USA Juniors Top 5, Day 1
June 15, 2012 | Bloomington, IN

 

Day 1 of the USA Junior Outdoor Championships proved to be a day of upsets and surprises as final heats were set for the majority of the races.  With this meet being the end of the season for most of the athletes competing, many are out to prove themselves one last time for the 2012 track season. Here are our top five stories from Day 1:

The men's 100 meter dash was a great comeback race for Tyreek Hill who won the preliminary heat in the early afternoon to come back that night and win the final in a 10.28.  The high school senior false started twice just last weekend at the adidas Grand Prix and was disqualified from the race.  Hill came back firing from New York and earned some redemption in Bloomington yesterday by beating LSU all-american Aaron Earnest.  

The men's 110m hurdles was a big surprise as #2 ranked Donovan Robertson did not make the US Junior Team by finishing 7th in the final. Robertson also holds the 60 meter hurdles indoor national record and is ranked #3 this year in the high school 110m hurdles.  Robertson finished 2nd in the preliminary heats earlier in the day, but he was unable to have a stand-out performance later that night for the final.  He was able to redeem himself by racing the 400m hurdles after the 110m hurdles preliminary heat and ended up beating his personal best to qualify for the final on Day 2.

The women's 100 meters also proved to be a surprise as Shayla Sanders lost the women's 100 meter dash to Dezerea Bryant who ran 11.38 to advance to the final and later win the final heat, where Sanders finished 3rd. Sanders ended her undefeated streak for the season by losing to another high schooler, Jennifer Madu who ran 11.57 in the final to finish 2nd.  

The women's 800 meter preliminary heat was a shock as Shelby Houlihan of Arizona State did not advance to the final.  Houlihan finished 4th place in the 800 meters at the Pac-12 Championships but had a less than stellar day yesterday by finishing 10th in the preliminary heat. 

The women's 1500 final should be a very interesting race as high school superstars Mary Cain and Cami Chapus will face off on Day 3 of the Championships.  Cain of Bronxville High School ran a 4:39 mile to set the new Penn Relays high school record this year.  Chapus is just coming off of her big win at the adidas Grand Prix where she ran a 4:39 mile for back to back victories at the meet. 

Record Watch: In the girl's discus throw Shelbi Vaughn broke the American Junior Record by over two meters with her throw of 60.59m. Vaughn's throw was a PR by nearly five feet and won the competition by over eight meters.  In the boy's pole vault, Georgia Tech freshman Nikita Kirillov set a meet record of 5.54m (approx 18'2") which adds nearly four inches onto his previous personal best of 5.45m (17'10.5"). Kirillov won the competition by over a foot.

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Check here for full list of Day 1 Results and a link to live results of the 2012 USA Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Also see meet schedule and start lists.