By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

The Outdoor Nationals, presented by Nike, are scheduled for June 30 to July 3 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

WATCH THE OUTDOOR NATIONALS, PRESENTED BY NIKE

Here are 10 boys storylines to follow at one of the nation’s elite high school track and field competitions, hosted by the National Scholastic Athletics Foundation, which will highlight different groups of events each day:

Coming To Hayward Field

The Outdoor Nationals marks a return for the National Scholastic Athletic Foundation's 30 outdoor high school nationals, since its first in 1991. The sponsors have changed, more than once, and this year's event is the first since the 2019 New Balance Nationals Outdoor in Greensboro, N.C. 

With its arrival on the West Coast this week, The Outdoor Nationals follows in the slipstream of two other national championship events. The NCAA Outdoor Championshps were held at Hayward Field June 9-12, and the U.S. Olympic Trials concluded a 10-day run at the stadium on Sunday. 

Now it's time for the next generation to get into the University of Oregon's track and field palace, a state-of-the-art facility that opened in early April after a $270 million project to replace Historic Hayward Field. 

As a venue for high school track, Hayward Field has a long history. It has been the traditional site for the Oregon (OSAA) high school track and field championships, including every year between 1979 and 2018. High school stars have come through the Prefontaine Classic many times, and national high school records such as Alan Webb's 3:53.43 mile in 2001 are part of the track's lore. 

Lukas Verzbicas ran the fastest prep 2-mile there (8:29.46 at Pre Classic in 2011). Trentavis Friday ran the fastest wind-legal high school 100 meters there (10.00 at U.S. Juniors in 2014). Marquise Goodwin (26-10 in 2009) and Kenny Bell (54-10.25 in 2004) set their national records there, too, in the long jump and triple jump. 

Prior to Wednesday's first competition at The Outdoor Nationals, the only high school athletes who have competed at the "new" Hayward Field are the select few who competed in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. 

Weights And Measures

Wednesday's first day of competition features all of the throwing event finals, and many of the top throwers are on the entry list. 

One of the most interesting of all the throwers is Collin Burkhart from Nazareth, Pa., who is entered in both the hammer and the javelin championships and should be a factor in both events. 

It should be noted that the hammer cage at Hayward Field seems to have its own special "magic." The American records in both the men's and women's hammer have been smashed there in the past 10 days. 

National leader Logan Coles of Woonsocket, R.I. leads the hammer entrants with a top throw this year of 235 feet. Burkhart is next at 226 feet. Coles' teammate, Tarik Robinson-O'Hagan is third (223-11). 

In the javelin, an event near and dear to the NSAF, which sponsors The Javelin Project, national leader Matthew Prebola (222-2) of Monroe Township, Pa. is entered and will be in a field that includes Burkhart (209-3), Jackson Rimes of Baton Rouge, La. (208-8) and Samuel Jennings of Pendleton, Ore. (207-10). 

Jennings will aim to keep the javelin title in Oregon. In 2019, North Bend OR's Ty Hampton won the national with 222-11. 

In the discus, Kevin Grubbs of Humble, Texas comes in with a US#3 mark of 207-1 and Zane Forist from Carson City, Mich. is US#4 at 206-0. 

The shot put, which is a highlight at nationals every year, will be contested on the sector where Ryan Crouser recently broke the world record. 

Cooper Mack of Watertown, S.D., Cole Tucker from Colts Neck, N.J. and, TC Nelson of Paeonian Springs, Va. have all thrown past 65 feet this spring. 

Brackins To Show Wide Range Of Skills

One of the most exciting athletes of the meet is Johnny Brackins Jr. of Lee's Summit, Mo., who won Missouri state titles in 110-meter hurdles, long jump and triple jump. 

Brackins is entered in all three events and has had more than a month to prepare for a final opportunity to show what he can do before heading to USC in the fall. 

Brackins ran a personal best 13.79 to win the 110-meter hurdles at the Missouri state meet and has season bests of 25-3.50 in the long jump and 49-3 in the triple jump. 

On Jumps Day Thursday, Brackins will be pushed in both horizontal jumps. Joshua Peterson from Alexandria, Va. has jumped 24-10 in the long jump and won the Virginia 6A title on June 19. 

Anthony Woods II from Louisville, Ky. has gone 49-10.50 in the triple jump and 24-6.50 in the long jump this season and won Kentucky state titles in both events. 

Louisiana Vaulters Vie For National Title

Clayton Simms from Denham Springs, La. has gone higher than any other vaulter in the country this year, 17-2.50 at a meet in mid-April. 

Beau Domingue from Hammond, La. is US#4 with a best clearance of 17-0.25 and beat Simms at the Louisiana state championships on May 8. 

Perhaps influenced by the superstardom of Armand "Mondo" Duplantis, Louisiana has become a hot spot for the event nationally. Simms, who is headed to Kansas, and Domingue, a junior, could be he final two trying to win the title.

