Posted: July 8, 2007

Athletics: Gedyon breaks 800m record on day five of USA Youth Outdoor Champs

LISLE, Ill. - Elias Gedyon ran away from the field and into the record books in the youth boys' 800 meter run on Saturday at the 2007 USA Youth Outdoor Track & Field Championships held at Benedictine University. Gedyon (Los Angeles, Calif.) won the event with a time of 1 minute 55.39 seconds, setting a new national record. The previous record of 1:56.36 was set in 2001 by Cody Harper. Quincy Downing (Englewood, Ohio) finished as the runner-up with a time of 2:00.94. In the youth girls' discus, Hannah Carson (Mesa, Ariz.) earned her second title of the Championships with a throw of 36.99 meters/121 feet 4 inches. She set a new record Thursday in winning the javelin. Avione Allgood (North Las Vegas, Nev.), who was the runner-up in the javelin, also finished second in the discus with a throw of 35.23m/115-11. Carson also placed 5th in the long jump Saturday. Jaela Williams (Adelanto, Calif.), who set the bantam girls' triathlon record Thursday, jumped 4.37m/14-4 in the long jump to win her second title. Williams barely edged out triathlon runner-up Margaux Jones (Redlands, Calif.), who jumped 4.35m/14-3.25 to take second. In the bantam boys' javelin, Cedric Jacobs-Jones (Phoenix, Ariz.) won with a throw of 36.58m/120-0. Triathlon champion Justin Collins (Bronx, N.Y.) threw 35.33m/115-11 for second. Fallon Reed (Kennesaw, Ga.) won the midget girls' long jump with a leap of 4.65m/15-3.25. High jump runner-up Ashlee Moore (Chandler, Ariz.) jumped 4.62m/15-2 to take second in the long jump. On the track, several close finishes highlighted the day. The Los Angeles Jets won the bantam boys' 4x100m relay by edging out Running Panthers Track Club 54.42 to 54.45 for the championship. Eliza Dekker (Durham, N.C.) out-leaned April Sutton (Corona, Calif.) at the finish line to take the championship in the bantam girls' 800m. Dekker finished with a time of 2:27.04, while Sutton was second in 2:27.09. In the young men's 800m, Jamar Jones (Philadelphia, Pa.) ran 1:52.17 to take first. Elliot Rhodes (Philadelphia, Pa.) was the runner-up in 1:52.43. Shanae-Latae Bailey (Philadelphia, Pa.) won the intermediate girls' 200m in 24.25, while Angelica Weaver (Fontana, Calif.) was second with a time of 24.44. Ashley Schnell (Lincoln, Neb.) easily outdistanced the field to win the young women's 3,000m in a time of 10:19.07. Carly Olsen (Missouri Valley, Iowa) was the runner-up with a time of 10:39.22. Schnell later ran 2:16.29 to finish second in the 800m behind Aisha-Maree Frazier (Summerville, S.C.), who ran 2:11.75. Demond Brunache (Philadelphia, Pa.) won the midget boys' 3,000m in a time of 10:24.73. Christopher Staub (Tulsa, Okla.) ran 10:29.06 to finish as the runner-up. Prelims for all of the hurdle events were also run. In the intermediate girls' 100m hurdles, heptathlon champion Shakeia Pinnick (Aurora, Ill.) and Nefertiti Smith (Chesapeake, Va.), who won the triple jump and was third in the heptathlon, had the fastest qualifying times. Pinnick also had the fastest qualifying time in the 400m hurdles. Among the competitors who missed qualifying for the intermediate girls' hurdle finals was Tristine Johnson (Durham, N.C.), who is the daughter of 1996 Olympic gold medalist and 7-time World champion Allen Johnson. Alex Gochenour (Missouri Valley, Iowa), who has already won two championships, was the fastest qualifier in both the 100m hurdles and 200m hurdles for youth girls. William Lindsey (Lansing, Ill.) led the qualifiers in the intermediate boys' 110m hurdles and 400m hurdles. The USA Youth Championships will conclude Sunday with finals in the 100m, 1,500m, 4x400m relay and all hurdles, as well as several field events. For more information and live results on the 2007 USA Youth Outdoor Track & Field Championships, visit USATF.org. Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest