* Addison Moore has become one of the top freshmen 800m runners in the country this indoor season.
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We've already seen a handful of freshmen impress among some of the best track and field talents in the country.
But there's a commonality between many of those star underclassmen: They are some of the greatest to ever compete as AAU youth athletes.
From youth national record holders to Junior Olympics finalists in 2022, these class of 2026 athletes began their track and field successes at the AAU level.
Scroll below to see which AAU stars have already made noise as high school freshmen in their debut indoor seasons.
* Jones finishes second in the boys 200m at the Texas Tech Under Armour High School Classic.
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Kendrick Jones Jr., Young Runners (TX)
Jones took the AAU circuit by storm last summer by clocking not one, but two AAU national records at the Junior Olympics in Greensboro.
First came a 23-3.25 mark in the 14yo boys long jump to smash the previous record of 22-5 held for a decade. Jones didn't stop there, though, and went on to also break the 14yo boys 200m and 100m all-time AAU bests with times of 21.25 and 10.98.
Now as a freshman competing for Young Runners in Texas, Jones has continued his winning ways.
In his debut high school indoor season, Jones clocked 21.18 for 200m at the Texas Tech Under Armour High School Classic, second only to sub-21-second racer Jelani Watkins and the top performance among freshmen boys this season.
It's also, according to our database, the top performance all-time among freshmen boys in the indoor 200m.
He's also clocked 6.98 in the 60m, which earned him a win at the FasTrak and Coach O High School Indoor Challenge.
Perhaps he can continue chasing records -- like the 6.78 60m freshman all-time best, for instance -- as the indoor season continues.
* Allen takes first in the girls 55mH at the Ocean Breeze Invitational.
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Damira Allen, Chester (PA)
As an elementary school athlete, Allen became an AAU legends of sorts.
She holds various national records in the 8-under and 9yo girls 800m and 1,500m, many of which still hold to this day.
Now as a freshman at Chester, her winning ways continue.
Allen has transitioned from her days as a middle-distance star to an elite sprinter and hurdler, and she's the third-fastest freshman girl in the nation so far in 2023 at the 55mH with a mark of 8.29 from Ocean Breeze.
Her 60mH and 200m bests of 9.28 and 26.10 also compare highly with other marks from members of the 2026 class, coming in at US No. 12 and US No. 43 for her grade.
And like she always did as a young AAU athlete, Allen continues to come away with medals. She's won two of three 55mH races this indoor season, along with three wins in the 60mH and an additional gold medal in the 200m.
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Quincy Wilson, Bullis School (MD)
A 400m 14yo boys national record of 47.59 at the AAU Junior Olympics last summer served as the perfect sendoff for Wilson as he moved from middle school competition to the high school ranks in 2023.
And he's already well on his way to being the next all-time high school great.
Bullis School's latest star has already broken freshmen national records in the 500m (1:02.63) and 600m (1:17.80), and his 500m mark currently leads the country among all grades this indoor season.
Wilson has finished no worse than third in each of his races this season across a variety of distances, including preliminary rounds.
At this point, the sky is the limit for Wilson, who's already proven that he can compete with the best sprinters in the nation despite being one of the youngest athletes to step into the blocks in any given race.
* Moore finishes third in the girls 800m at Eastern Indoors.
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Addison Moore, Woodford County (KY)
Moore made quite some noise at the long distance events last AAU Junior Olympics, putting down a 9:57.43 14yo girls national record in the 3,000m on the final day of competition in Greensboro.
But now in her first year at Woodford County, she's risen to the top of the freshmen rankings in a much different event: The 800m.
Moore ranks second among girls in the 2026 class with a 2:14.25 800m best from Eastern Indoors last weekend in just her second race of the 2023 season.
Prior to her US No.2 freshmen mark, she clocked 2:16.01 to win at the Louisville Urban League Invite in January.
It's already a solid improvement for the national record holder, who previously held a lifetime best of 2:15.00 in the 800m from the AAU Junior Olympic preliminary rounds.
And who knows -- maybe she'll soon tackle the longer distances on the oval that she's already shown great success in from her youth track days.
* Hunter clocks 49.81 in the boys 400m at the Ocean Breeze Invitational.
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Abaas Hunter, Episcopal Academy (PA)
At the 2022 AAU Junior Olympics, Hunter finished second in the 14yo boys 400m only to all-timer Quincy Wilson with a stellar mark of 49.64.
That quarter-mile success continues for Hunter in his first high school season at Episcopal Academy.
He's ranked second in the nation among freshmen boys in the 400m in 2023 with a season best of 49.81 from the Ocean Breeze Invitational. He's gone under 50 seconds twice already this season in competition.
The only guy ahead of him? Quincy Wilson.
Hunter has also performed highly at the shorter 300m distance and ranks at US No. 5 for the class of 2025 behind a 36.15 effort also clocked at Ocean Breeze.