Youth Indoor Championships Marleen Van Den Neste
CAYDEN UPHUR
Marleen Van Den Neste
RECORD NUMBER OF ATHLETES BY JOEY LAMAR
TURN OUT FOR YOUTH INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
USA Track & Field set the all-time record for the number of smiles during a weekend event. It occurred at the USA Youth Indoor Track & Field Championships in March at the Prince George’s County Sports and Learning Complex in Landover, Md.
Hosted by the Potomac Valley Association, more than 1,300 of the finest young athletes ages 7-18 competed in events from all across the nation.
And it was a weekend full of strong performances.
Gabrielle Wilkinson set an American youth age-group indoor record in the 800m. Wilkinson -- no stranger to records -- accomplished her fourth youth indoor record with a time of 2:16.98, blazing past her competition by nearly 10 seconds in the 13-14 age division.
Jahnaul and Jahvaree Ritzie-Pouncey both walked away with top honors. Jahnaul owned the long jump with a mark of 3.22m/10-6.75 for the eight and under boys' division. His older brother, Jahvaree, won the shot put for the boys' 9-10 age group with a 3.22m/10-6.75 toss.
Cameren Wilkinson announced his presence during the eight and under boys’ shot put with a 5.57m/18-03.25 throw. The winning throw bested the competition by close to five feet.
Dylan Thomas, in the 11-12 age group, stole the show on the boys side with a winning shot put throw of 13.91m/45-07.75 on the first day of competition. His competitors were unable to come within three meters of his Youth Indoor Championships record.
On the second day, Marcus Krah doubled his winning efforts from the previous day with wins in the 55m hurdles and the triple jump. Krah’s record setting time of 7.82 seconds beat competitors by a half-second. Krah’s 12.55m/41-02.25 triple jump also landed him in the winning circle with his third national title.
If an iron man award existed for the weekend, Gabriel Ervin would win it. Ervin raced past the competition in the 55m with a time of 7.74, one-hundredth of a second faster than the other 9-10 year old boys. His triumph proved less stressful in the 400m, winning by 2.5 seconds -- his second of back-to-back events.
Distance runners were consistent in their dominance from the first day with several athletes winning the 1,500m after winning the 800m. Caleb Levyand and Lauryn Heskin crossed the line first in the boys and girls under 8-year-old group, respectively. Myles Plummer chalked up the feat in the 9-10 year old division. Gabrielle Wilkinson won the event for the 13-14 girls.
Glenarden Track Club’s performance remains etched in every spectator’s mind. In seven age brackets, they earned the top spot -- 8-U boys, 9-10 boys, 11-12 girls, 13-14 boys, 13-14 girls, club boys and high school boys.
READ A FULL RECAP ALONG WITH A FULL LIST OF WINNERS FROM THE YOUTH INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS HERE.
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SHAWNTI JACKSON Marleen Van Den Neste
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