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The highlight of Wilson’s year came in winning the girl’s 800 meters at the IAAF World Youth Championships in Lille, France. Wilson unleashed her kick with 200m remaining and separated herself from the field to win in 2:02.64. Wilson’s victory marked the first time Team USA medaled in the event at the Youth Championships.
Wilson’s championship win not only netted her a new personal best, but also rewrote the New Jersey scholastic record books. Wilson bettered Hall of Famer Joetta Clark’s previous record of 2:03.67 in both the semi-finals and finals.
After winning both the 800m (2:09.73) and 1600m (4:54.31) at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Group Championships in her school’s division, Wilson missed out on the New Jersey Meet of Champions and other post-season meets due to a sprained ankle.
But the time off did nothing to hamper Wilson’s season as she came back to win the World Youth Track & Field Trials in 2:09.39 to punch her ticket to the France.
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Five American junior records in one year helped to make the 18 year-old the new face of race walking in the United States. Barron's re-writing of the record books began on February 7 in Surprise, Ariz., when he won the men's 20 km Open and USATF 20 km Western Regional Race Walk Championship in 1:31:51. Barron then set a U.S. Junior men's 10 km road record on April 11 when he crossed the finish line first in 43:05 at the 2010 IAAF World Race Walk Cup Trials in Ronkonkoma, N.Y. On June 13, Barron walked a U.S. Junior Record with his winning time of 20:06 at the San Diego 5,000m race walk competition at Cuyamaca College. The following month he smashed his own American Junior record (AJR) in the 10,000m race walk, stopping the clock at 41:50.29 to place seventh at the 13th IAAF World Junior Championships in Moncton, Canada, the best finish ever by an American at World Juniors. Saving the best result for last, Barron posted an eye-popping performance at the Nordic 20 km Championships in Finland, covering 20 km in a blistering 1:23:49.39, which is the fastest time by any American since 2007. His performance was the second-fastest in the world for the year and bettered the U.S. Junior record by 18:31. His time was just nine seconds off the American record and 10 seconds under the Olympic qualifying standard.
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As the youngest competitor in the women's 1,500m at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field, Hasay broke the national high school record by running 4 minutes 14.50 seconds to place fifth in the semifinal and qualify for the final. Her performance broke the previous record of 4:16.42, held for just under three weeks by Christine Babcock, by nearly two seconds. Slated to leave almost immediately for the World Junior Championships in Poland, Hasay delayed her trip to run in the final, where she finished 10th in 4:17.36. Hasay began her year by winning the USA Junior Cross Country Championships on February 16, in San Diego, Calif. She covered the 6 km course in 20:32 and was 13 seconds ahead of her nearest competitor. At the 2008 USA Junior Track & Field Championships, Hasay repeated her performance from last year and won the women's 1,500m, outkicking Oregon's Alex Kosinksi (Eugene, Ore.) down the final stretch to win in 4:18.44. It was that performance that qualified her for the 2008 IAAF World Junior Championships. On Friday, July 11, just one week removed from her national record-setting performance, Hasay competed in the first round of the women's 1,500m at the World Junior Championships. Taking fourth place in heat three of the prelims in 4:20.82, she qualified for the final on time. In the final, Hasay placed fourth, crossing the line in 4:19.02. It was the best ever finish for an American woman in the 1,500m at World Juniors. Hasay dominated on the high school level as well. At the CIF Finals, she held off Davis Senior High School senior Laurynne Chetelat down the home stretch to win the 3,200m state title in a meet record 9:52.13, the second fastest 3,200m time ever run by a high school girl. On October 23, Track & Field News named Hasay the 2008 Girls High School Athlete of the Year.
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Wynne was the most accomplished athlete of any nationality at the 2007 IAAF World Youth Championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic, winning three medals and setting a world youth record. In his first event of the competition, he brought home the silver medal in the 110-meter hurdles, finishing in 13.44 seconds. In his next event, Wynne smashed the world youth best in winning the 400m hurdles. He sprinted to the front down the backstretch and never relinquished his lead on the way to a stunning 49.01, almost seven meters ahead of the runner-up and .85 seconds under the previous record set by South Africa's Marnus Kritzinger in 1999. Wynne returned to the track less than two hours later to run the third leg of the boys' medley relay that won gold in a world youth leading 1:51.34. Wynne began his summer in June at the 2007 Finish Line USA Junior Track & Field Championships, where he won the men's 400m hurdles in 49.70, placing him second on the all-time U.S. Junior list. After getting back from the World Youth Championships in July, he won the young men's 400m hurdles at the 2007 USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships in 50.89.
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