Best Sprint & Hurdle Talents Headed To AAU Junior Olympic Games

Article originally posted on MileSplit.

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. - The AAU Junior Olympic Games are just a day away!
 
Approximately 2,100 athletes from across the country will descend on the Space Coast of Florida and will arrive at Satellite Beach High School with the intention of hitting PRs and racing for the last times of their 2020 season. As always, in a time such as this, always remember to be safe. Make sure to wear your masks when you're not competing and stay safe! You can read about safety protocols here.
 
Next up in our final series of previews is a look at the top sprinters and hurdlers headed to the Games. 
We have compiled a selection of the top 16 youth prospects who will be in Florida this week competing for podium finishes and gold medals. 

Makeriah Harris
Plaquemine High School, LA
Class of 2024, Girls 14yo -- 200m, 400m, 100mH, 200mH
 
The Louisiana-based sprint-hurdle talent will follow-up her remarkable quadruple-gold winning performance from the West Coast AAU Junior Olympic Games in July at Satellite High School this week with another four events. 

Harris, a rising freshman, won her age group races in the 100m, 200m, 400m and 100mH, respectively, and hit PRs of 12.47 in the 100m and 14.42 in the 100mH. Not bad for a young athlete. 

So what can we expect for her encore?

Probably much in the same.

She has opted for the 200mH instead of the 100m this time around. 

While Harris't best events are still being carved out, she has the ability to compete in any event she's entered in, and with personal best times of 14.42 in the 100mH, 24.79 in the 200m and 54.93 in the 400m, she's a dangerous threat to come away with at least one win -- especially considering she medaled in three events a year ago and came up just short of a 100mH title. 

Sanaa Hebron
Langhorne Neshaminy High School, PA
Class of 2022, Girls 15-16 -- 100m, 200m, 400m, 400mH
 
Ever so gradually, Hebron was chipping away at the clock over the outdoor season in 2019. 

With season best times of 24.94 seconds in the 200m and 56.37 in the 400m, she ranked 15th and 12th in Pennsylvania, respectively -- and top 50 in her class for the 400m -- as a freshman. 

Soon enough, those efforts only improved over the indoor season, where Hebron scored the state's top 300m time of the campaign in 38.75, then added a personal best of 55.04 seconds in the 400m. She also lowered her 200m best to 24.73. 

While Hebron didn't get a chance to show her development in 2020, the AAU Junior Olympic Games will give a glimpse into her training over the last few months. Better yet, look out for Hebron to try and break 60 seconds in the 400mH -- she enters the race seeded third overall. 

The Pennsylvania standout is one to watch. 

Mario Paul
Paul Dunbar High School, KY
Class of 2021, Boys 17-18 -- 400m, 110mH, 400mH

Paul will be a hurdler to look out for in the 400mH.

He's run the nation's fastest 400mH time so far with a time of 52.23 seconds at the CMB Outdoor Classic three weeks ago. Paul also ran a personal best in the 400m in 50.96.
Last year was his first time competing at the AAU Junior Olympics, and he ran a time of 54.72 to finish outside the finals -- he was 14th overall after the first round. Perhaps that finish has motivated Paul in 2020.

He comes back signficantly improved and could be hurdling for a gold this year.

Expect Paul to compete for podium finishes in all three events.
 
Kayleigh Stargell
Lovett MS, GA
Class of 2024, 14yo -- 400m, 100mH, 200mH, LJ

After breaking a 200mH national record last year when she was 13 years old, Kayleigh Stargell will be looking to continue that momentum in the 14-year-old age group.
With one more year left in the 200mH, she's going to go after another one in the 200mH, plus much more.
So far this year, Stargell has set a personal best in the 200m and 300mH. She ran a season's best in the 200mH with a 28.66 two weeks ago.

