Plenty of the title-holders crowned at this past weekend's USATF Track and Field Championships were already household names - at least if your household includes at least one track fan. Melissa Jefferson-Wooden. Sha'Carri Richardson. Noah Lyles (in one of his two events). Cooper Lutkenhaus. Cordell Tinch. Vashti Cunningham. These athletes stepping up and delivering championship-clinching performances was no surprise.
But beyond the usual headliners making... well... headlines, there were a slew of notable results from up-and-coming stars. Let's take a look at five athletes whose names we'll be sure to include in our previews for future national championships!
Alyssa Jones, 1st Place, Women's Long Jump: Let's address the elephant in the room of this particular section. At the conclusion of long jump competition, Tara Davis-Woodhall was crowned the victor. However, after official review, her winning jump was retroactively ruled a foul, and Alyssa Jones's second round leap of 6.96m was once again the best on the day. That's not the way Jones probably wanted to win her first U.S. title, but hey... those are the rules.
And all that said, Jones is an incredibly worth champion. She won NCAAs a month ago in a meet record of 7.06m; her 7.09m PB from this season ranks her third in the world this year; and she placed fourth in her Diamond League debut at the Pre Classic. The recent Stanford grad's professional career is off to an exceptional start.
Sydney Vaught, 1st Place, Women's 10,000m: Vaught (née Thorvaldson)
made the most of a wide open women's 10,000m field, imposing her will
on the race for the final 5,000 meters, to secure her first national
title. After a comically tactical (read: slow) first half to the race -
Vaught, leading the field, registered an 18:09 5k split - she hit the
gas, and what had been a jog-fest quickly became a race of true
attrition.
A few laps later, the podium finishers looked set -
Vaught, Katie Izzo, and Allie Buchalski - but not yet their finishing
order. Buchalski dropped off the pace with two laps to go, and with a
lap left, Izzo finally came unglued. Vaught's second 5k - an impressive
15:21 - was enough for her to secure a six-second win, and the first
year pro has certainly put many of her more experienced competitors on
watch.
Bradley Franklin, 2nd Place, Men's 110m Hurdles: Yeah, yeah, we already acknowledged that Cordell Tinch won this event. But Tinch is a seasoned pro and the reigning World champ over the high hurdles. Bradley Franklin just wrapped up his sophomore year at Samford University, finished only fifth at NCAAs in June in a then-best mark of 13.19, but ran a big PB (13.00) in the final at USAs to take Tinch to the line. It was a true photo finish, with Tinch ultimately being awarded the victory by a margin of just 0.004 seconds. That's how you make a statement finishing as the runner-up.
Here's hoping that's the sort of confidence-boosting performance that Bradley needs to fully level up and make the state of U.S. men's 110m hurdling even more exciting. As it stands, six of the seven fastest men in the event this year are Americans - with Franklin and Tinch locked in a three-way tie for the fifth spot.
Garrett Kaalund, 1st Place, Men's 200m: There's an old expression that goes "make hay while the sun shines." Now for 99.9% of the track and field world, Noah Lyles pulling up halfway through the 200m final wouldn't be considered a sunny moment. But if you were Garrett Kaalund, running strongly out of lane eight, that meant the pre-race favorite was no longer standing between you and your first senior national title in your signature event.
Kaalund, who boasts a 19.85 PB and has run the second-fastest indoor 200m of all time (19.95), capitalized, cruising home to a 20.04-second victory. Not a bad consultation prize for the 22-year-old former USC standout who missed out on his final outdoor NCAAs due to injury.
Rheinhardt Harrison, 3rd Place, Men's 1500m: We've got one final entry in the "didn't make NCAAs but won a medal at USAs" log - NAU's Rheinhardt Harrison closed like a freight train over the closing lap of a dangerously tactical men's 1500m final to secure bronze. Harrison failed to advance out of the NCAA west regional meet, enjoyed a little downtime, and seemingly came back refreshed and ready to compete at USAs. He entered the final about as inauspiciously as one can, sneaking into it on time out of the third and final semi. During the final he appeared to be a non-factor for much of the sluggish early laps - he was in 10th at the bell - then came alive to close in 51.52, the fastest final 400m of anyone in the race.
A high school sub-four miler, Harrison initially competed for Oregon where he struggled to live up to expectations. Since transferring to NAU, he's contributed to a DMR NCAA title indoors, run PBs in the 800m (1:46.93) and 1500m (3:36.28), and now, landed on the podium at a senior U.S. championship.
Plenty of the title-holders crowned at this past weekend's USATF Track and Field Championships were already household names - at least if your household includes at least one track fan. Melissa Jefferson-Wooden. Sha'Carri Richardson. Noah Lyles (in one of his two events). Cooper Lutkenhaus. Cordell Tinch. Vashti Cunningham. These athletes stepping up and delivering championship-clinching performances was no surprise.
But beyond the usual headliners making... well... headlines, there were a slew of notable results from up-and-coming stars. Let's take a look at five athletes whose names we'll be sure to include in our previews for future national championships!
Alyssa Jones, 1st Place, Women's Long Jump: Let's address the elephant in the room of this particular section. At the conclusion of long jump competition, Tara Davis-Woodhall was crowned the victor. However, after official review, her winning jump was retroactively ruled a foul, and Alyssa Jones's second round leap of 6.96m was once again the best on the day. That's not the way Jones probably wanted to win her first U.S. title, but hey... those are the rules.
