USATF Junior Championships (CA) Results
The top junior throwers in the US gathered on Friday and Saturday for the USATF Junior Championships. The competition serves not only as the national junior championship, but also as the qualification meet for the IAAF World Junior Championships which will take place from July 19th to 24th in Bydgoszcz, Poland. The competition was open to all athletes born in 1997 or later, allowing many college freshman to also enter, but it was high schoolers who dominated this year by winning both titles. In addition, athletes throw the international implement, meaning high school boys have to throw the slightly heavier 6-kilogram (13.2-pound) hammer.
The competition started with the boy’s hammer, where Bobby Colantonio put on an impressive performance. He hit a personal best already in the first round to secure the competition over his former teammate and current Princeton University freshman Adam Kelly. Colantonio’s mark of 74.12 meters is the ninth best mark in the world this year, and also the fourth best American mark of all-time. Kelly also produced the sixth best US mark ever in his runner-up performance. By placing in the top two and meeting the IAAF qualification standard, both Colantonio and Kelly qualified for the World Junior Championships team.
High school leader Joy McArthur (Mater Dei, Santa Ana, CA) had a rocky start to the competition with two fouls, but then hit a personal best in round three and improved from there. Her best mark of 62.07 meters not only won and qualified her for the World Junior Championships, it also shattered her own California state record and moved up to second on the all-time national high school list. Not bad for her first year throwing the hammer. Olatoye Sade of Ohio State University placed second to join McArthur on Team USA, while last year’s high school national leader Haley Showalter, now at the University of Wisconsin, placed third. Several other high schoolers also had strong performances in the meet. One week after a big personal best Alyssa Wilson (Donovan Catholic, Toms River, NJ) added another 15 feet to her best to place fourth and move into the nation’s all-time top 15. And Courtney Jacobsen (Toll Gate, Warwick, RI) was just inches off of her best to place seventh.
2016 USA Junior Championships - 6/24-25/2016
Veteran's Memorial Stadium
Clovis, CA
Men Hammer Throw
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World Jr: W 85.57m 2012 Ashraf Elseify, QAT
American Jr: A 80.79m 7/25/2010 Conor McCullough
WJC Std: & 68.00m
Name Year Team Finals
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1 Robert Colantonio Jr Unattached 74.12m& 243-02
2 Adam Kelly Princeton 72.99m& 239-06
3 Michael Alvernaz Troy 64.46m 211-06
4 Nathan Bultman Southern California 61.71m 202-05
5 Nickolas Lane Unattached 61.36m 201-04
6 Nicholas Matthews SIU Edwardsville 60.23m 197-07
7 Kirk Unland Unattached 60.17m 197-05
8 Logan Targgart Central Mich. 59.47m 195-01
9 Marshall Godsil California 59.06m 193-09
10 Connor Rousemiller Minnesota 54.35m 178-04
11 Hap Frketich SuperThrower 51.32m 168-04
-- Tyler Merkley Kansas St. FOUL
Women Hammer Throw
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World Jr: W 73.24m 2005 Wenxiu Zhang, CHN
American Jr: A 68.12m 6/16/2012 Shelby Ashe
WJC Std: & 57.50m
Name Year Team Finals
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1 Joy Mcarthur Unattached 62.07m& 203-08
2 Olatoye Sade Ohio St. 60.58m& 198-09
3 Haley Showalter Wisconsin 59.17m& 194-01
4 Alyssa Wilson Worlds Longe 58.28m& 191-02
5 Michaela Preachuk South Ala. 58.08m& 190-07
6 Mikaila Martin Houston 57.78m& 189-07
7 Alva Hicks Wake Forest 57.38m 188-03
8 Courtney Jacobsen Unattached 56.50m 185-04
9 Carly Timpson Quinnipiac 51.45m 168-09
10 Madeline Rabing Pacer Project 51.38m 168-07
11 Maddie Nilles North Dakota St. 50.87m 166-11
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