"DyeStat Grads" spur USA youth movement

The two youngest gold medalists were Allyson Felix (left) of Los Angeles CA and Tianna Madison of Elyria OH, both only 19.

Lauryn Williams
1st 100m 10.93
1st 4x100

Age 21. HS: Rochester Pittsburgh PA 2001. As a senior, Williams doubled (11.60 and 24.00) at the 2001 Dayton Roosevelt Memorial (her 3rd straight 100m win in that meet) and then was 2nd in the 100m (11.65) at 2001 AOC Raleigh behind Erica Whipple in a race that is even more interesting further down the results -- Allyson Felix 4th (11.77) and Sanya Richards 7th (11.92).

Justin Gatlin
1st 100m 9.88
1st 200m 20.04

Age 23. HS: Woodham Pensacola FL 2000. Gatlin was better known as a hurdler in high school, doubling in the Florida 3A state meet (14.21 and 37.27) and winning the 300H (36.74) at the 2000 Mobile Meet of Champions. At the 2000 Foot Locker Outdoor Nationals in Raleigh, Gatlin (10.35) was third in the 100 behind Dwight Thomas of Maryland and Jamaica (10.14), who was 5th behind Gatlin at Helsinki this year.

Jeremy Wariner
1st 400m 43.93
1st 4x400

Age 21. HS: Lamar Arlington TX 2002. Wariner came into his own as a HS senior, when he had a 200-400 double in the 2002 Texas 5A state meet. Ironically, he would end the year as runner-up to Texas rival Kelly Willie, who beat him in the 400m at the 2002 Golden West and edged him in the 2002 DyeStat Elite national rankings, 45.52 to 45.57. But Wariner rose to the top of the world when they went off to college -- Willie to LSU and Wariner to Baylor.

Allyson Felix
1st 200m 22.16

Age 19. HS: Los Angeles Baptist CA 2003. Felix stamped herself as a new HS superstar as a sophomore at the 2001 Mt. SAC Relays when she closed on reigning sprint queen Monique Henderson in the 200m. As a senior 2 years later, she matched Marion Jones with a three-peat 100/200 double at the 2003 Arcadia Invitational and was already in the world elite class, setting US national HS records in women's elite competition -- 23.14 indoors at the USA Indoor Nationals and 22.11 outdoors in a Grand Prix meet at Mexico City.

Tianna Madison
1st LJ 22-7.25

Age 19.
HS: Elyria OH 2003

We first saw Tianna as a junior earning MVP honors at the 2002 Dayton Roosevelt Memorial Invitational with a four-gold performance (12.02 100m, 20-4 LJ and two relays). As a senior, she swept long jump at 2003 AOC Raleigh and 2003 US Junior Nationals.

Bershawn Jackson
1st 400H 47.30

Age 22. HS: Miami Central FL 2002 Bershawn hit the national elite as a junior at the 2001 Mobile Meet of Champions, winning MVP honors with a hurdle sweep (14.04 and 36.33). As a senior he won the 2002 Golden West 300H and the 2003 US Junior Nationals. 400H. He ended his HS career as US#2 all time at 300H (35.39) and US#5 all time at 400H (50.0)

Wallace Spearmon
2nd 200m 20.20

Age 21. HS: Fayetteville AR 2003

Spearmon doubled (23-0 LJ and 21.87 200m) at the 2003 National Invitational at the U. of Arkansas Tyson Indoor Center. Then he stayed home for college and had a brilliant career at the U. of Arkansas

Chaunte Howard
2nd HJ 6-6.75

Age 21. HS: J.W. North, Riverside CA 2002

Howard excelled at all the jumps in high school, but she was best in high jump. As a junior, she was 2001 California state champion (5-10) and 2001 AOC Raleigh national champion (6-0.5). As a senior, she repeated as national champion at 2002 AOC Raleigh, improving to 6-1.5

Lashinda Demus
2nd 400H 53.27

Age 22. HS: Wilson Long Beach CA 2001

Demus was untouchable as a high school hurdler, unless she stutter stepped or hit a hurdle, which she was prone to do. After breaking the national 300H record twice her senior year, she was DQ'd from her specialty in the last qualifier for the 2001 California state meet. So she qualified in the 100H and won that. Her 300H record of 39.98 still stands, and she is the only US prep ever to break 40 seconds.

Sanya Richards
2nd 400m 49.74

Age 20. HS: St. Thomas Aquinas Fort Lauderdale FL 2002. As a HS junior, Richards was a 5-event star for perennial Florida champion St. Thomas Aquinas in the 2001 Florida 3A State Meet. -- 100, 200, 400, HJ, and LJ. As a senior, Richards moved to the national stage and set national records indoors and out. At the 2002 National Scholastic Indoor, Henderson doubled in the 200 (23.22) and 400 (52.10), both new national records. Then she crowned her prep career and found her event of the future by setting a national record of 50.69 in the 400 at the 2002 US Junior Nationals, beating the former record holder Monique Henderson head to head. Richards also won the 200 in that meet when Allyson Felix pulled a hamstring near the finish line.

At the 2001 Mt. SAC Relays, Allyson Felix was coming off a double at the 2001 Arcadia Invitational the week before, but now she was up against the reigning HS sprint queen, Monique Henderson. Felix didn't win, but she made an indelible mark in the 200 by closing on Henderson and almost overcoming Henderson's blazing start. Henderson won 23.16 to 23.31 but it was a PR for Felix. It presaged the 200 meters as the best event for the chronically slow starting Felix.

Sanya Richards at 16

In the 2001 Florida 3A State Meet, Sanya Richards advanced to the state finals in five events and, amazingly, she was favored in all five -- long jump, high jump, 100, 200, and 400. But she was hurting with season-long nagging injuries -- shin splints, hamstring, and turf toe. Furthermore, winning the five events was really eight competitions in one day because there were preliminaries in the sprints. So she "only" got 2 firsts, 2 seconds, and 1 eighth -- the lion's share of her team's 98 points as the St. Thomas Aquinas Fort Lauderdale powerhouse won its fourth straight state championship.

photo by John Dye