By: MileSplit's Johanna Gretschel

The USATF Junior Nationals this weekend in Clovis, Calif. kick off an exciting summer of Team USA track and field action. The top two finishers in each event qualify for the IAAF World U-20 Championships, to be held in Bydgoszcz, Poland from July 19 to July 24. Many top athletes are double entered here and at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials to be held in Eugene, Ore. in July. This weekend is an indicator of their fitness and could give spectators insight to who could contend for spots on the Team USA contingent to Rio for the Olympic Games!


Noah Lyles is the USATF Jr. Nationals defending champion in the 100m and 200m.

Sprints/Hurdles

100m

Who: Noah Lyles, Darryl Haraway, Josephus Lyles, Hakim Montgomery
When: Friday, 5:30 p.m. PT [First Round]; Friday, 8:10 p.m. PT [Final]
Why: We haven't seen the Lyles brothers compete in awhile -- Noah last ran the 100m prelims at the state meet during the first weekend of June and Josephus has not competed since pulling his quadricep in early May -- but the future Florida Gators always peak for the biggest moment of the year. Noah ran 10.14 here last year; Josephus is more well-known for his quarter-mile exploits, but he did show a new side of speed this winter in winning the 60m national indoor title. His wind-legal best is 10.51 (-0.2). Montgomery of Troy ran 10.30 this year and Haraway, the 2014 New Balance Nationals Outdoor champion in 10.20 (+1.4), ran 10.32 (+1.2) this year for Florida State.

110m Hurdles

Who: Marcus Krah, Trey Cunningham, Joseph Anderson, Amere Lattin, Grant Holloway
When: Friday, 4:40 p.m. PT [First Round]; Friday, 7:50 p.m. PT [Final]
Why: No. 1 ranked Krah now has the New Balance Nationals Outdoor 110m hurdles title under his belt, along wth two sub-13.40 clockings. His 13.32 (+1.1) season-best mark makes him the only competitor here to run under 13.40 this year. High school junior Cunningham of Winfield, Ala. ranks U.S. No. 2 this year at 13.42 (+1.0), while California state champion Anderson has run U.S. No. 6, 13.59 (+1.2). Houston Cougar Lattin placed fifth for All-American honors at the NCAA Outdoor Championships; his all-time best mark of 13.53 (-0.3) dates back to 2014.

200m

Who: Michael Norman
When: Saturday, 7:00 p.m. PT [First Round]; Sunday, 7:32 p.m. PT [Final]
Why: This event was the marquee race last year, as Norman raced Noah Lyles to the the No. 3 and No. 5 all-time marks of 20.18 and 20.24. Norman, the two-time CIF State Finals 200m champion, has since improved his mark to 20.23 and hopes to break the national record here before racing the Olympic Trials in two weeks.

We talked to Noah Lyles and Michael Norman after their epic battle at the 2015 USATF Jr. Nationals:

400m

Who: Kahmari Montgomery, Wil London III, Josephus Lyles
When: Saturday, 5:45 p.m. PT [First Round]; Sunday, 6:55 p.m. PT
Why: Just how fit is Lyles? The IAAF World Youth Championships runner-up owns a PR of 45.46, but he hasn't raced since May due to injury. He must race tough to hang with London, the Big 12 Conference champion for Baylor with a 45.36 PR, and Montgomery, the SEC Conference champion for Missouri with a 45.13 PR. Both London and Montgomery are entered in the Olympic Trials.

400m Hurdles

Who: Taylor McLaughlin, Norman Grimes, Jr., Amere Lattin, Jayson Baldridge
When: Saturday, 6:10 p.m. PT [First Round]; Sunday, 6:35 p.m. PT [Final]
Why: McLaughlin is the older brother of newly minted national high school record holder Sydney and is a stellar athlete himself even without that high-profile asterisk. As a true freshman at Michigan, the New Jersey native set a PR of 49.73 and placed fifth at the NCAA Outdoor Championship. Grimes won the IAAF World Youth title last summer but has raced on a limited basis this spring due to injury. Grimes' 36.33 winning time from the Texas Relays 300m hurdles has held up as the nation's second-fastest time this spring, behind only fellow Texan Baldridge's No. 1 mark of 36.32. Baldridge is also entered here, as is Houston freshman Lattin, who lowered his 400m hurdles PR to 50.71 this year.


Texas A&M freshman Donavan Brazier is reportedly turning pro after winning the NCAA Outdoor title in 1:43.55, a new American junior record.

Distance

800m

Who: Donavan Brazier, Carlton Orange, Brian Bell
When: Friday, 6:20 p.m. PT [First Round]; Saturday, 8:10 p.m. PT [Final]
Why: One of the biggest shocks of the 2015 USATF Jr. Nationals was the Junior Men's 800m, as No. 1 ranked Brazier was disqualified and Orange broke 1:50 for the first time in his career with a big effort of 1:47.67 to become the fifth-fastest prep ever. Both runners are back -- this time, with much bigger accolades behind their names. NCAA champion Brazier is reportedly turning pro and after his 1:43.55 NCAA record, is considered a lock to make the Olympic team at the Trials in two weeks. Orange has lowered his PR to 1:46.96 and earned All-American honors at the NCAA Indoor Championship. Houston's Bell is another runner to watch, with a PR of 1:47.94. He won the 2015 New Balance Nationals Indoor 800m.

