn All-American honors with a third place finish in the pole vault. After a busy indoor and outdoor track season of competing in numerous events on the track and in the field events, Majors opted to keep her summer competition schedule light and focused only on the pole vault at the USATF National Junior Olympics.
Langley distance runner Jessica Miles was unable to make it out of a very difficult Northern Region Meet in the distance races to compete at this past June's AAA State Meet, but was able to make onto the finals of the USATF National Junior Olympics in the 1500 meter run with a time of 5:01.69 as the 6th fastest qualifier among 12 for Sunday's finals. Miles is the 2010 Liberty District cross country champion. In Sunday's finals, Miles put together a great race to drop her time by 7 seconds from the prelims to place third and earn All-American honors with her time of 4:54.20, which converts to roughly around her outdoor season 1600 best of 5:15.
Stanley Davis of Glen Allen High School, who recently posted a PR of 1:54 at the USATF regional qualifying meet, qualified for the finals at the USATF National Junior Olympics in the intermediate boys 800 with a time of 1:58.33. In the finals, Davis earned All-American honors with a fifth place run of 1:56.21. Oscar Smith's Michael Cherry had qualified for the finals with a PR run of 1:54.17 for the Group AAA state and New Balance Nationals champion at 400 meters this past spring, but did not show to run in the finals of the event on Saturday.
Battlefield rising junior Ellison Grove had the second fastest time in the prelims of the intermediate girls 800 with a time of 2:18.16 to move onto the semi-finals. Also moving into the next round from Virginia is Indian River's Ebony White (12th, 2:21.01). Grove was able to again make it through the semi-finals with the second fastest qualifying time also at 2:17.32. In Saturday's finals, she earned USATF All-American honors in a closely contested race for runner-up with the Northwest Region outdoor 800 champ able to place 3rd with a final time of 2:17.13.
Woodbridge's Olivia Coopwood became an All-State hurdler this past spring with a fifth place finish in the 300 meter hurdles at the AAA State Outdoor Meet. Coopwood is now trying to become a USATF All-American as she advanced onto the finals of the young women's 400 meter hurdles as the fourth fastest qualifier from the prelims at 1:02.84. Her time bests her previous personal best of 1:02.92 at the Russell Blunt Invitational last week. She then continued to drop her time building up to the finals in the semis where she got into the 61 second range for the first time with a 1:01.29 performance to place herself as the second fastest entering the finals on the final day. She struggled in the finals with her finishing time of 1:05.10, but still earned USATF All-American honors with a 7th place showing in the finals.
Grove's teammate at Battlefield High School, thrower Galissa Cause was a few spots off becoming a USATF All-American in the young women's shot put with her 10th place mark of 40'9.75". Gause finished 18th later in the week in the discus with a mark of 122'6". Meanwhile, Nansemond River rising sophomore Zakiya Rashid became an All-American in the shot put by throwing for a mark of 37'4" to place 7th overall in the intermediate girls' division.
Michael Thomas-Brown of Mount Vernon leaped to a 12th place showing in the young men's long jump at 22'2.25", while able to qualify onto the semi-finals in both the 100 and 200 meter dash. The Group AAA 100 meter dash state runner-up failed to make the finals in either event, but did post a swift time of 21.86 in the 200 semis.
Landstown's Leah Lott was able to make it through the first round of the young women's 100 meter hurdles with the 12th fastest time at 14.36, but was unable to make out of the semi-finals with the 14th fastest time at 14.34. Her Landstown teammate Briana Taliaferro leaped a mark of 17'4.75" to place 12th in the long jump of the intermediate girls division.
MileSplit US Meet Page w/ Results & Photos
USATF National Junior Olympic T&F Championships Schedule & Results
