The IAAF World Junior Championships isn’t the only high-level meet that will be taking place this week in the U.S.
About 2,500 miles south of the elite competition at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field, some of the top youths from ages seven to 18 will be in Humble, Texas for the USATF National Junior Olympic Championships (Monday to Sunday).
Nearly a dozen high school athletes from Rhode Island qualified for the national competition by virtue of their top finishes at the Region 1 meet, held from July 10-13 at Fitchburg State University.
The highlight of that meet occurred in the age 15-16 hammer where Barrington High sophomore Bobby Colantonio established a meet record with a toss of 219 feet, 7 inches. Finishing second in the event was Woonsocket’s Jared Briere (173-0) and taking third was Classical’s Joseph Palazzo (153-08).
Classical’s Alva Hicks and Alicia Holloway earned two crowns in the age 17-18 division. Hicks won the hammer at 161-03 and the discus with a heave of 135-10. Holloway was first across the line in the 100-meter high hurdles with a time of 15.27 seconds. She also broke the tape in the 400m hurdles with a time of 1:06.80.
In the age 17-18 hammer, Moses Brown junior Owen Russell had the No. 1 toss with a 212-0 effort. The Quakers also had a win from Cristos Argys, who won the age 15-16 division of the 800m with a time of 2:01.70.
Classical’s Nathan Narcisse topped the field in the 110m hurdles in the age 15-16 division with a time of 15.43.
Another noteworthy performance occurred in the sprint events from Laura Murphy, a soon-to-be freshman at East Greenwich. The promising runner finished third in the age 13-14 division of the 200m with a fast 27.52 clocking. She was also fourth in the 100m at 13.34.
The Junior Olympics will be held at Turner Stadium. For more information on the meet, click here.