By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

In addition to being a national championship for the under-20 age group, the USATF U20 Championships on July 7-9 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., serve as a qualifier for the Pan Am U20 Championships, scheduled for Aug. 4-6 in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.

USATF U20 CHAMPIONSHIPS WEBCAST INFO

TOYOTA USATF OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS VIEWING INFO

Here are 10 storylines to follow at the U20 selection meet:

JaiCieonna Gero-Holt Continues Her Pursuit of Multi Greatness

Coming out of her 10th-grade year at Emerald Ridge High in Washington, JaiCieonna Gero-Holt continued to make progress as an up-and-coming star in the heptathlon at Nike Outdoor Nationals, where she produced a sophomore class national record 5,419 points.

That moved Gero-Holt to No. 10 in U.S. high school history and the sophomore record that she broke was held by Olympian Kendell Williams.

Coming back to Hayward Field less than a month later, Gero-Holt will look to exceed her personal best and move up even higher on the all-time list.

She is also poised to do big things in the high jump, where she is the top seed and looking to go above her best of 6-0.50 (1.84m). She'll contest that event with Nike Indoor Nationals champion Kya Crooke from Heritage Christian High in Indiana and Heidi Hudson of Sumrall High in Mississippi.

Gero-Holt scored 5,401 points in the U20 championship meet last year and at 15, became the youngest member of the U.S. team that competed in Cali, Colombia at the World Athletics U20 Championships.

She’ll be joined in the seven-event discipline by Catherine Littlewood, a Stanford recruit from Queen Creek High in Arizona, who finished third at Nike Outdoor Nationals with 5,097 points.

Shawnti Jackson versus Kaila Jackson in the 200

National high school record holder Shawnti Jackson of South Granville High in North Carolina, representing Run U Xpress, migrated to the senior meet, along with fellow prep Mia Brahe-Pedersen of Lake Oswego High in Oregon, to contest the 100-meter dash. Jackson ran 10.89 seconds June 3 at the Music City Track Carnival and beat a professional field.

But Jackson, who will compete at Arkansas, is also in the U20 meet in the 200 meters, where she owns a best of 22.70. That's No. 8 all-time in high school history.

Shawnti Jackson will face a compelling matchup with Kaila Jackson (no relation), who is coming out of a fantastic freshman year at Georgia. The Michigan native placed fourth in the NCAA 100-meter final with a wind-aided 10.96 performance and also ran a 200 of 22.65 at the SEC Championships.

Kaila Jackson is also in the 100, where she will face Camryn Dickson of Texas A&M, an NCAA qualifier who ran a best of 11.17 this season.

Brody Buffington in Men’s 100, but Watch Out for Jazonte Levan

Maryland state champion Brody Buffington (Catoctin High) placed third in the 100-meter final at New Balance Nationals Outdoor in Philadelphia in a wind-legal 10.16 seconds and he will try to extend his season well into the summer in Eugene. He’s the top seed in the 100 and could also factor into selections for the 4x100 relay.

Jazonte Levan of Seaford High in Delaware, representing Above Xpectations, comes into the meet with a head of steam. Levan has been whittling down his PR in both the 100 and 200 over the past month and he shined at the recent AAU Junior Olympic Region 3 qualifier.

Levan blitzed the 100 in 10.47 seconds and the 200 in 20.61 seconds, which smashed the Delaware all-time best.

Buffington and Levan will have to contend with Christian Miller of St. John’s Striders out of Florida, who has personal bests of 10.22 and 20.55 seconds.

Max Thomas of USC is also in it and has a  best of 20.67. Tyler Azcano from Wind Speed Athletics in Florida has also run 10.22 in the 100.

Men’s 800 Meters Loaded With High School Standouts

While some events are notably light, the men’s 800 meters is one of the featured attractions of the U20 meet. The top three high school boys in 2023, all sub-1:48 runners, are entered this weekend.

Tinoda Matsatsa of St. Andrews Episcopal in Maryland won the New Balance Nationals Outdoor title in US#1 1:47.61 and that performance came after he broke the four-minute barrier in the mile at the HOKA Festival of Miles in St. Louis. The Georgetown recruit is No. 8 on the all-time list.

Daniel Watcke, an Oregon recruit from Hinsdale Central High, broke the Illinois all-time 800 record June 24 when he ran 1:47.70 at the Rose City Mile in Portland. That's No. 12 all-time.

And Andrew Regnier from Waunakee High in Wisconsin, a North Carolina recruit, ran 1:47.95 when he finished second to Matsatsa at NBNO. That's tied for No. 16 all-time.

Bullis Standouts Come to Hayward Field

A pair of the standouts from the Bullis School program in Maryland under the guidance of coach Joe Lee are in the hunt for national team berths.