Watch Donavan Brazier run 1:43.55 to break the NCAA record:

1,500m

Who: Austin Tamagno, Alex Rogers, Diego Zarate
When: Friday, 7:10 p.m. [First Round]; Sunday, 7:54 p.m. PT [Final]
Why: 4:01 miler Tamagno will test himself once more in a 1500m before closing his prep career and joining the Oregon Ducks. His best 1500m is 3:44.14, though his mile time is worth about 3:43.25. Longhorns frosh Rogers advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 1500m with his PR of 3:43.77; he was third at the Big 12 Conference Championships. Zarate's best is 3:44.5 and he took third in the event at the ACC Conference Championships for Virginia Tech.

3,000m Steeplechase

Who: Eion Nohilly, Dylan Hodgson, Kai Benedict, Alex Rogers
When: Friday, 8:45 p.m. PT [Final]
Why: New Balance Nationals Outdoor and New York state champion Nohilly will test himself against two proven freshman steeplers in Hodgson, third at the Big 12 Conference Championships for Kansas and Benedict, eighth at the Pac-12 Championships. A wildcard is Rogers, who won his only steeple race ever in 9:09.98 and has 3:43 1500m speed.

5,000m

Who: Olin Hacker, Eli Moskowitz, Peter Seufer, Zachary Snider, Alex Ostberg
When: Saturday, 9:15 p.m. PT [Final]
Why: This race looks to be a close one. Seufer, Snider and Ostberg all have seed times between 14:04 and 14:08. Ostberg is a bit of a wildcard as the 8:48 prep two miler redshirted his freshman year at Stanford, as did Hacker, a standout cross country runner who took runner-up honors at both NXN and Foot Locker Nationals in 2014.

10,000m

Who: Levi Thomet, Thomas Schultz, Miler Haller
When: Friday, 9:25 p.m. PT [Final]
Why: After spending the past year studying abroad in Germany, Thomet returns to the U.S. in a bid to represent Team USA one more time before heading to the University of Oregon. The 8:48 high school two miler's biggest competition includes Schultz and Haller, who are the top entrants with seed times of 30:12.41 and 30:19.12 for 10K.


Christopher Nilsen broke the national high school record in the pole vault this year with a clearance of 18-4.75.

Field Events

Pole Vault

Who: Christopher Nilsen, Deakin Volz, Paulo Benavides, Jacob Wooten, Brandon Bray
When: Friday, 5:30 p.m. PT [Final]
Why: National high school record holder Nilsen faces off against two former national prep record holders in Volz and Benavides.  Nilsen, Volz and Benavides are entered for the Olympic Trials, but not qualified yet as they must hit the 5.65m/18-6.5 standard. Nilsen owns the best mark in the field at 18-4.75 and is the only entrant who has cleared higher than 18 feet.

High Jump

Who: Darryl Sullivan, Justice Summerset, Darius Carbin, Jaron Brooks
When: Sunday, 5:45 p.m. PT [Final]
Why: U.S. No. 2 ranked Sullivan is nearly undefeated this spring and improved to a 7-4 PR; Summerset is also ranked within the U.S. top ten at No. 4, 7-2.5, and is undefeated including a win over Carbin at Arcadia, which was the sole loss of Carbin's season -- he won the CIF State Finals and he's also the 2016 New Balance Nationals Indoor champion and took third at World Youth last summer.. Brooks, a two-time New Balance Nationals champion and World Youth finalist as a high school junior, will look to bounce back after a disappointing showing at this year's outdoor nationals. 

Long Jump

Who: Ja'Mari Ward, Rayvon Grey, Grant Holloway
When: Friday, 7:00 p.m. PT [Final]
Why: Grey, Holloway and Ward all factor on the indoor all-time list in the long jump: Grey's 26-0.25 PR ranks No. 3, Holloway's 25-11.5 ranks No. 4 and Ward's 25-7.25 ranks No. 8. This spring, Florida commit Holloway headlines the national leaderboard at No. 1 and future LSU Tiger Grey ranks No. 3, though Grey defeated Holloway at Penn Relays. Ward has suffered from chronic injuries, though his wind-aided 25-6.75 (+3.2) season-best from April still ranks No. 2 under all-conditions.

Watch Rayvon Grey and Grant Holloway's long jump battle at the Penn Relays Carnival:

Shot Put

Who: Jordan Geist, Adrian Piperi, Bronson Osborn
When: Saturday, 4:00 p.m. PT [Final]
Why: This competition includes four of the top five ranked throwers in the nation and makes for another thrilling competition between juniors Geist and Piperi, the No. 7 and No. 8 ranked shot putters of all time. Geist was a one-man wrecking ball before suffering his first shot put defeat of the year at New Balance Nationals Outdoor to Piperi, who PRed by a foot and a half for the win. 

Discus Throw

Who: Bronson Osborn, Adrian Piperi, Connor Bandel, Jordan Geist, Ryan Camp, Seth Knowlton
When: Sunday, 6:15 p.m. PT [Final]
Why: The discus features five of the top 10 ranked throwers in the nation with no clear favorite. Osborn is the top seed at U.S. No. 3, 204-4, though Bandel, ranked U.S. No. 5, was crowned champion at New Balance Nationals Outdoor.

Hammer Throw

Who: Bobby Colantonio 
When: Friday, 4:30 p.m. PT [Final]
Why: Alabama recruit Colantonio has continued the legacy left by his high school teammate, multiple-time national champion Adam Kelly. The senior at Barrington High School in Rhode Island won this championship over Kelly at the 2015 USATF Jr. Nationals and continued on to earn a fifth-place finish at the World Youth Championships later that summer. He enters Clovis undefeated with a New Balance Nationals Outdoor title in the hammer throw.