{"id":747,"date":"2012-01-05T12:44:41","date_gmt":"2012-01-05T20:44:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=747"},"modified":"2012-01-05T12:44:41","modified_gmt":"2012-01-05T20:44:41","slug":"dont-overlook-the-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=747","title":{"rendered":"Don’t Overlook the Kids"},"content":{"rendered":"

When we start looking ahead at who may be participating in the Olympics, our thoughts usually turn to proven commodities like Usain Bolt, Allyson Felix, Dayron Robles and Sally Pearson \u2013 athletes that have already put down excellent marks, and won medals in big time competition. What we often forget is that before they were household names (at least in households with track fans) they were \u201cnobodies\u201d, just some young kids hoping to someday be in the spotlight. <\/p>\n

Of course those kids were very talented and gave indication at an early age that big time success just might be in their destinies. And when we watch the Games in August, odds are that we will see some new prodigies out there. Some will have difficulty making it out of the rounds. Some may find their way to the finals. And some, like Kirani James and Isiah Koech may find their way to the podium! <\/p>\n

So in the game of trying to figure out who will be in the Games, how do we factor in these young prodigies? Well today I\u2019m going to take a look back four years to 2008 and the U.S. High School Leaders lists. Because in the U.S. system, many of those young people will have continued their careers into college, and should have two or three years of collegiate seasoning behind them at this point \u2013 which means that many should be getting \u201cripe\u201d right about now. <\/p>\n

As a matter of fact our two best triple jumpers in Daegu \u2013 gold medalist Christian Taylor and bronze medalist Will Claye \u2013 were #1 & #2 on the \u201808 high school leaders list! They were joined in Daegu by Erik Kynard and Marquis Goodwin \u2013 #1 in the high jump and #2 in the long jump in 2008. Hurdler Turquoise Thompson \u2013 #1 in \u201808 \u2013 just missed making the 400 hurdle team by one place at last year\u2019s National Championships. While heptathlete Ryann Krais \u2013 #1 in \u201808 \u2013 finished a qualifying 2nd at last year\u2019s Nationals. <\/p>\n

So it is highly probable that we could see several of 2008\u2019s high school leaders make the team for London. One definition of success is when talent meets opportunity. Well, these are some of the most talented young people around, and the Trials will be their opportunity. So following is a list of the top 3 high schoolers in each event from 2008. I\u2019ll be keeping an eye on them as the season progresses because I do expect to see many fighting for tickets to London.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Boys 2008 High School Leaders<\/strong><\/font><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

100<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

200<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

400<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

 <\/td>\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jeff Demps (10.01)<\/td>\nBrandon O\u2019Connor (20.65)<\/td>\nJoey Hughes (46.28)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Marcus Rowland (10.28)<\/td>\nTorrin Lawrence (20.77)<\/td>\nTavaris Tate (46.39)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Isaiah Sweeney (10.32)<\/td>\nMarkus Henderson (20.80)<\/td>\nRobert Simmons (46.44)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
 <\/td>\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

800<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Mile<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Two Miles<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

 <\/td>\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Elijah Greer (1:47.68)<\/td>\nRob Finnerty (4:01.09)<\/td>\nGerman Fernandez (8:34.40)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Zachary Mellon (1:48.64)<\/td>\nGerman Fernandez (4:01.69)<\/td>\nLuke Puskedra (8:46.41)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Joseph Franklin (1:48.97)<\/td>\nLuke Puskedra (4:06.60)<\/td>\nColby Lowe (8:47.07)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
 <\/td>\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

110H (39\u201d)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

400H<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

HJ<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

 <\/td>\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Booker Nunley (13.40)<\/td>\nWilliam Wynne (49.84)<\/td>\nEric Kynard (7\u2019 3.75\u201di)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Spencer Adams (13.51)<\/td>\nReggie Wyatt (50.46)<\/td>\nRicky Robertson (7\u2019 3\u201d)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
William Wynne (13.52)<\/td>\nAmaechi Morton (50.83)<\/td>\nRyan Fleck (7\u2019 2\u201d)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
 <\/td>\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

PV<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

LJ<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

TJ<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

 <\/td>\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nico Weiler (17\u2019 4.5\u201d)<\/td>\nChristian Taylor (25\u2019 6.75\u201di)<\/td>\nChristian Taylor (52\u2019 8\u201d)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jack Whitt (17\u2019 2.75\u201d)<\/td>\nMarquis Goodwin (25\u2019 4.75\u201d)<\/td>\nWill Claye (52\u2019 4.75\u2019)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Blair Wallingford (17\u2019 1\u201d)<\/td>\nRoman Holmes (24\u2019 11.5\u2019)<\/td>\nBryce Lamb (52\u2019 2\u201d)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
 <\/td>\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Shot<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Discus<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Hammer<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