Erriyon Knighton
Tampa Hillsborough High School, FL
Class of 2022, Boys 15-16 100m, 200m
 
Few young sprinters were as prolific as Knighton a year ago in the Class of 2022. He left his freshman season ranked No. 10 in the 100m, No. 3 in the 200m and No. 2 in the 400m in his class. He was one of only 12 athletes to break 10.70 seconds, five under 21.20 and four under 48 seconds. 

And guess what? Despite the elimination of his sophomore campaign, Knighton is still crushing it. 

In two meets since the reopening of his season -- in smaller-scale meets -- the Tampa Hillsborough sophomore has pocketed a US No. 8 time of 10.40 seconds in the 100m and a US No. 7 mark of 20.89 in the 200m. 

Those performances marked his first dips under 10.5 and 21 seconds officially. 

Considering Knighton will not have to travel too far to see elite competition, and that he's the top seed in the 100m and 200m -- by pretty good margins -- he's the safe bet to come away with a sprint double this weekend. 
 
Bryce McCray
George Ranch High School/Greater Houston Track Club, TX
Class of X, Boys 17-18 -- 110mH, 400mH, 400m, 4x400

With a few competitive races underneath his belt this outdoor season, Greater Houston's Bryce McCray looks strong and sharp entering the week.

So far this season, the Texan set a personal best in the 400m with a time of 48.35 and went 37.56 in the 300mH. He also ran the second fastest time this season in the 400mH with a 52.90.

And those three performances could make a difference.
Dating back to last year, the rising senior from George Ranch High School placed second in the 400mH finals last year by a mere 0.01 seconds. Heartbreak aside, McCray will be looking to take the win this time around. He's seeded first in the 400mH and fourth in the 400m.
 
Experience could on his side. He's been undefeated in the 300mH and 400mH this year and has the opportunity to continue that trend through this meet.
 
Chanice Spicer
Brewbaker Tech High School, AL
Class of 2021, Girls 17-18 100m, 200m, 400m
 
Spicer is probably one of the more underrated sprinters out there right now. But there's no doubt she has the potential to podium at the Games. 

She finished the 2020 indoor season ranked No. 24 nationally in the 400m (55.92) and top 50 in the 200m (24.61), then proceeded to knock down the latter time with a wind-aided 23.96 mark at the Alabama Heat Tune-Up in July. She also went a wind-aided time of 11.74 in the 100m. 

Those two events, plus the 400m, is where we will find the Alabama talent this week. 

Given some competition, Spicer has an opportunity to test herself against some of the best athletes in the country. 

David Foster
Katy Tompkins High School/Great Houston Track Club, TX
Class of 2021, Boys 17-18 -- 100m, 200m, 4x100, 4x400
 
Just how fast is David Foster? 

The Katy Tompkins rising senior has been getting faster and faster and faster since going a legit 10.60 in June at the Leander Spartans Invitational. He has followed with wind-legal and FAT times of 10.51 and 10.49 seconds, respectively, at two separate meets in July. In the 200m, Foster also recorded a career best effort of 21.31 seconds at the Track Dynamite Meet on July 4. A year prior, he went 23.04. 

Maybe everything went right that day and Foster is a legit 10.29 man. Maybe it's all mechanics. 

Or maybe he just needs to offer some more evidence.
If nothing else, he should be in the hunt for a podium spot -- if not an outright win -- this week at the Games. The only question will be: Just how fast will the Texan go? 
He might be able to offer a fantastic answer to that question soon enough. 

Tamaal Myers
Str8 Smokin Track Club, MI
Class of 2022, Boys 15-16 -- 400mH

Myers is here for one race and one race alone. 
The 400mH.

He will be heading to the meet this week in the hopes of earning defending his title at the AAU Junior Olympics. Last year, he not only won the 400mH title in a personal best time of 52.68 seconds, but he McCray (above) by just 0.01 seconds.

It was a truly wild finish (above). 

Since then, he has run in two 400mH races this outdoor season. He has produced a season best time of 53.48. Consider this: The national record for the 15-16 age group is held by Robert Griffin III of 51.77. Myers has the opportunity to put this record in jeopardy.
In 2018, he placed second in the 200mH with a 24.81.

