Larson, Worrel Excel at USATF U20 Championships
6/22/2019 9:35:00 PM | Men's Track & Field, Women's Track & Field
MIRAMAR, Fla. -- Several of the University of Michigan track and field program's brightest young stars excelled in national-level competition at the USATF U20 Championships on Friday and Saturday (June 21-22), including a pair of berths to international competition later this summer.
Jessi Larson claimed the 5,000-meter title on Friday (June 21) and Megan Worrel earned the silver medal in the 3,000-meter steeplechase on Saturday (June 22), as both women qualified, by virtue of their top-two finishes, to represent Team USA at the Pan-American U20 Championships in San Jose, Costa Rica, on July 19-21.
They join Wolverine teammates Aurora Rynda and Anne Forsyth at this summer's top international competition in the U20 age bracket, as both were recently selected by Canada to compete for its national team.
Larson kicked things off in style for the Wolverines on Friday, winning the 5,000-meter title in 16:47.66. After dropping the nearest runner with a surge on the 10th lap, she ultimately ran away to a nearly seven-second victory.
Worrel closed things out on the track with a runner-up finish in the steeplechase, clocking in just three seconds off the win in 10:36.14. She ran either second or third for nearly all of the race, and moved up a spot on the final lap with a strong 77.51 closing kick.
Those two headlined a host of strong performances for Michigan on the weekend.
Making her U-M debut, Amanda Schaare finished fifth in the shot put with a final-attempt heave of 14.44m (47 feet, 4.5 inches), moving her into the top 15 in program history.
Big Ten pole vault silver medalist Jessica Mercier finished tied for ninth with a clearance at 3.80m (12-5.5).
The lone male competitor, Job Mayhue, just missed making the final in the 110-meter hurdles as he ran 13.84 (+3.2m/s) for 10th in the preliminary heats. He was just .03 shy of the final.
Mayhue
Players Mentioned
