Many of Georgia’s track stars have continued to turn in outstanding performances representing the state this summer in various national meets.
Leading the way are recent Pace Academy graduate Kenny Selmon, headed to North Carolina, and recent Marist graduate Bailey Weiland, who will attend Georgia Tech this fall. Both made the U.S. World Junior team during the USATF Junior National Outdoor Championships last weekend on the campus of the University of Oregon at Hayward Field.
Selmon, the Class A 300-meter and 110-meter state champion and Gatorade Track Athlete of the Year in Georgia, finished second in the 400-meter hurdles in a time of 50.13 seconds, the fastest time in the nation for a high schooler this season. He was edged out in the final 10 meters of the race by Baylor freshman Timothy Holmes (50.02), who placed fourth in the event in the NCAA National Championships. Earlier this summer, Selmon won the 400-meter title last month at the New Balance Outdoor Championships in Greensboro, NC.
Weiland, the Class AAAA high jump champ, finished first at the USATF Junior Nationals with a jump of 5-feet, 10 ½ inches, to go with her first place finish at the New Balance Outdoors, where she cleared a personal best height of 5-11 ½ .
Selmon and Weiland will compete for Team USA in the Junior World Games, which will also be held on Orgeon’s campus, July 22-27. Other Georgia high school track athletes having productive summers on the national level include:
Christian Coleman, a graduate of Our Lady of Mercy headed to Tennessee in the fall, placed second in the 100 meters at the New Balance Outdoors in a time of 10.30 seconds. Coleman bounced back to win the 100 meters at the Brooks PR Invitational in Seattle last month in a time of 10.29, the fifth fastest time in the nation this season.
Serenity Douglas, a rising junior at Archer, placed third in the 400 meters at the New Balance Outdoors in personal best time of 53.83.
Daniel Haugh, a St. Pius graduate headed to Alabama, swept the discus and the hammer at the New Balance Outdoors with tosses of 197-02 and 224-01, respectively. Haugh is ranked third nationally in the hammer throw and fourth in the discus.
Candace Hill, a rising sophomore at Rockdale County, who won state titles in the 100 and 200, swept both events at the New Balance Outdoors and the Golden West Invitational in Sacramento. Hill, voted the Atlanta Track Club's 100-meter Sprinter of the Year, is ranked in the top five nationally in both the 100 and 200 meters.
Tiffany Flynn, a graduate of Miller Grove headed to Mississippi State, placed third in the triple jump at the New Balance Outdoors with a leap of 41-2 1/2. Flynn is ranked No. 4 nationally in the triple jump.
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Milesplit.com has ranked Georgia high school girls sixth and the boys seventh in the nation in a list of the country's best states for high school track and field athletes. The rankings are based on a point system that takes into account the number of athletes each state has ranked in the top 25 in the nation in 17 events. Georgia high schoolers compete in 16 events. The 3,200-meter relay is not an official event in Georgia high schools.
The states ranked ahead of Georgia on the girls side are, in order, California, Texas, Florida, New Jersey and Colorado. The girls top 10 is rounded out by Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Washington and Virginia.
On the boys side, the top 10 states are Texas, California, Florida, Ohio, Virginia, New York, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
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