Aaliyah Butler
Piper High School/Empire Athletics, FL
Class of 2022, Girls 17-18 100m -- 200m, 400m
 
Gary Evans-led athletes are always ready. That much is true. 

The Empire Athletics Youth Track Club coach -- and professional coach for a selection of adidas athletes -- always brings a small continent of athletes to AAU Junior Olympic Games, and considering Butler isn't far off in South Florida, this event provided a good opportunity to get back on the track. The Piper High School rising junior is entered in the 100m and 200m.

What can we expect from the blue-chip athlete? 

If Butler's performance from the Louie Bing Invitational isn't too much a distance memory, expect somethign close to that. Butler dominated at the meet with a winning time of 24.06. That still currently stands as the 11th-best time in the country right now.  

Shortly thereafter, COVID-19 happened. 

Butler hasn't able to get back on the track for her premier distance, the 400m, since then. But in recent weeks she has begun to work on her speed mechanics in the 100m and is slowly building back up.

Evans is probably thinking long-term: The faster Butler becomes in the 100m, the better she'll ultimately be in the 400m. 

This past weekend, she went 12.13 in the 100m, a career best, at a local meet. She followed with a 200m time of 24.73. Butler has never quite focused on the short sprints throughout her career, so these times might not be overly impressive now -- but don't be skewed by the results; sometimes the payoff comes much late

Alexander Nunley
Run U Xpress, NC
Class of 2021, Boys 17-18 -- 100m, 200m, 100mH

Nunley competed in arguably the best race of the Games last year -- if not the best race all together (above).

In an epic matchup that saw the North Carolina athlete win by one-hundredth of a second, Nunley got out hot, stayed in control and managed to finish out the race in winning fashion. He he will be back for more action as he is looking to defend his title in the 110mH. 

He stopped the clock last year with a time of 14.18. That was his third-best time of 2019, as he had other performances of 13.87w and 14.14.

While second-place finisher Michael Bourne (14.19) won't be back, Dunbar's Leonard Mustari will. He finished in 14.42 seconds. And his appearance could give Nunley a run for his money. 

During the indoor season, Nunley ran the third fastest 60mH time in nation with a 7.82. He also won his first AAU Junior Olympic title in 2015 in the 80mH.

This year, he's scheduled to run the 100m, 110mH and 400mH in the 17-18 age group.

 Autumn Wilson
St. Dominic Savio Catholic High School/Leander Spartans, TX
Class of 2022, Girls 17-18 -- 100m, 200m, 4x100, 4x200
 
Wilson was definitely good last season as a freshman -- she ran 11.72 in the 100m and 24.03 in the 200m and earned two All-American performances at the AAU Junior Olympics, not to mention a runner-up finish in the 100m at New Balance Nationals Outdoor in the freshman division. 
But 2020 has been much better. 

Stick with us now. Wilson's times haven't been dramatically different from last year. But her consistency has. 

While Wilson has only bested her personal best time in the 100m -- it was an all-conditions mark at that -- by a few hundredths of a second, what's more impressive is her consistency across the board. Nearly all of her outings since June have been within the same wheelhouse: 11.73, 11.66, 12.10 and 11.74. 

Performances can sometimes fluctuate with the competition. But consistency doesn't change. Wilson has shown that. She's gone 24.39, 24.40 and 24.43 in the 200m as well. 

The only thing missing from these events has been incentive and pressure. Once Wilson feels that -- and she will feel it at the Games -- we'd be willing to bet she brings out a whole 'nother level.  

Udodi Onwuzurike
Birmingham Brothers Rice High School/Prime Time Performance TC, MI
Class of 2021, Boys 17-18 100m
 
Moving up in age bracket and returning to the competition where he finished third in the 200m and eighth in the 100m a year ago, Onwuzurike will find himself with quite more momentum this time around. 

