The final day of the IAAF World Junior Track and Field Championships came and went Sunday in Poland, as Team USA wrapped up a very successful week. Two high school athletes stood out among the crowd during the final day's finals. North Carolina hurdle sensation Booker Nunley showed his strength and speed, capturing a silver medal in the men's 110m hurdles. Meanwhile, Jordan Hasay continued her amazing post-season success by placing fourth in the women's 1,500m. What a week it was for Team USA!
World Junior Champs. Coverage - Day 6 (Sunday)
Jim Spier Blog (NSSF) / Joy Kamani Photo Gallery (NSSF)
Official Website / Day Six Results
Men's 110m Hurdle Final
Despite getting off to the slowest start in the field of competition Sunday, Booker Nunley (Garner, NC) (pictured right by Joy Kamani of NationalScholastic.org) earned a World Championship silver medal in the men's 110m hurdles. For the past few days Nunley has shown his strength and speed in the event, placing well in every round and setting himself up as a medal contender for the finals.
Going against an incredibly deep field, Nunley moved up throughout the race, putting himself in second with about 25 meters to go. While Nunley caught the majority of the field, he couldn't quite catch gold medal winner Konstantin Shabanov (Russia), who beat Nunley 13.27 to 13.45. With Nunley's season now in the books, he will prepare for the next stage in his student-athlete career, which will see him go to the University of South Carolina, which tends to produce some of the finest hurdlers in the U.S. year in and year out.
Women's 1,500m Run Final
Her goal was to try and medal. That was the personal expectation of California starlet Jordan Hasay (Mission Prep, CA) heading into this week's World Junior Championship women's 1,500m run. After an exciting week at the Olympic Trials the week before, which saw her make the final and finish tenth, Hasay was on a mission to push her maturing running career one step further.
Facing some stiff competition, Hasay raced well, but showed a little fatigue coming into the home-stretch. Trying to stay with the leaders, Hasay ended up finishing fourth, one spot shy of a medal, but cracking the 4:20 barrier one more time, this time finishing in 4:19.02. Hasay also helped guide her Team USA teammate Alex Kosinski (Oregon), who finished sixth overall in 4:21.26. A great showing for the U.S. squad.
Women's Discus Throw Final
One of the youngest competitors in the field, junior Anna Jelmini (Shafter, CA) came up big against her experienced competition by placing seventh overall in the women's discus throw. After an exciting few weeks of competition, which included a pit stop in Eugene, Oregon to take part in the Olympic Trials, Jelmini finished up her season with her best throw on Sunday being 162-03.25.
Jelmini got off to a great start Sunday, throwing over 160-06 on her first two throws, before falling off her rythm with a third throw that landed under 130-00. Her next three throws would further in distance, but not any further than her first two of the day.
Women's 4x400m Relay Final
Summary Forthcoming.
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