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US World Youth Championships Trials
Eastern Michigan, Ypsilanti MI,  June 30-July 1, 2009

IAAF World Youth Championships
Bressanone, Italy, July 8-12, 2009
   



Top US Contenders for the 2009 World Youth Champs
They'll still need to qualify at the new USATF trials

by Mike Kennedy



Setting the Stage

The United States has won the last four World Youth (under 18) Championships, beginning in 2001, and with the change in the selection procedure there is every reason to believe that the 2009 edition of the U.S. team that goes to Bressanone, Italy will be the best ever. In the past the selection pool was made up of athletes who attended one of three national Youth meets during the previous year. All other athletes were excluded. Now any athlete who was born in 1992 or 1993 and has met the qualifying standard with marks made from January 2008 to June 2009, will be eligible for the World Youth championships. The U.S. will conduct a qualifying meet for the World Youth Championships, June 30-July 1, at Eastern Michigan. The IAAF standards for the 2009 Championships and the U.S. World Youth championship trials have been announced. At this time the plan is to have the top two finishers in each event, provided they have met the WYC standard, placed in a pool and the team will be selected from this pool. The past U.S. teams that competed in the 2005 and 2007 World Youth Championships was made up of about 33 athletes. The exact size of the U.S. team in 2009 team will be determined in mid-February.

Leading Prospects With One Year to Go

When you look at the performances of Youth Division athletes in 2008, it is clear that the number of athletes that will be competitive at the international level in 2009 is substantially larger than was the case in 2007. At this stage it appears that the girls’ squad is going to be stronger than the boys.

GIRLS - Boys

Sprints
As usual the sprints and the hurdles will be a mainstay but in addition the quality especially in the distances and the field events is greatly improved over 2007. Leading the sprinters is Ashley Collier of Dunbar (Fort Worth, Tx.), the fourth ranked Youth in the world for 2009 at 11.58 and Jessica Davis of Highland (Palmdale, Ca.) No. 5 at 11.62. Octavious Freeman of Lake Worth (Fl.) and Ashton Purvis of St. Elizabeth (Oakland, Ca.), both at 11.66, are tied for No. 6. Davis at 23.46 and Purvis at 23.47 are ranked No. 2 and 4, respectively, in the 200. Ebony Eutsey of Southridge (Miami, Fl.) is the No. 1 world-ranked 400 Youth for 2009 with a best of 53.23. Akawkaw Ndipagbor of Poly (Long Beach, Ca.) is No. 2 at 53.35, Briana Nelson of Mann (Greenville, S.C.) is No. 3 at 53.46, and Brianna Frazier of Raines (Jacksonville, Fl.) is No. 4 at 53.54.

Distance
Phyllis Francis of McAuley (Brooklyn, N.Y.) is the No. 1 ranked in the world in the 800 with her 2:04.83 at the USATF National Junior Olympics in Omaha. Chelsey Sveinsson (right, photo by John Nepolitan) of Greenhill (Addison, Tx.) at 4:23.72 is ranked No. 6 in the 1,500 at 4:23.72 and Cory McGee of Pass Christian (Ms.) is No. 10 at 4:25.88. Ioana Doaga of Romania, the world Youth leader at 4:18.28. Emily Lipari of Roslyn (Roslyn Heights, N.Y.) is the No. 8 Youth in the world in the 3,000 with her 9:37.53 considering that each national is allowed a maximum of two entrants per event. Nelly Chebet of Kenya is the world leader at 8:59.94. Danielle Winslow of Queensbury (N.Y.), at 6:56.57, and Eleanor Fulton of Highlands Ranch (Co.), at 6:56.97, are the U.S. leaders in the 2,000 steeplechase. Albina Chinchikeyeva of Russia is the top Youth in the world for 2009 at 6:42.86.       