Quincy Wilson, a precocious ninth grader, wasted no time getting acclimated to elite high school track and field and could be the future of the 400 meters in the United States. He will take on the daunting task of competing against college freshmen this weekend in the 400 meters, but he has grown accustomed to racing beyond his years. He finished second at New Balance Nationals Outdoor in a new PR of 45.99 seconds.

Wilson is the third-fastest seed on the entry list, behind Judson Lincoln IV of Virginia Tech and George Garcia Jr. of Lubbock Christian.

In the women's 100-meter hurdles, Myla Greene, the NBNO runner-up, is the third-fastest entry.

Greene, who will attend Tennessee in the fall, will compete against Oregon’s Aaliyah McCormick and Rylee Hampton, a junior from the Houston Cypress Ridge High, the Texas state champion.

Greene was part of US#1 relays for Bullis this spring in the 4x100, 4x200, 4x400 and 4x100 shuttle hurdles.

More Opportunities for Angelina Napoleon

Gatorade named Angelina Napoleon of Allegany-Limestone High in New York as its National Female Track and Field Athlete of the Year last week.

The national high school record holder in the 2,000-meter steeplechase (6:19.53) will step up the distance to the full 3,000 meters this weekend and take aim at the prep all-time record, which is 10:00.72 by North Shore Highs’ Briana Nerud (2012).

Napoleon is also entered in the 1,500 meters, where she will race high school standouts Ellie Shea of Emerging Elites (Massachusetts) and Sophia Gorriaran of Moses Brown School in Rhode Island, a Harvard recruit.

Napoleon is set to join Katelyn Tuohy and the powerhouse program at North Carolina State in the fall.

Speaking of Shea, the Brooks PR Invitational winner in the 2-mile is entered in an array of events and it's unclear which ones she might choose. Shea is on the list in the 1,500, the 3,000, the 5,000 and the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

NCAA Runner-Up Alyssa Jones Back on the Runway

Stanford freshman Alyssa Jones certainly had her choice between the senior meet and the U20 meet in the women's long jump.

But she’s in the U20 meet and is a clear favorite to win the event after jumping a career-best 22-6.25 (6.86m) to take second place June 8 in a terrific NCAA Division 1 final in Austin, Texas.

Jones also won the Pac-12 Conference title in the long jump.

Barring a mishap, Jones is one of the safest bets to make the U.S. U20 team to compete in Puerto Rico.  

Alexander Chukwukelu Versus Andre Korbmacher in the 110 Hurdles

Anyone who saw the Nike Outdoor Nationals final in the 110-meter hurdles has to be intrigued about the rematch at the USATF U20 meet.

Alexander Chukwukelu of North Forney High in Dallas, the Texas state champion, is headed to Kentucky in the fall. He won the NON title, defeating the defending champion, Andre Korbmacher of Squalicum High in Washington, representing Ready-Set-Go, by a 13.53 to 13.56 margin.

The two hurdlers embraced after the finish as the mutual admiration runs high between the pair, who see themselves as the next generation of top American hurdlers.

Chukwukelu’s fastest time this season was 13.16 but came with a significant tailwind of (+4.5). Korbmacher’s season-best 13.40 came against a slight headwind June 14, as he won the Brooks PR Invite in Renton, Wash.

Future Ducks in the Men's 1,500 Meters

An influx of talent should revive an Oregon men’s program that managed just two points at the NCAA Division 1 Championships last month.

While top recruit Simeon Birnbaum takes on the challenge of the senior men’s 1,500 meters this week, a few other runners either in the program already or on the way are entered in the 1,500 meters and looking for positive experiences at Hayward Field.

Rheinhardt Harrison, a prized class of 2022 recruit from Florida, has been in Eugene for nine months already but redshirted his freshman season. He ran sub-four for the mile last year and has had few racing opportunities this year. He’s the top seed in the 1,500 this weekend.

Incoming freshman Tayson Echohawk, the Utah state champion from Orem, was second in the Brooks PR mile June 14 in 4:04.48. Oregon 6A champion Will Heslam ran 3:49.36 for 1,500 meters for Portland’s Roosevelt High.

Caden Carney of Cal and Sawyer Schmidt of Kansas could get in the way of a potential Ducks sweep, however.

Mensi Stiff Adding to Prep Shot Put Career

Tennessee state champion Mensi Stiff of Brentwood Academy threw a new US#1 mark of 53-5 (16.28m) in the shot put on June 24 at the third Southern Throwing Series Meet at the University of South Alabama.

That performance moved Stiff ahead of Carlie Weiser of Giddings High in Texas in the national rankings for 2023.

Stiff, who is equal to the No. 12 competitor in U.S. prep history, is undefeated this season in the shot put, but did not compete at one of the high school national championship meets.

Stiff and Weiser are both in the field for the women’s U20 shot put this weekend. Iowa freshman Wisdom Williams, who was ninth at the Big Ten Championships, is another strong contender for the Pan Am U20 team.