Team USA won six gold medals on Day 1 of the Pan-American Junior Athletics Championships, as the red, white and blue brought home 19 medals total in Edmonton, Canada.
Three of those gold medals were earned by preps, as Matthew Maton (5k), Haley Showalter (hammer throw) and Paulo Benavides (pole vault) competed to the highest level in the U-19 field.
Benavides (pictured above) cleared 17-8.5 (5.40m) to lead a 1-2 sweep in the Men's Pole Vault, as Audie Wyatt cleared 17-6.5 (5.35m) for silver.
Maton set a personal best of 14:20.58 to win the 5k. He enters his freshman year at the University of Oregon this fall after becoming the sixth prep in history to break four minutes in the mile as a senior at Summit High School in Bend, Ore.
Showalter, of Valor Christian, Co., threw 191-9 (58.45m) to win the Hammer Throw.
Raven Saunders, a rising sophomore at the University of Southern Illinois, enjoyed the most illustrious day as she set a Meet Record of 59-11.25 (18.27m) to win the Shot Put. Brentwood, Missouri rising senior Sophia Rivera earned third in the event with a throw of 50-4 (15.34m).
Full medal count, courtesy of USATF:
Gold (7)
Dior Hall, 100m hurdles (13.20)
Paulo Benavides, pole vault (5.40m/17-8.5)
Matthew Maton, 5000 (14:20.58)
Erin Dietz, 3000 (9:37.51)
Raven Saunders, shot put (18.27m/59-11.25, meet record)
Payton Otterdahl, discus (57.96m/190-2)
Haley Showalter, hammer (58.45m/191-9)
Silver (7)
Audie Wyatt, pole vault (5.35m/17-6.5)
Cerake Geberkidane, 5000 (14:28.45)
Noah Lyles, 100 (10.18)
Aleia Hobbs, 100 (11.50)
My'Lik Kerley, 400 (46.33)
Lena Giger, hammer (57.99m/190-3)
Sara Kathryn Stevens, pole vault (4.00m/13-1.5)
Bronze (5)
KeAndre Bates, long jump (7.54m/24-9)
Sophia Rivera, shot put (15.34m/50-4)
Christian Coleman, 100 (10.32)
Teahna Daniels, 100 (11.54)
Kendall Ellis, 400 (52.81)
