Tia Jones wins first U.S. Junior crown, with Cortney Jones taking runner-up in thrilling women’s hurdles final; Davis, Wilson and Watson return to national team

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

BLOOMINGTON – The consistency of Tia Jones, and the depth of American women’s U-20 hurdling, was again on display Saturday at the USATF Junior Outdoor Championships at Hayes Track at the Haugh Complex.

Jones, a George Walton Comprehensive GA junior, made a third consecutive American U-20 roster, capturing her first U.S. Junior title by clocking a wind-legal 12.89 seconds in the women’s 100-meter hurdles, giving her the top three performances in prep history.

Florida State freshman Cortney Jones, no relation, took runner-up in 12.91 to secure the second automatic berth to compete July 10-15 at the IAAF World U-20 Championships in Tampere, Finland.

USC freshman Chanel Brissett, the World U-20 leader at 12.75, placed third in 12.95 and didn’t qualify. Cortney Jones is second among World U-20 performers at 12.86, with Tia Jones third at 12.89.

Two other World U-20 leaders, Georgia freshman Tara Davis in the long jump and UCLA freshman Alyssa Wilson in the hammer throw, backed up those marks by winning titles.

Davis set the facility record with a second-round leap of 22-0.25 (6.71m), the second-best mark of her career, trailing only a 22-1 (6.73m) from last year.

Mansfield Lake Ridge TX junior Jasmine Moore produced the best wind-legal jump of her career at 20-11.75 (6.39m) to improve to No. 5 among World U-20 performers this year.

Wilson produced a sixth-round throw of 217-7 (66.33m) to qualify for Finland in a second event after taking second in the discus throw, just off her personal-best 219-9 (66.99m) from the NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Championships, making her the No. 2 all-time U.S. U-20 performer.

North Carolina freshman Jill Shippee improved her mark to 210-6 (64.16m) as the No. 4 American U-20 performer in history to finish second.

A battle of two of the top four World U-20 athletes this year was showcased in the 800 final, with reigning NCAA Division 1 champion Sammy Watson of Texas A&M edging Stanford signee Caitlin Collier of The Bolles School FL by a 2:01.46 to 2:01.66 margin to secure her second U.S. Junior title in three years.

LSU freshman Jurnee Woodward won the 400-meter hurdles in a personal-best 57.53, edging Wausau West WI junior Brooke Jaworski (57.63) and Bullis MD graduate Masai Russell (57.65).

Shelby Tyler of Noblesville IN and Sanaa Barnes of Northwest Nelson TX both cleared 6-0.75 (1.85m) in the high jump, with Tyler capturing the title on fewer attempts.

Iowa State freshman Cailie Logue prevailed in the 5,000 final in 16:15.47, with Boise State freshman Emily Venters (16:19.22) relying on a strong surge in the final 200 meters to overtake another Cyclones freshman, Amanda Vestri (16:19.83) to secure the second automatic berth to race in Finland.

Valor Christian CO junior Anna Hall accumulated 3,494 points on the opening day of the heptathlon, a 16-point improvement on her first-day total from her national high school record performance of 5,798 on May 31 and June 1 at the Great Southwest Classic in Albuquerque, N.M.

Marietta GA senior Sterling Lester improved on her best first-day score by 140 points to sit in second place with 3480.