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Final Recap - 2014 IAAF World Juniors - DyeStat

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DyeStat.com   Jul 28th 2014, 2:18am
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U.S. team goes out with bang at World Jrs

 

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor


On one final, sun-splashed day at the IAAF World Juniors, a handul of remaining U.S. teen track stars stepped up to complete the mantra started by head coach Thomas Johnson, a former military man: "Leave No Medals Behind."


Let's start with a trio of graduating seniors from Colorado.


Dior Hall, pursuer of sub-13 seconds and the national record in the 100-meter hurdles for at least three years, performed flawlessly in her final shot. Hall charged into the lead, held it for all but the final foot, and was aced out of the gold medal by her teammate, Georgia freshman and NCAA heptathlon champion Kendell Williams (12.89).


Hall's time of 12.92 (with a 1.9 legal wind) broke Candy Young's 1979 all-time high school record (12.95) and solidified her resume as the greatest hurdler in prep history.


Bailey Roth, two days after breaking another high school record that had been on the books since 1979, lowered the 3,000-meter steeplechase record to 8:47.04. That means in the first three 3K steeplechase races of his life, Roth broke the national record in two of them.


And Elise Cranny, one of two U.S. medal hopes in a 1,500 meters final that felt like the apex of the entire meet, used a late rush to take fourth place. She pushed ahead of fading teammate Alexa Efraimson in the final 50 meters.


Cranny was disappointed to go home without a medal, such was her belief and faith that she could get it done. She ran 4:12.82 and was three seconds out of first.


Speaking with reporters afterward, Cranny said she wished she had accelerated her kick a little sooner.


All three of those seniors are headed to Pac-12 programs -- Dior to USC, Roth to Arizona, Cranny to Stanford.


Efraimson, still a year from high school graduation, got to the same point in the race that Mary Cain made it in the 3,000 meters a few nights earlier. Cain squeezed through two Kenyan runners and blew the doors off them. Efraimson, in this race, did not have that extra gear.


Efraimson said she'd prefer to have tried to win the race than save her energy and try to pick off a medal late.


Ethiopian athletes and their managers refused to comment on the fact that four members of the team went missing Saturday morning and were presumed to have fled to seek asylum in Portland. Dawit Seyaum and Gudaf Tsegay won gold and silver in the women's 1,500 meters.


That left the 4x400 relays and a group of American sprinters that wanted nothing more than complete the U.S. dominance of the medal stand in these championships.


The women's team of Shamier Little, Olivia Baker, Shakima Wimbley and Kendall Baisden won the 4x400 in 3:30.42.


That brought to a close the great high school career of Baker, from Columbia NJ, who earned bronze (400) and gold (relay) in these championships.


The men's team of Josephus Lyles, Tyler Brown, Ricky Morgan and Michael Cherry closed down the meet with another Star Spangled Banner ceremony (the 11th). Cherry was in command on the anchor leg and brought the U.S. home in 3:03.31. Japan edged out Jamaica for silver.



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