USA U20 Championships: Day 1 Recap

* Ole Miss signee Tarik Robinson-O'Hagan won the hammer on Thursday during the USATF U20 Championships

Photo Credit: David DelPoio/The Providence Journal/USA Today Images

Winning hasn't been a trend this season for Tarik O'Hagan-Robinson.

It's been a theme. 

On Thursday, during the first day of action at the USA Track and Field U20 Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, that fact once again rooted itself in the standings, as the Woonsocket (RI) High School graduate won the hammer throw with a mark of 75.08 meters (246 feet, 4 inches). 

That mark, thrown with the 6 kilogram implement, is No. 5 in the world for U20 athletes. 

But that is no surprise from O'Hagan-Robinson, either.

The future Ole Miss athlete has called the hammer his specialty throughout the 2022 season, hitting over 230 feet in the event -- with the 5 kilogram weight -- a total of six times, including three times over 240.

This effort was unquestionably his best yet. 

He's coming off two victories at New Balance Nationals Outdoor and the Rhode Island State Championships. Over the 2022 calendar year, he's won seven national titles. 

With the win, O'Hagan-Robinson booked his ticket to Colombia for the World U20 Championships. 

STAT OF THE DAY

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9 

Thursday marked Tarik Robinson O'Hagan's ninth straight win in a hammer competition across the 2022 season. 

Women's Javelin: Kohana Nakato, a freshman at Oregon, won with a mark of 48.11 meters (157 feet, 10 inches), while Saydi Orange, the nation's fourth-best javelin thrower in 2022 from Kentridge (WA) High School, was second in 47.65 and Marin Barras was third in 46.88 meters. 

Women's 5,000m: Rising high school junior Ellie Shea put on a clinic through the first 1,000m, 2,000m and 3,000m, but stepped off the track shortly thereafter. She held leads of roughly six seconds, seven seconds and five seconds before ultimately not finishing. Then it came down to the final laps, as Stillwater (MN) graduate Analee Weaver, a freshman at BYU, surged into the lead in the final K as she claimed her ticket to Worlds in a winning time of 16:25.67. Heidi Nielson, a freshman at Arkansas and a Katy Cinco Ranch (TX) graduate, was second in 16:30.50 while Harper McClain of Oregon -- and St. Helena (CA) -- was third in 16:48.23. 

Men's 5,000m: Tyrone Gorze etched his names into the books as a USA U20 Champion on Thursday, winning across a field of mostly college-aged men in 14:08.08. The rising high school senior from Crater (OR) High School took over in between the first and second 1,000m and held on throughout, throttling up during the middle of the race before holding off Penn's Dylan Throop, who was second in 14:09.22 and Wisconsin's Jacob Bourget, who was third in 14:09.74.

Heptathlon: This is somewhat of a shocker: With four events down and three to go, JaiCieonna Gero-Holt, a freshman from Emerald Ridge High School in Washington, leads the overall standings with 3,371 points, while Blakelee Winn is second in 3,235 and Bryanna Craig, the recent Ruston (LA) graduate, is third with 3,223.

Perhaps still in the hunt remains Oklahoma's Ariel Pedigo, but she needs some work to do: The '21 graduate of Parkview Baptist (LA) stands in sixth with 2,855 points with the javelin -- her best event -- long jump and 800m to go. Gero-Holt won both the high jump and shot put and was third in the 200m. Impressively, she went 1.81 in the HJ, picking up 991 points. 

Decathlon: Just four men are in the decathlon group, with Cerritos College's Bryce Pearson leading the way with 3,499 points. Emmett (ID) graduate Landon Helms, the recent decathlon champion from NSAF Nationals, is in second with 3,287 points and Max Tucker is third with 3,256 points. The 110mH, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1,500m remain on Friday. 

USA SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

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Men's 800m: 

Cade Flatt may not have the high school national record in the 800m just yet, but on Thursday he may have cemented himself as the unquestioned top dog at the distance when he ran his third-straight 1:46 in the first round against professionals. 

Only Donovan Brazier was faster. 

Flatt ran 1:46.53, marking his spot in the semifinals on Friday. Like twice before, he was less than 0.10 seconds away from the record.

This time, he was 0.08 seconds shy of tying Michael Granville's 1:46.45 national mark, which has stood since 1996. In previous attempts, Flatt was 0.06 and 0.03 seconds away from the record. 

Perhaps that time could come, though. 

Flatt said Thursday he saved a little through 400m and can see a faster semifinal or final. 

Related Links: 

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

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"I didn't come out here to win the prelim."

Cade Flatt on making it out of the first round on Thursday in the men's 800m. 

Photo Credit: Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports Images