June 14, 2012
» USATF Junior Championships Home Page SEATTLE - A trio of current Husky freshmen and a pair of UW recruits will be in action this weekend at the U.S. Junior Track & Field Championships, where Team USA spots are on the line for the 2012 World Junior Championships, held next month in Barcelona. The U.S. Junior Championships go this Friday through Sunday at the Robert C. Haugh Track and Field Complex in Bloomington, Ind. Current Huskies competing this weekend include Derrick Daigre in the 800-meters, J.J. Juilfs in the pole vault, and Gianna Woodruff in the 400-meter hurdles. Husky commits in action will be Seattle native Maddie Meyers in the 3k steeplechase and 3,000m run, and Hawaii resident Hannah Sherrill in the discus. Daigre was the U.S. junior runner-up a year ago, and had the fastest 800m time among all Huskies outdoors this season at 1:51.41. He'll compete in the first round on Friday then would run in the final on Saturday should he advance. Juilfs just earned All-America Second Team honors in the pole vault after placing 13th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships last week. The Pac-12 Champion will be among the favorites as he looks to win a second straight U.S. junior title. Juilfs competes on Friday. Woodruff will run the first round of the hurdles on Friday and then would compete in the final on Saturday. The freshman ran a PR of 1:00.81 this season, and ran on Washington's top 4x1 and 4x4 relays outdoors. She was second in the UW-WSU dual as the Huskies swept the hurdles to take control of the meet. Meyers is one of the most decorated prep athletes in Washington state history. She ran on Team USA last year for the World Youth Championships in the 2k steeple, so she'll look to take a step up in distance this year. Meyers holds the national high school record in the shorter 2k steeple. The steeple final is Friday and Meyers is also entered in the 3,000m final, set for Sunday. Sherrill of Kailua, Hawaii is one of the top-ranked prep discus throwers in the U.S. this season. She won state titles in both the shot put and discus this year and owns a season-best discus throw of 159-9. Her final is also Friday. The top-two finishers in each event qualify for the World Junior Championships. |