Becker Ell of Loveland, Colo. is coming in with momentum after winning the Colorado state title last weekend, and Garrett Brown from Carlsbad, Calif. just won the California state title.   

Scaling Seven Feet

Tyus Wilson of Sterling, Kan., a town with fewer than 3,000 people, will try to extend his reputation outside of Kansas as one of the favorites to win the high jump title. Wilson made it over the bar at 7-2 to win the Kansas Class 2A title on May 29. 

Only three boys have gone above 7-1 this outdoor season and another one of them, Kennedy Sauder from Lauderhill Fla., is also in the meet. Sauder is another small-school jumper with big talent. He won the Florida Class 2A stat title on May 8 with a clearance at 7-0.75. 

North Dakota Legend

Calob Larson left at legacy at Legacy High in Bismarck, N.D. He won 12 state titles despite the fact that the 2020 season was taken away. He won the 100-200-400 triple at the North Dakota state championships as a freshman, sophomore and senior. 

Think of him as a male version of Laura Roesler, who did the same kinds of things in North Dakota for Fargo South, circa 2007-09.

Larson ventured out of state to race at New Balance Nationals Outdoors in Greensboro, N.C. in 2019 and finished 12th in the non-championship section. 

He has come a long way since then and his new personal best of 47.02 from the May 1 Howard Wood Dakota Relays broke the all-time state record. 

This weekend, he'll face serious competition from Khamari Terrell, a junior from Killeen, Texas who ran 46.26 at his district meet on April 1, Terrence Muex of Flint, Mich., the Michigan Division 1 state champion (46.52), Georgia 7A state champion Will Sumner from Canton, Ga. (47.26) and Ashton Schwartzman from Wautoma, Wis. (47.24), who attends the IMG Academy in Florida. 

Bragging Rights In the 100

Conditions should be ripe for fast performances in the boys 100 meters, with a geographically diverse lineup that will shine a light on the fastest of the fast. 

Jordan Anthony from Tylertown, Miss. ran a wind-legal 10.30 to win the Mississippi Class 3A title back on May 6. That broke the state's all-time best. 

Nyckoles Harbor from D.C.'s Archbishop Carroll ran 10.38 for second place at the NSAF Meet of Champions in Myrtle Beach, S.C. back on March 28. 

Trevion McCalla of Humble, Texas placed fifth in the 100 meters at the Texas 6A final, running a wind-aided 10.18. His wind-legal best is 10.55 from all the way back on March 6. 

West Virginia state champion Torrence Walker of Wheeling, W.Va. has run 10.43 this spring. 

Chasing A Fast Mile

Connecticut trio Gavin Sherry, Aidan Puffer and Nicholas Bendtsen are coming a long way to run something special in the mile. 

Sherry, of West Harford (Conard),  ran 4:01.88 to win the Connecticut State Open 1,600 on June 9 and Bendtsen of Wolcott was second in 4:06.09. Bendtsen then ran 4:07.71 to win the Danbury Dream Invitational on June 13, with Puffer, of Manchester, second in 4:08.91. 

The scenario for a fast mile on Saturday also includes Nathan Green (Borah ID), who is entered in the Brooks PR Invitational on Friday night and also Outdoor Nationals. It's unclear whether he would still come to Eugene to take a second crack at sub-four if he knocks it out in Renton, Wash. 

Sully Shelton from Marietta, Ga. could be primed for a fast mile attempt as well, after knocking down his big goal of breaking the Georgia all-time record in the 3,200. 

Sherry, Bendtsen and Puffer are also entered in the 2-mile, where a set of 8:40-somethings could be realistic. Wisconsin state champion Joshua Truchon from West Allis has run 8:44.36 this spring. 

Darius Kipyego of Warwick, R.I., who won the 800 at the NSAF Meet of Champions and was a Pan-Am U-20 silver medalist in 2019, is one of the top entrants in the 800 meters. 

Return of the Decathlon

There haven't been many opportunities for a high caliber high school decathlon since 2019, so the competition this week could reveal a lot about who has been perfecting the multi behind the scenes. 

Maxwell Stakun-Pickering from Wellesley, Mass. won the NSAF Meet of Champions title in Myrtle Beach, S.C. with 6,893 points. 

Jordan Fick of Bogart, Ga. won the Georgia 4A titles in both hurdles events and the pole vault. He also produced the nation's best decathlon during the 2020 season with 6,611 points.

One versatile athlete to watch is Bryce Kazmaier from St. Peter's, Mo., who is one of the best javelin throwers in the country and was also a state championship place-winner in the hurdles and the pole vault. 

Stick!

Relays, always a highlight at nationals, are plentiful this week at Hayward Field.

There are 10 relays championships up for grabs that involve boys, including a mixed 4x400, which means ample opportunity to run with friends one last time before going separate ways for the summer. 

It's also a chance to re-write the national top 10 list before the season ends. 

The Distance Medley Relay features a matchup between Real Training of Colorado (Niwot), the Valley Project TC of New Jersey (Ridge) and LSA TC of Rhode Island (La Salle).