Hurdles
The 100 hurdles for the World Youth Championships are set for 30 inches whereas the U.S. runs the race with 33-inch hurdles. Kori Carter of Claremont (Ca.), at 13.89, and A’Lexus Brannon of Ozen (Beaumont, Tx.), at 14.02, rank No. 2 and 3, respectively, behind world Youth leader Isabelle Pedersen of Norway, who has run 13.79. Given the difference of about .25 between the two heights, Carter and Brannon, are very competitive with Elke Boxhammer of German and Nooralotta Neziri of Finland, the world Youth leaders over 30-inch hurdles at 13.62 and 13.67, respectively. Over the 400 hurdles Carter ranks No. 3 in the world behind Vera Rudakova of Russia, at 59.54, and Danielle Dowie of Jamaica, at 59.67. Katie Nelms of Leland (San Jose, Ca.) is the only other U.S. runner to have reach the IAAF qualifying standard of 62.00, with her 61.59.

Jumps
Shanay Briscoe
(left, photo by Joy Kamani) of Cypress Christian (Houston, Tx.) is the No. 2 ranked Youth in the world for 2009 with her 6-1¼ and Tara Richmond of Poly (Long Beach, Ca.) is No. 7 at 5-11. The world leader is Yekaterina Bolshakova of Russia at 6-2 ¾. Morgann LeLeux of Catholic (New Iberia, La.) had a best of 13-2 in the pole which makes her the No. 3 Youth in the world going into 2009. Wren Bonner of Whitney (Tx.) and Brooke Hamscher of Whitehall (Pa.). both at 12-6 to rank equal No. 8. The world leader is Angelica Bengtsson of Sweden at 13-6¼. Alycia Herring of Rancho Verde (Moreno Valley, Ca.) and Xu Ziaoling of China are equal the No. 2 Youth in the world for 2009 with bests of 20-0¾ . A’Lexus Brannon of Ozen (Beaumont, Tx.) ranks No. 3 at 20-0 ¼ but has a wind-aided best of 21-0. The world leader is Lu Minjia with her 21-1½ which won the Chinese Olympic Trials. Whitney Fountain of Columbus ( Bronx, N.Y.) has a wind-aided best of 20-11¼. In the triple jump, Ciarra Brewer of James Logan (Union City, Ca.) is the No. 5 ranked Youth for 2009 at 41-8¼ and Brannon is No. 7 at 41-1. Deng Linuo of China at 44-4 ¾ and Yana Borodina of Russia at 44-3 ½ are one-two in the world.

Throws and Multis
There are just four Youth athletes for 2009 that have put the shot over 46-0 led by Margaret Satupai of Samoa at 47-11 ¾. The U.S. leader is Jessica Maroszek of Seymour (Wi.) at 45-1.  Vanessa Stewart of North Babylon (N.Y.) is close behind at 44-11. Alex Collatz of Stockdale (Bakersfield, Ca.) at 159-4 is the No. 2 ranked Youth discus thrower for 2009 with her 159-4. Viktoriya Klochko of Ukraine is No. 1 at 161-8. Margaret Satupai of Samoa is the only other thrower over 157-6. In the hammer, Katie Kraychir of Twentynine Palms (Ca.) is the top rated U.S. Youth for 2009 at 171-9, which puts her just outside the world top 10. Hannah Carson of Dobson (Mesa, Az.) and Deloma (Fawn) Miller of Lakeview (Stoneboro, Pa.) rank No. 2 and 3 in world for Youth going into 2009 with 167-11 and 167-2, respectively. Ashley Aldredge of Cedar Creek (Ruston, La.) is just outside the top ten at 156-0. The world leader is Anastasiya Svenchnikova of Uzbekistan at 184-2. Lindsay Vollmer of Penney (Hamilton, Mo.) is the U.S. leader in the heptathlon at 4,736. The world leader is Katarina Thompson of Germany at 5,343.     