While athletes have been competing steadily over the past month-plus in various parts of the country in abbreviated and scaled-back meets, Onwuzurike was one of the most impressive young sprinter in recent memory.

The Michigan athlete came away with two titles at the AAU West Coast Junior Olympic Games in July, pocketing career best marks of 10.60 and 21.12 seconds in the 100m and 200m, respectively. 

While Onwuzurike is only entered in the 100m at this year's event -- as far as we can tell -- and there are a number of athletes who have faster personal best times, few had to endure the kind of conditions he did in the Las Vegas sun just a few weeks ago. 

That toughness, combined with his ability to run through heats -- a long important variable in AAU competition -- should help this Michigan athlete immensely at the AAU Junior Olympic Games. 

Onwuzurike may not be the favorite, but he will be a threat to get on the podium against a very talented crop of sprinters. 

Lucheyona Weaver
Dunbar High School/Olympia Track Club, FL
Class of 2022, Girls 17-18 -- 100m, 200m, 100mH, 400mH

Weaver has another busy weekend ahead of her.
A few weeks ago, she competed at the West Coast AAU Junior Olympics and set personal bests in the 100m, 100mH and 200m in over 110-degree weather -- not to mention, very little recovery in between races.

This time around, she has another incredible lineup in front of her. But can Weaver toughen it out and make the podium in all four events?

We will sure find out.

Weaver has made multiple AAU National Club Championship finals, but she will be competing in the hopes for her first national title at the AAU Junior Olympic Games this week. Few athletes are as readymade as Weaver right now, considering she tripled in all three events in Las Vegas. 

So far this year, she ran 13.48w in the 100mH and 1:09.87 in the 400mH.
 
Robert Gregory
Houston Wheatley High School/Greater Houston Track Club, TX
Class of 2020, Boys 17-18 --  200m, 400m, 4x100, 4x400
 
The Texas Christian University signee might be the single-best male sprinter at the AAU Junior Olympic Games this week. 

And considering he's entered in four events, we just might have an opportunity to see him prove that. 

Green is as fluid as they come, and that's especially signficant considering his size and length and the way he turns over so well on the track. Despite the cancellation of the Texas regular season, Gregory has managed to pocket two PRs this summer, hitting 10.42 on the clock in the 100mHe followed recently with first sub-21 of 2020 and just the second of his career at a small summer meet, going 20.70 seconds in the 200m. 

When it comes time to lining up in a final, Gregory often stands out for his ability to explode out of the blocks and compete. While he's won eight straight races this season, he shouldn't come into the meet expecting to flat-out win. 
A year ago Gregory did not reach his age group final in either the 200m or the 400m -- meaning, he's extra motivated this time around. 

He's a special talent and could put down something special. 
 
Talitha Diggs
Saucon Valley High School, PA
Class of 2020, Girls 17-18 -- 100m, 200m
 
The future University of Southern California sprinter is arguably the top-rated athlete who is scheduled to appear at the AAU Junior Olympic Games, and there are obvious reasons for that dinstinction: 11.52, 23.36, 52.82

Those three performances from 2019 all ranked within the top 15 in the country and were either leading (400m) or No. 2 times in the state of Pennsylvania. 

Diggs was exceptional as a high school junior, and her indoor season only capitalized on that momentum further when she finished the season ranked third nationally in the 300m (37.67), 400m (53.98) and 55m (6.90), fourth in the 200m (23.79) and eighth in the 60m (7.46). 

Then COVID-19 happened. 

The erasure of a season effectively cut that momentum off, but Diggs shouldn't be slowing down too much. A recent solo time trial saw the future Trojan run an FAT 11.93 seconds in the 100m and 24.40 in the 200m. 

Both the girls 17-18 age division 100m and 200m fields at the AAU Junior Olympics are stacked, so it's unlikely Diggs will get an easy road to the finals ... but competition may only breed faster times, and at this point who's run away from that?