Contact:  Mark Winitz

Pacific Association/USATF Communications Manager

Tel: (650) 948-0618 Direct

JORDAN HASAY LEADS PACIFIC ASSOCIATION JUNIORS AT USA JUNIOR OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

FOLSOM, Calif. - June 25, 2007 - High school standout Jordan Hasay (Arroyo Grande, Calif.) continued to rewrite the record books among a covey of top performances by Pacific Association/USA Track & Field Juniors at the 2007 Finish Line USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The event was held June 20-24 in conjunction with the AT&T USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at the IU Michael A. Carroll Track & Soccer Stadium on the campus of IUPUI in downtown Indianapolis.

The Championships served as the selection meet for the 2007 Pan American Junior Championships to be held July 6-8 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. One or two athletes from each track and field event who have met IAAF Junior qualifying standards will be selected for the USA Junior team.

Hasay won the Junior women's 1,500-meter event in a meet, age, and high school sophomore class record of 4 minutes 16.98 seconds. The previous meet record of 4:18.1 was set in 1977 by Lynn Jennings and Suzy Favor-Hamilton's age and sophomore class record of 4:19.46 was set in 1992. Hasay's time is the fastest in 25 years and sits at #4 on the all-time high school list.

Hasay battled New Jersey's Danielle Tauro until the Californian sprinted to victory with about 150 meters remaining in the race. Tauro collapsed about 20 meters from the finish line, finishing sixth and missing a chance to also go under 4:20.

In the Junior women's pole vault, 2006 U.S. Junior champion Tori Anthony (Palo Alto, Calif.) won her second Junior title in as many years with a clearance of 4.05m/13-3.5.

"It was hard to get everything going and it was hard to tell what the wind was doing," Anthony said. "I was jumping at 9:00 in the morning on my time and it was a little hard to get it together. I'm really excited to win."

Anthony also vaulted in the open (elite) national competition at the meet, placing ninth with a 4.20m/13-9.25 mark. Anthony set both the USA high school indoor (4.33m/14-2.5) and outdoor (4.30m/14-1.25) pole vault records this year.

In the Junior women's triple jump, 2006 U.S. champion Ke'Nyia Richardson (Oakland, Calif.) won her second consecutive U.S. Junior title with her hop, skip and a jump of 13.47m/44-2.5. Richardson also competed in the open women's triple jump where she placed sixth with a 13.51m/44-4 jump.

"I think I was kind of negatively affected from jumping in the senior meet yesterday," Richardson said. "I didn't think it would be that difficult. I only took four jumps in the seniors so I thought I'd be OK, but I felt a little bit tight. I was motivated because I wanted to make the (Pan Am) team, but other than that, I was a little tired."

Richardson set the national high school indoor record in the triple jump at the National Scholastic Championships in March, and jumped 13.82m/45-4.25 at this year's California High School State meet.

Texas A&M freshman Zuheir Sharif (Elk Grove, Calif.) won the Junior men's triple jump with a leap of 15.86m/52-0.5.

"I had four fouls and two of them potentially could have been farther than the winning jump," Sharif said. "I was really sluggish coming out in the trials; then in finals I had to either step up or go home. In finals, I thought I had to prove a point."

In the Junior women's long jump, Jamesha Youngblood (Hercules, Calif.) won the title with a mark of 6.31m/20-8.5.

Said Youngblood: "One minute the wind was kind of strong; then another minute you didn't feel it at all. It made getting on the board tough because one minute I'd be on the board, another in front, and another behind, but I just had to keep adjusting."

In the Junior women's 800m, Nike Outdoor National runner-up Dominique Jackson (Fairfield, Calif.) finished second in 2:06.41.

In the Junior men's steeplechase, Jake Matthews (Folsom HS graduate currently at UCLA) finished third but was disqualified for stepping outside the cones at a water jump pit.

Despite damp conditions the final two days, an impressive total of 33,540 fans attended the 2007 AT&T USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships and Finish Line USA Junior Track & Field Championships. For more information and results, visit www.usatf.org.

The Pacific Association is the largest member association of USA Track & Field (USATF). We serve northern California and northwestern Nevada. USATF is the National Governing Body for track and field, long distance running, and race walking in the United States. For more information about the Pacific Association, visit our Web site at www.pausatf.org..

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