BOYS 

Sprints
Dejor Simmons of Green Run (Virginia Beach, Va.) is the world Youth leader at 100 meters going into 2009 at 10.48. Brendon Bigelow of Central (Fresno, Ca.) and Huang Ziang of China, both at 10.62 rank No. 2 and Jordan Vaughn of Union Grove (McDonough, Ga.) is No. 4. Dedric Dukes of Washington (Miami, Fl.) leads the Youth division at 200 meters with his 21.19 and Bigelow is No. 3 at 21.29 followed by Leon Dillihunt of Dominguez (Compton, Ca.) at No. 5 with his 21.41 and Nycole Griffin (left, photo by Robert Rosenberg) of Benson Tech (Portland, Or.) at No. 7 with his 21.51. Huang is the best non U.S. runner at 21.21 but the runner with the biggest upside is Kirani James of Granada at 21.38. James was a sensation at the 2008 World Junior championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland, where he finished second in the 400 at 45.70 as a 15-year old. That mark makes James the No. 1 Youth in the world for 2009. Dillihunt, at 46.61, and Josh Mance of Chino Hills (Ca.), the USA TF National Junior Olympic champion, at 46.62, rank No. 2 and 3. Jaron Roberson of McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.), is No. 7 with his 47.30 and Dukes is No. 8 with his 47.49, giving the United States the strongest foursome in the world.
     
Distance
Elias Gedyon of Loyola (Los Angeles, Ca.), who has been a middle  distance Junior Olympic rockstar for the last three years ranks No. 4 in the world with his 1:51.91 win in the Omaha last summer. The good news globally-speaking is that the three runners in front of him are all within his range. The leaders are Benjamin Herriau of France at 1:50.21 and Alexander Rowe of Australia at 1:50.62. Ruben Danielsen of Rancho Verde (Moreno Valley, Ca.) is the No. 2 U.S. runner at 1:53.69. At this time no U.S. athletes have meet the IAAF standard of 4:03.0 for 1,500 meters. However there are at least six U.S. runners are under 4:20.0 for 1,600 meters. They are led by Roblet Muhudin of Overland (Aurora, Co.), who ran 4:15.76 indoors at altitude. Pat Schellberg of Delbarton (Morristown, N.J.) and Dave Forward of Shawnee (Medford, N.J.) are also under 4:19.0. In the 3,000, Lukas Verbicas of LincolnWay Central (New Lenox, Il.) is the only U.S. runner to better the IAAF standard of 8:56.0 with his 8:49.37. Verbicas was on his way to an outstanding cross-country season this fall before an injury sidelined him. No Youth athlete for 2009 has broken 8:30.0. The U.S. has no qualifier in the rarely run 2,000 steeplechase. However, Nick Hughes of North Rockland (Thiells, N.Y.) has run 9:46.77 for the 3,000 steeplechase and should be able to better the IAAF standard of 6:15.0.
    
Hurdles
The World Youth championships run the 110 hurdles at 36 inches while the U.S. runs the 39-inch hurdles. Given the difference of about .25 seconds U.S. leaders Dale Morgan of Taft (Woodland Hills, Ca.), at 14.01, and Lancaster (Tx.) teammates Kendall Hayes, at 14.05, and Tyler Stephenson, at 14.08, compare very favorably with the 36-inch hurdle leaders D’Omar Boyden of Jamaica, at 13.83 and Lander Gil of Spain at 13.85. There is also a height difference in the 400 hurdles with the U.S. running 36 inches and the rest of the world running 33 inches. Morgan is the No. 2 ranked Youth at the 36-inch 400 hurdles for 2009, at 52.43, behind Chen Wen of China, who has run 52.01. Stephenson is the No. 2 ranked U.S. runner at 53.37. Nejmi Burnside of the Bahamas is the world leader over the 33-inch hurdles at 52.67.

