Contact: Tom Surber
Media Information Manager
USA Track & Field
(317) 261-0500 x317
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.usatf.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Friday, October 11, 2002
USA Track and Field names 289 athletes
Verizon Junior All-Americans
INDIANAPOLIS- Nearly 300 Junior athletes from 44 different states have been
named 2002 Verizon Junior All-Americans by USA Track & Field.
To achieve the rank of Verizon All-American, 289 athletes finished in the
top eight places at the USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships June
21-22 in Palo Alto, Calif. The meet was part of USATF’s Verizon Youth
Series, and competitors were required to be U.S. citizens and to be no older
than 19 years old any time in 2002.
The Verizon Youth Series, Golden Spike Tour and Team USA are all part of
Verizon’s overall sponsorship of USATF. A sponsor of several USATF
programs, Verizon is a highly valued partner of USATF and a key ambassador
for the sport.
“These are the rising stars of track and field,” USA Track & Field CEO Craig
Masback said of the Verizon All-Americans. “They join the company of Marion
Jones, Carl Lewis, Jackie Joyner Kersee, and Suzy Favor Hamilton as alumni
of USATF’s youth and junior programs. We at USA Track & Field are proud of
these athletes and their accomplishments.”
Highlights of this year’s competition in Palo Alto included two Junior
American records, three meet records, and a double winner. Thirty-one
athletes achieved the rank of Verizon All-American in more than one event.
Sanya Richards and Ben Shorey took the spotlight at Junior Nationals,
earning the titles of Verizon Athletes of the Meet. Richards, a graduating
senior from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., took the Junior American record in the 400
meters (50.69 seconds). Shorey, a freshman from the University of
Wisconsin-Parkside stole the record for the 10,000 meter race walk
(42:50.20).
The top two athletes in each event at the USA Junior Outdoor Championships
qualified for the World Junior Championships July 16-21 in Kingston,
Jamaica. Team USA won a team-record 21 medals at the meet, including 9
Golds, 5 Silvers, and 7 Bronze and set two world junior records and two
American junior records in the process.
For a complete listing of Verizon All-Americans, visit the USATF Web site,
www.usatf.org
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