Performances at the 35th annual USA Track & Field Junior Olympic Championships in Sacramento continued to sizzle with temperatures rising back into the triple digits on Friday. The first day of the meet saw temperatures over 100 degrees, with the next two days cooling off, but Friday’s heat was back up in the 100’s.

The meet, being webcast live by USATF, in cooperation with i2sports Trackmeets.com, is taking place at California State University, Sacramento, site of the 2000 and 2004 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials. This is the final meet of the Verizon Youth Series.

Julene Bailey (Team Idaho), fresh from her first international competition at the World Youth Athletic Championships in Debrecen, Hungary, last week, claimed the intermediate girls pole vault title with a clearance of 3.75m/12-03.50. Bailey’s mark was also a Junior Olympic meet record and just off her national record tying mark (3.80m), at the USATF Youth Athletics Championships in Decatur earlier this month.

Michelle Carter (Roadrunners), the silver-medalist from the World Youth Championships, captured the intermediate girls shot put title with a record mark of 15.20m/49-10.50. It bettered Carter’s previous mark of 14.44m that she set in July 2000.

Ebony Collins (Quiet Fire), Tiffany Ross (Miami NW Express) and Agnes Gallegos (Albuquerque Olympians) all turned in record performances on Friday. Collins in the midget girls 400m preliminaries (55.54) and Ross in the young women’s 400m hurdle preliminaries (58.20). Gallegos claimed her Junior Olympic meet record in the bantam girls mini javelin (26.91m/88-03.00), just off the national record of 27.19m set at the Youth Athletics Championships in Decatur earlier this month.

In bantam competition on Friday, Brandon Haynes (Roadrunners) and Diane Knights (Ft. Lewis Elite) captured titles in the boys shot put and girls long jump respectively. Haynes’ mark of 10.25m/33-07.50 was the only mark over 30 feet, while Knight edged out runner-up Karynn Dunn (Free Spirit) with a jump of 4.41m/14-05.75.

Kyle Bell (Fresno Flames) and CJ Navarro (unattached) both won titles in the midget discus throw in close competitions. Bell edged out runner-up Geoffrey Tabor (Ardmore) with a mark of 36.22m/118-10.00, while Navarro bested runner-up Allison Lay (unattached) with a mark of 29.83m/97-10.00.

In the youth division, Stephen Lare (Phoenix Bobcats) and Desirae Gonder (Grayhounds) won titles in the high jump competition. Lare’s mark of 1.85m/6-00.75 and Gonder’s mark of 1.70m/5-07.00 were both just under the national record. In the triple jump, Darryl Jones, competing for the Texas Mustangs, won with a mark of 12.74m/41-09.75, while Brittney Daniells, competing for 3M TC, won with a mark of 11.11m/36-05.50. Ryan Shuler (unattached) won the youth boys pole vault (4.12m/13-06.25m), while Amy Bilmanis (Thunderbolts TC) won the youth girls discus (39.48m/129-06.00).

Michelle Sanford, a bronze-medal winning member of Team USA that just returned from Hungary, captured the intermediate girls triple jump title (12.51m/41-00.50). Competing for the Irvine Cougars, Sanford just missed out the national record mark of 12.54m. Also in the intermediate division, Reynold Smith (unattached) won the triple jump (14.25m/46-09.00), while Kevin Barrington (Grapevine GA) won the pole vault (4.55m/14-11.00) and Jenna Utecht, competing unattached, claimed the high jump title (1.70m/5-07.00).

In the young women/men division, Janon Busby (Mobile Parks) captured the men’s triple jump (15.39m/50-06.00), while Janae Young (Southcentral AA) took the women’s triple jump title (12.17m/39-11.25). Also on Friday, Robert Fennell (Miami NW Express) won the young men’s shot put (18.70m/61-04.25), as Jacenta Spandl (unattached) won the young women’s high jump (1.70m/5-07.00).

In order to be eligible to compete at the 2001 USA Track & Field Junior Olympic Championships, athletes had to advance through association and regional competitions. USA Track & Field is comprised of 57 local Associations across the country, advancers then moved on to one of the 16 Regional competitions.

Athletes here in Sacramento compete in one of five age divisions, determined by birth year. Those age divisions are Bantam (1991 or later), Midget (1989-90), Youth (1987-88), Intermediate (1985-86) and Young Men/Women (1983-84).

For more information on the 2001 USA Track & Field Junior Olympic Championships, all USATF Youth programs and the Verizon Youth Series, including complete results, visit the USATF web site at www.usatf.org.