 <\/td>\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jordan Clark (71\u2019 3\u201d)<\/td>\nMason Finley (222\u2019 1\u201d)<\/td>\nConnor McCullough (260\u2019 0\u201d)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Brandon Pounds (68\u2019 11.25’\u201d)<\/td>\nJohn Talbert (213\u2019 1\u201d)<\/td>\nTrent Kraychir (244\u2019 8\u201d)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nick Vena (67\u2019 10.25\u201d)<\/td>\nGeoffrey Tabor (210\u2019 8\u201d)<\/td>\nZack Richards (224\u2019 4\u201d)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
 <\/td>\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Javelin <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Decathlon<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
 <\/td>\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kyle Smith (223\u2019 8\u201d)<\/td>\nCurtis Beach (7262w)<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Justin Shirk (221\u2019 3\u201d)<\/td>\nBen Davies (7260)<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Johann Swanepoel (221\u2019 2\u201d)<\/td>\nDakotah Keys (7204)<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Girls 2008 High School Leaders<\/font><\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

100<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

200<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

400<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

 <\/td>\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Victoria Jordan (11.16)<\/td>\nChalonda Goodman (23.22)<\/td>\nNadonnia Rodriguez (52.83i)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Chalonda Goodman (11.36)<\/td>\nAshton Purvis (23.43i)<\/td>\nNatalie Stewart (53.07)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dominque Duncan (11.37)<\/td>\nJessica Davis (23.46)<\/td>\nEbony Eutsey (53.23)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Candyce McGrone (11.37)<\/td>\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

800<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Mile<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Two Miles<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

 <\/td>\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Chanelle Price (2:01.61)<\/td>\nJordan Hasay (4:34.86)<\/td>\nJordan Hasay (9:55.57)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Laura Roesler (2:03.08)<\/td>\nChristine Babcock (4:35.41)<\/td>\nLaurynne Chetelat (9:55.95)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Phyllis Francis (2:04.83)<\/td>\nStephanie Morgan (4:41.22)<\/td>\nChristine Babcock (10:07.54)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
 <\/td>\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

100H<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

400H<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

HJ<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

 <\/td>\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jacquelyn Coward (13.26)<\/td>\nTurquoise Thompson (57.67)<\/td>\nShanay Briscoe (6\u2019 1.25\u201d)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Vashti Thomas (13.44)<\/td>\nDalilah Muhammad (57.81)<\/td>\nVictoria Lucas (6\u2019 0.25\u201d)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Julian Purvis (13.29)<\/td>\nElizabeth Mott (58.01)<\/td>\nBrigeta Barrett (6\u2019 0\u201d)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
 <\/td>\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

PV<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

LJ<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

TJ<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

 <\/td>\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rachel Laurent (14\u2019 0\u201d)<\/td>\nVashti Thomas (20\u2019 5\u201d)<\/td>\nVashti Thomas (43\u2019 1.5\u201d)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Shade Weygandt (13\u2019 10\u201d)<\/td>\nTynita Butts (20\u2019 4.5\u201d)<\/td>\nAlitta Boyd (42\u2019 1\/5\u201d)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Stephanie Foreman (13\u2019 6.25)<\/td>\nJacinda Evans (20\u2019 3.5\u201d)<\/td>\nWhitney Rose (41\u2019 10.75\u201d)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
 <\/td>\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Shot<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Discus<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Hammer<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

 <\/td>\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Karen Shump (52\u2019 4\u201di)<\/td>\nAnna Jelmini (183\u2019 11\u201d)<\/td>\nAllison Horner (194\u2019 0\u201d)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Becky O\u2019Brien (52\u2019 1.75\u201d)<\/td>\nErin Pendleton (168\u2019 10\u201d)<\/td>\nLauren Chambers (184\u2019 9\u201d)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Daniella Bunch (51\u2019 0.75\u201d)<\/td>\nSkylar White (163\u2019 11\u201d)<\/td>\nCasey Krachir (180\u2019 4\u201d)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
 <\/td>\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Javelin <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Heptathlon<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
 <\/td>\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Roxanne Grizzle (170\u2019 3\u201d)<\/td>\nRyann Krais (5522w)<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hannah Carson (167\u2019 11\u201d)<\/td>\nJessica Flax (5108)<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fawn Miller (167\u2019 2\u201d)<\/td>\nShakeia Pinnick (5053)<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When we start looking ahead at who may be participating in the Olympics, our thoughts usually turn to proven commodities like Usain Bolt, Allyson Felix, Dayron Robles and Sally Pearson \u2013 athletes that have already put down excellent marks, and won medals in big time competition. What we often forget is that before they were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa3DCY-c3","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=747"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/747\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":748,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/747\/revisions\/748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}