One of the athletes we highlighted was Monae Nichols, a very good Floridian high school hurdler who only ascended to international stardom in the long jump later in her pro career. Anyway, Nichols wound up winning the women's long jump last weekend with a leap of 6.89m (about 22-7 in imperial), into a slight headwind, taking down the third-, sixth-, seventh-, and ninth-ranked jumpers in the world in the process.
That's the beauty of the Diamond League: it's a series of elite meets that each feel like a major championship, where the underdog always has a shot to dethrone the presumptive favorites. And speaking of... the next stop on the Diamond League is already upon us. Many of the same athletes who competed in Keqiao are taking the short flight south to Xiamen, but there will be some new names as well vying for glory and a nice paycheck. The action in Xiamen is set to begin at 6:10am this Saturday, May 23rd. (Watch it live on Flotrack!)
Let's dive into those start lists and see how some of the sports' bigger names got their start within the humble confines of the U.S. high school track and field scene.
First up, let's give some flowers to Jamal Britt. Britt could probably be best categorized as a track and field journeyman on the professional circuit. He hasn't made a U.S. team for a major global championship. But he makes a whole lot of U.S. championship finals - his highest finish was fourth in the 2022 110m hurdles U.S. final - and has been a steady performer since entering the pro ranks in 2022.
That all changed last week for Britt when he struck Diamond League gold, winning the men's 110m hurdles in Keqiao in 13.07, taking down the likes of 2025 World silver medalist Orlando Bennett, 2025 World champ Cordell Tinch, and current world leader Rachid Muratake. Britt's has the potential to be a statement victory as he targets the World Ultimate Championships this summer.
And for any young tracksters taking the path less traveled to international success, take heed of Britt's story! He was a standout hurdler and long jumper in Nevada, where he competed for Legacy High in North Las Vegas. He graduated with PRs of 14.20 and 36.51 in the 110m and 300m hurdles - the #2 and #1 all-time marks in the state, per MileSplit records.
But rather than jump straight to the D1 ranks, he competed for the College of the Sequoias in California's San Joaquin Valley. There, he won several junior college regional championships before moving on to the University of Iowa, where he didn't make a splash until his second full year as a Hawkeye. He placed second at the 2021 NCAA Indoor Championships in the 60m hurdles and fourth that outdoor season in the 110m hurdles. A solid college career after a very promising prep one, but not necessarily a lock for becoming a Diamond League meet winner, either. And yet here we are! Britt will be back in action in Xiamen, looking for his second Diamond League victory.
Another former JUCO star who continued to develop into a stalwart presence on the international stage is 400m specialist - and Quincy Wilson mentor - Vernon Norwood. You may know Norwood as a reliable relay leg for Team USA. Whether it's the men's 4x400m or the mixed 4x400m, Norwood has conveyed the baton around the oval rapidly and consistently in global championship settings for nearly a decade, and been rewarded with 10 medals - including two Olympic and four World Championship golds - for his efforts.
But the Louisiana native becoming one of the most decorated and consistent relay specialists in track and field history was hardly a foregone conclusion when you zoom back to his high school career. For starters, Norwood was a basketball player first and foremost, and only joined the track team as a junior at Morgan City. He graduated as a zero-time state champion with a 400m best of 47.47, then enrolled at South Plains, a Texas junior college.
While competing as a Texan (we aren't saying he was no longer a Louisianan, the "Texan" is the South Plains mascot) he won multiple NJCCA championships, and drew the attention of LSU. He moved back to his home state boasting PRs of 20.93 in the 200m and 45.56 for the 400m, and didn't slow down upon arriving in Baton Rouge. Norwood won four NCAA titles for LSU, and his lowest finish in an individual event at an NCAA championship was third. During his first professional season, he qualified for the 2015 World team in the 400m and 4x400m and won gold in the latter - a harbinger of things to come!
Norwood competed in Japan last weekend, off the DL circuit - there wasn't an international men's 400m as part of the Keqiao Diamond League schedule - but makes his 2026 Diamond League debut this weekend. He's never won a Diamond League race across dozens of attempts, but he has placed second a few times, and is looking to secure a career first 'W' at this stage.
Let's jog things back to Quincy Wilson for a moment. Wilson is a bonafide high school track star who competes for Maryland's sprint powerhouse Bullis School. Now, speaking of the Bullis School, another fantastic high school trackster who competed there is Masai Russell (how's THAT for sticking the landing on a written segue?). Nowadays, Russell is the reigning Olympic champion in the 100m hurdles and the second fastest woman ever in the event. She won last week's Diamond League race in 12.25 into a faint headwind, and will look to defend her crown this Saturday in one of professional track and field's most competitive events. But as is so often the case with athletes who reach the highest levels of the sport, she wasn't always a world-beater in the shorter hurdle event.
Though Russell's talent was evident - she's the eighth-fastest hurdler in high school history - she wasn't yet focusing on the event that would become her bread and butter - to clarify, she is the eighth-fastest 300m hurdler in high school history. In fact, she only contested the 100m hurdles as a high school senior, promptly won a Mid-Atlantic private school title, then headed off to the University of Kentucky where she continued to dabble in multiple events. As a Wildcat, Russell improved steadily over the course of her career, evolving from a conference-scorer-type as a freshman and sophomore to a perennial NCAA podium placer as an upperclasswoman. But she still didn't quite break through to where she is today, and graduated without an NCAA title to her name.
She kept at it, however, and has lowered her PB in the 100m hurdles every full year she's run as a pro. Accordingly, if that trend continues, her 12.17 PB - set last season - is living on borrowed time. After last week's win in Keqiao, Russell has won a race on the Diamond League circuit twice now. She'll look to make it three on Saturday, and probably wouldn't mind inching a millisecond or two closer to Tobi Amusan's world record time of 12.12.
Let's close things out with an athlete who is also no stranger to success at this stage, Valarie Sion (née Allman). When Sion steps in to the discus ring on Saturday, she'll be gunning for her 20th(!) Diamond League victory. As you might expect with a track record (field record?) like that, Sion is considered the greatest discus thrower of her generation - she's won the last two Olympic gold medals, and the most recent World Championship in the event, and is the American record holder. Heck, she's the record holder for all of North America.
Sion was a four-year track and field star at Silver Creek High School in Longmont, Colorado. She won two state titles in the discus and placed in the top-10 a couple of times in the shot. She went to Stanford next, and was immediately competitive at the collegiate level, qualifying for nationals but having an off day to finish 21st. As a sophomore she took eighth place in the discuss at NCAAs, then claimed third as both a junior and senior.
Sion went pro after graduating in 2017, had a quiet 2018 season, then began to emerge as the dominant thrower she is today the following season. Like Russell, Sion has improved her PR every full season of her professional career - if you exclude 2018. She hasn't surpassed last year's mark of 73.52m yet this campaign, and likely won't at Xiamen. (Fun fact: the majority of 70m+ throws these days are tossed into the favorable winds of Ramona, Oklahoma - eight of the 10 best marks thrown this year were set there.) But that doesn't mean her performance in the ring won't be electric. Sion is one of the most dynamic athletes on the circuit, blending finesse and power to will the discus toward the horizon.
But she'll have her hands full this weekend. Even with her pedigree and number one world ranking, she's going to have to survive challenges from the women ranked number two, five, six, seven, eight, nine, and 10 - among them are global medalists and Olympic podium finishers.