Jumps

In the high jump, eleven athletes have bettered the IAAF standard of 6-6 ¾, led by Naoto Tobe of Japan at 7-0 ¼ and Janick Klausen of Denmark at 6-11 ¾. The U.S. Youth leader is Maalik Reynolds of Westminster (Atlanta, Ga.) at 6-8. Ross Maly of Waunakee (Wi.) has done at 6-7. The world Youth leaders for 2009 in the pole vault are Vitaliy Teepilov of Ukraine and Jin Min-Sup of South Korea, both at 16-4¾. J.J. Juilfs of Sheldon (Eugene, Or.), at 15-3 and Seaton Owensby of Nixa (Mo.), 15-0, lead the U.S. Carlton Lavong (right, photo by John Nepolitan) of Methacton (Norristown, Pa.), at 23-3 ¾ and Daverior Hawkins of  Los Osos (Rancho Cucamonga, Ca.) at 23-0 are the only U.S. athletes to have bettered the IAAF standard of 22-11¾ in the long  jump. Lavong does have a 24-1½ with no wind gage present.  There are five athletes from the rest of the world who have bettered 23-11 led by Stefan Brits of South Africa at 25-4¾ and Kirill Sujkharev of Russia at 24-6½.  Lavong is also the U.S. leader in the triple jump at 48-6 ¾ and James Davidson of Seneca (S.C.) ranks No. 2 at 48-6 ½. Johnny Carter of Ridgeview (Bakersfield, Ca.) is No. 3 at 48-3 but has a wind-aided best of 49-0 ½. The world Youth leader going into 2009 is Ernesto Reve of Cuba at 53-6½. Just two other athletes have bettered 49-5.

Throws and Multis
The World Youth championships use a 5-kg (11 lb.) shot put while the U.S. uses a 12-lb ball. The difference is about three feet. Rising sophomore Nick Vena of Morristown (N.J.), who just might be the best high school shot put prospect since Michael Carter, the national record holder at 81-3½ set in 1979. Vena has thrown a freshman record 67-10¼. The best effort with the 5-kg shot is 65-4 by Jasdeep Singh of India. Ryan Crouser of Barlow (Gresham, Or.) ranks No. 2 in the U.S. with a 60-2. The second best putter with the 5-kg shot is 60-4¾ by Dennis Lewke of Germany. Dominic Filiano of Lebanon (N.H.) is the No. 3 ranked U.S. putter at 58-7. The Discus weights also differ with the U.S. throwing a 1.62-kg implement and the rest of the world Youth using a 1.5-kg discus. The difference is between seven and ten feet. Matt Durr of Frontier (Bakersfield, Ca.) and Alex Thompson of Winnebago (Il.) are the U.S. leaders at 180-5. Crouser is just two inches behind. They are the only three U.S. athletes to have met the IAAF standard of 170-7.  Christian Jaqusch of Germany is the leader with the lighter disc at 184-3 followed by Aleksandr Kirya of Russia at 183-6.
        
The hammer weight also differs with the U.S. throwing a 12-lb ball and the World Youth championships using a 5-kg (11-lb) implement. Elias Hakansson of Sweden has the best Youth mark going into 2009 at 234-9. The top U.S. throwers are Alec Faldermeyer of Minisink Valley (Slate Hill, N.Y.) at 209-8 and Brad Bolton of El Toro (Lake Forest, Ca.) at 209-1. Combined with the 5-kg throwers and allowing for a seven to ten-foot difference, the two would rank No. 4 and 5 going into 2009. Like the other three weight events there are two different weights in the javelin with the U.S. using an 800 gram spear and the World Youth championships using a 700-gram implement.  The U.S. leader is Matt Durisko of Hickory (Hermitage, Pa.) at 195-8, which is below the IAAF standard of 196-10. The world Youth leader with the heaver implement is Mikko Kunkankaapas of Finland at 257-10. The world leader with the lighter implement is Valeriy Iordan of Russia at 247-10. There are no marks available for the octagon—the multi-event for the Boys. Kevin Lazas of Brentwood (Tn.) has a best of 6,541 in the decathlon.
 
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