US javelin thrower Nick Reynolds (© University of Tennessee Athletics)
The USA Track & Field (USATF) U20 Championships return to Hayward Field to crown USA’s under-20 national champions.
U20 athletes are defined as any athlete who is 18 or 19 years of age on 31 December in the year of the competition. World Athletics hosts its U20 championships every other year, with the next iteration coming to Eugene’s Hayward Field from 5-9 August in the summer of 2026.
Below are notable athletes to keep an eye on as the USATF U20 Championships unfold. For a full overview of the event, including broadcast information, visit the USATF website.
Dana Wilson (Greensboro, NC), the second-ranked 100m and top-ranked 200m U20 runner in the world this year, is entered to compete in both sprint events at the USATF U20 Championships. Wilson has been undefeated in every race she has competed in this year, ranging from the 60m to 200m. Wilson’s wind-legal personal best in the 100m stands at 11.02, run in May of this year. Her wind-legal personal best in the 200m is 22.45, run in April. Wilson is entering the USATF U20 Championships as a fresh high school graduate. She is committed to running for the University of Tennessee next year.
Dana Wilson (© Victah Sailer)
Wilson is joined in the USATF U20 100m Championship race by the No.3 U20 100m runner in the world this year, Mia Maxwell (Humble, Texas). Maxwell ran her PB in the event, 11.04, in June of this year, breaking a Texas state high school record which had stood since 2008. Just completing her junior year, Maxwell has one more year as a high school athlete.
Continuing on the women’s sprints sides, NCAA standout Braelyn Baker (Carnation, Washington) is looking to continue her racing schedule into the USATF U20 Championships. Baker has run the third-fastest U20 in the world so far this year in the 400m hurdles: 56.35 – also her personal best. Baker raced at the recent NCAA Championships, also in Eugene, where she represented Duke University and finished ninth in the 400m hurdles.
Speaking of hurdles, two of the five fastest U20 100m hurdlers in the world so far this year are entered for the USATF U20 Championships. Joslyn Hamilton (Rolesville, NC), who has the No.2 U20 mark so far in the world this year, enters the field with a 13.13 personal best, run in April of this year. A current collegian, Hamilton runs for the University of South Carolina. Hamilton is joined by Anisa Bowen-Fontenot (San Diego, California), the current No.5 U20 100m hurdler in the world so far this year, who has a wind-legal PB of 13.19. A recent high school graduate, Bowen-Fontenot has committed to run for the University of Southern California next year.
On the field, the athlete with the sixth-best U20 mark in the world so far this year will take to the high jump apron. Karsyn Leeling (Sidney, Nebraska) jumped 1.85m (6’ ¾”) twice in April, her personal best in the event. A current collegian, Leeling competes for the University of Nebraska.
Another college standout jumper, Anna Willis (Colorado Springs, Colorado) is the current No.1 U20 pole vaulter in the world so far this year, jumping a PB of 4.52m (14’ 10”) in May. A current collegian representing the University of South Dakota, Willis recently competed at the NCAA Championships, where she jumped 4.44m (14’ 6 ¾”) for fourth place.
US pole vaulter Anna Willis (© University of South Dakota)
Willis is joined by fellow U20 ranked vaulter Dyson Wicker (Heath, Texas), who has the second-best U20 mark in the world so far this year. The 5.56m (18’ 2 ¾”) mark that earned him that ranking was achieved indoors in February. Wicker is also a current collegian and jumps for the University of Nebraska.
On the runway opposite from the pole vaulters, USATF U20 Championships fans will see Jayden Keys (Houston, Texas), who jumped the fifth-farthest U20 long jump mark in the world so far this year: 7.95m (26’ 1”) in May. While only entered in the long jump at the USATF U20 Championships, Keys also has a personal best of 13.67 in the 110m hurdles, which is the sixth-best U20 mark in the world so far this year.
The following day, Xavier Drumgoole (Round Rock, Texas) will take to the same runway for the triple jump. Drumgoole has the current No.3 U20 mark in the world in the event, jumping 16.42m (53’ 10 ½”) in May. A current collegiate athlete at Stanford University, Drumgoole competed at the recent NCAA Championships.
In the throws, Donna Douglas (Jonesboro, Arkansas) is one to watch, with declared entries for the USATF U20 Championships in both the discus and shot put, in which she has the third and fifth best U20 marks in the world this year, respectively. Her PB of 16.69m (54’ 9 ¼”) in the shot put was thrown in May, just two weeks after her PB of 58.78m (192’ 10”) in the discus. Currently competing for the University of Tennessee, Douglas finished 16th at last week’s NCAA Championships with a throw of 54.90m (180’ 1”) in the discus.
Also in the shot put ring will be Bowen Fleming (South Lake Carroll, Texas), whose 18.49m (63’ 11 ½”) throw from June this year is the fourth-farthest U20 mark in the event this year. A recent high school graduate, Fleming will continue his sporting and academic development at the University of Indiana.
On the same infield in the other ring will be Bryce Ruland (Waterford, Wisconsin), who has the sixth-farthest U20 discus throw in the world this year. Ruland enters the USATF U20 Championships as the world U20 champion, earning gold in Peru last year with a throw of 62.59m (205’ 4”).
The men’s javelin will feature the second-best U20 thrower in the world this year, Nicholas Reynolds (Concord, New Hampshire). The 19-year-old threw 76.69m (251’ 7”) in May while competing at the University of Tennessee, a personal-best mark by more than a metre.
The USATF U20 Championships begin with the women’s 5000m on Thursday 19 June at 9:15am Pacific time and concludes with the decathlon 1500m on Friday 20 June at 8:15pm Pacific time. The event is being held in conjunction with the Nike Outdoor Nationals, the USA’s premier high school national championship.
