Five Intriguing Storylines, Matchups and Athletes
for the 3rd USATF World Youth Trials
By Steve Underwood
The third USATF World Youth Trials begins its 2-day run Tuesday at Ralph Korte Stadium/Bob Guelker Field on the campus of Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, with a week of mostly extreme heat – at least 2-3 days of mid-90s – in the forecast as the annual USATF Youth Championships continues through Sunday.
But the competition Tuesday and Wednesday should be even hotter. A healthy number of the country’s best eligible Youth tracksters – born in 1996 and 1997 (age 16-17) and typically finishing their sophomore and junior years – will be on hand to bid for Team USA representation at the 8th IAAF World Youth Championships, July 10-14, in Donetsk, Ukraine.
Many of those who will battle here the next two days are current or former US#1s in their events this season, and/or have won New Balance Indoor and/or Outdoor championships. More of those will be added below, but let’s first take a look at five of the most intriguing storylines, matchups and athletes who we expect to see here:
(based on status of entries on 6/24)
Great SW Girls Sprint Rematches
There have been a big handful of really good prep girls sprint showdowns this year, especially in the Dream 100 and the Great Southwest Classic 100 and 200. Here, three of the key players from the GSW races return for what should be another super clash. Ariana Washington, the Long Beach Poly CA sr who has not lost since the Chandler Invite in March – doubling the short dashes at both GSW (11.18w/23.05w, #1/2 all-cond.) and CIF Finals (US#3 11.39/23.22) – will be the center of attention and favorite in both. But she can’t afford to let up even a tiny bit with unattached Washington star Hannah Cunliffe and Chandler AZ sr Ky Westbrook in the races.
Cunliffe impressed mightily with the best marks of her career (windy or no) behind Washington at GSW, taking 3rd in the 100 (11.38w) and 2nd in the 200 (23.10w). She has a great chance to make the team in at least one event. US#5(100)/#4(200) Westbrook – who won the Dream 100 over US#1 MaryBeth Sant and a host of other stars (but no Washington or Cunliffe) – wasn’t at her best in Albuquerque, taking 5th and 3rd in the two dashes. But at New Balance Nationals Outdoor a week later, she won the 100 and was 2nd in the 200. Washington and Cunliffe bypassed NBNO.
The quality of the fields hardly ends with the top three, as Pine Creek soph Alleandra Watt is a threat in all three dashes, actually, with US#4 11.41/US#9 23.65/US#12 53.78 marks to her credit. She was 6th and 5th, though, in the GSW 100 and 200. There are seven more girls who have broken 11.70 in the 100, and six more who are under 24.00 in the 200.
Orji challenges Corrin again
Excitement was high among horizontal jump fans in Greensboro two weeks ago as US#1 freshman superstar Courtney Corrin of Harvard-Westlake HS in California (20-11 PR) came to town and conquered a fine long jump field, leaping beyond 20 feet for the 8th time this year. She also stayed unbeaten, but it was a close call over Mt. Olive NJ jr Keturah Orji. Corrin hit 20-7.25 to Orji’s lifetime all-conditions best of 20-6.25w.
Orji also won the triple jump at New Balance with a US#1 43-9.25, which made her #6 all-time. She’ll be favored to dominate that event here, but suffice to say she’ll probably be most motivated to try and achieve the double by handing the two-years-younger Corrin her first loss. Don’t expect Corrin to be intimated, though. Corrin, somewhat like distance megastar Mary Cain, seems to have that relaxed confidence competing against older athletes and that consistency uncommon to young stars.
While the girls TJ has three others over 40 feet entered (though none likely to challenge Orji), the long jump has a very deep, talented field and some athletes who could rise up if one of the top two falters (not likely, but you never know): US#4 Redlands CA soph Margaux Jones (20-2.75, but off day at Juniors), US#5 George Washington CO jr Chyna Ries (20-2.5), and seven more are over 19 feet.
Williams-Toliver Octathlon showdown
It sets up nicely, this boys’ multi-eventer, with two preps whose fortunes are on the rise, with the older one looking over his shoulder at the younger one. Memphis U. HS TN sr Harrison Williams was a 6,400-pointer last year with the HS implements, then improved to 7, 066 at Arcadia. With the NBNO having an Octathlon, he entered that and won easily with 5,921, a score that compares favorably with his Deca best and with other global Youth athletes in the 8-eventer. Meanwhile, Cypress Woods TX soph Travis Tolliver was also in Greensboro, competing in the concurrent decathlon. He put up a fine meet record 6,846 and declared he was relishing the prospect of matching up with Williams here in Edwardsville. While Tolliver is not quite at Williams’ level yet, it will be fun to see him chase him and go for the upset.
Humphrey’s focus
Two weeks ago at NBNO there was great anticipation for Marlon Humphrey in the hurdles, what with a clash at hand with co-US#1 Tony Brown TX in the 110s and bringing in a scintillating US#1 35.60 300s best to his debut in the 400s there. But the Hoover AL junior had lost much training time since his state meet weeks earlier, in part due to football commitments, and decided to stick just with the longer race. So he scratched the 110s and it’s fair to say in the 400s he was hanging on for dear life at the end, still notching a US#1 50.25.
But Humprhey did say afterward that the World Youths were something he’d been looking forward to since 2012. So here we are and perhaps with several more days of training under his belt, Humphrey will put on a show akin to what he did at the Mobile Challenge of Champs back in April, where he notched his 35.60 and also screamed a 13.30w. Keep in mind that the hurdle heights are lower for both races here, so Humphrey can – either here or in Donetsk – hope to chase the stellar standards Team USA Youth set back in 2007, when Wayne Davis II (13.18) and William Wynne (49.01) won WY titles and set the current USRs (and WYR in Wynne’s case).
West Coast distance hopes
It doesn’t look like Mary Cain will be in Edwardsville to qualify and carry Team USA medal hopes to the Ukraine. Her runner-up finish at USATF Seniors Saturday would apparently taken care of that, earning a ticket to Moscow instead, about a month later. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be any American distance stars on board.
Almost any other year, Camas WA soph Alexa Efraimson would be blowing the US prep track world away with her performances, but this year her 4:16.00 1,500 - #4 all-time – is “only” US#3. But she’s faster than either Hannah Meier or Cami Chapus was in 2011, when each made the WY Final. While the conditions will be way too hot for fast times here, expect her to be a very strong contender in Worlds.
And on the boys’ side, Stockton CA jr Blake Haney will be the best US prospect yet in the 3,000, with his 8:48 3,200 PR, and not far off where Jacob Burcham was two years ago in the 1,500.
