STATEN ISLAND, New York — More than 2,000 of the nation's top youth track and field athletes gathered at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex on March 20-22 for one of the largest USATF National Youth Indoor Championships ever, offering a preview of the future for Team USATF.
Sprinters Joshua Moore and Breanna Barnett were the top track performers in the 17-18 age group, with Moore taking gold in the 55m at 6.49 and Barnett sweeping the 200 in 24.15 and 400 in 55.51. Field event honors went to Tayla Schneider, who was victorious in the girls' weight throw (15.59/51-2) and shot put (11.96/39-2.75), and Logan Schupner, who cleared 4.80/15-9 in the boys' pole vault.
In the 15-16 age group, Shyna Patel won the girls' 3000 race walk in 15:53.98, and Joshua Buckley took gold in the boys' 200 with a stellar 21.91, and 400 by more than a second and a half in 50.14. Nathan Blind had a massive 21.11/69-3 to win the boys' weight throw by almost 18 feet, and Abihal Oyeleye bounded 11.28/37-9 to win the girls' triple jump by more than three feet.
Millie Montague was a big winner in the girls' 13-14 pole vault, going over 3.45/11-3.75, and Shawn Jones leaped 5.91/19-4.75 to win the boys' long jump by more than two feet. On the track, Mariam Wajid won the girls' 3000 by more than seven seconds in 9:56.53, while Silas Toughey dominated the boys' 55 in 6.68 and 200 in 22.61.
Putting more than four seconds between him and the runner-up in the boys' 11-12 800, Crew Mower took gold in 2:14.87 and added a victory in the 400 in 57.64. Ava Mensah sped to victory in the girls' 55 hurdles with an 8.75 that put her .83 ahead of the silver medalist. High jump gold medalists Kate Harper Domsic (1.37/4-6) and Vidhur Karthik (1.50/4-11) were the top field eventers in their age division.
One of the most impressive overall efforts of the weekend was turned in by Saleia Stowe in the girls' 9-10 age group, where she scored a hat trick of golds. She won the 800 by more than four seconds in 2:32.10, took the 400 title in 61.42, and added the 200 crown in 27.39. Hudson McGuire was a double gold medalist, claiming big victories in the 800 in 2:25.19 and 1500 in 4:54.05. The top field performances came in the long jump, with Nyomi Darby winning the girls' event by more than two feet at 4.46/14-7.5, and Benjamin Cartwright taking top honors in the boys' competition with a leap of 4.50/14-9.25.
The youngest age group featured double track champions in Charlotte Codrington, who won the girls' 8 & under 800 in 2:56.31 and 1500 in 5:47.46, and Zayn Phillip, who took gold in the boys' 55 in 8.15 and 200 in 29.06. Collins Farrand was the girls' long jump champion with a leap of 3.30/10-10, and Chase Anderson jumped 3.38/11-1 for the boys' victory.
Speedsters were the big winners in the girls' team title chases, taking the top spot in the 8 & under, 11-12, and 13-14 age groups, with Island Elite Jumping grabbing the 15-16 and 17-18 trophies. Second Gear had the top score in the 9-10 group. In boys' team competition, Ocean Breeze WaveRunners nabbed a trio of trophies in the 9-10, 13-14, and 17-18 divisions, while Jaguar Track took the 8 & under title. USA-JA captured th 11-12 trophy, with V-Tesse TC earning the top spot on the 15-16 podium.