Impact
Records
Roisin Willis
Stevens Point High School
Impact Statement
Willis’ scholastic career ended in record-breaking fashion and picked right back at Stanford.
Biography
Willis’ scholastic career ended in record-breaking fashion. Early in June, Willis won the Division 1 gold medal in the 800-meter race and broke the national high school record in the process. Her final time was 2:00:03, which also set a new state record that she set when she won the race as a freshman in 2019.
Since 2019, she missed the 2020 season due to COVID-19 shutting down the season and she didn’t run in 2021 as she tried to qualify for the Olympics.
During the Olympic Trials in the 800, the teenager finished 13th. Willis, who will attend Stanford University on an academic and athletic scholarship, was Gatorade’s National Player of the Year in Track & Field during the 2020-21 sports season.
As a freshman, she won two NCAA indoor titles and four All-American honors at Stanford. She was also named USTFCCCA All-Academic.
Photos
Records
Professional Achievements
Personal Honors
Centennial High School
Session led Centennial to its 10th straight state title at the 2022 Nevada Class 5A Track and Field Championships.
Session led Centennial to its 10th straight state title at the 2022 Nevada Class 5A Track and Field Championships.
Roy Session
Centennial High School
Impact Statement
Session led Centennial to its 10th straight state title at the 2022 Nevada Class 5A Track and Field Championships.
Biography
This spring, Session led Centennial to its 10th straight state title at the 2022 Nevada Class 5A Track and Field Championships. The Bulldogs amassed 142.5 points, which easily outdistanced second place Faith Lutheran by 67.5 points.
One of Session athletes, Zoey Bonds, won four individual gold medals.
In 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018, Session was named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association’s Nevada Coach of the Year.
Photos
Professional Achievements
Chandler High School
Richardson has led his team to 14 of the last 15 State Titles.
Richardson has led his team to 14 of the last 15 State Titles.
Eric Richardson
Chandler High School
Impact Statement
Richardson has led his team to 14 of the last 15 State Titles.
Biography
Last month, Richardson led Chandler to its 14th state title in the last 15 years. Richardson, who is also a football coach at Chandler, just finished his 24th year as the head coach of the girls’ Track & Field program.
Richardson has coached multiple athletes who made USA teams and won Gatorade Arizona Athletes of the Year.
Lee’s Summit West High School
Griffin has coached 11 state team championships, 239 All-State runners and 42 state champions over the course of his career.
Griffin has coached 11 state team championships, 239 All-State runners and 42 state champions over the course of his career.
Jesse Griffin
Lee’s Summit West High School
Impact Statement
Griffin has coached 11 state team championships, 239 All-State runners and 42 state champions over the course of his career.
Biography
This past spring, Griffin led LSW to its third straight team state championship. Griffin’s squad captured two gold medals at the state meet. Griffin has also won state Missouri cross country championships as the head coach of the girls’ teams at Lee’s Summit West and Raystown.
In 2017, Griffin was named Coach of the Year by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association.
Griffin was inducted into the Missouri Track and Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2021. He has coached 239 All-State runners and 42 state champions. Additionally, he’s led his team’s to 11 state championships.
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Records
Professional Achievements
Lake Hamilton High School
“I enjoy trying to coach my kids and give them the wonderful experience I had.” -Karl Koonce
“I enjoy trying to coach my kids and give them the wonderful experience I had.” -Karl Koonce
Karl Koonce
Lake Hamilton High School
Impact Statement
“I enjoy trying to coach my kids and give them the wonderful experience I had.” -Karl Koonce
Biography
After over four decades of coaching track and field and cross country at Lake Hamilton, Koonce is retiring. During his 46 years as a head coach, Koonce has led the school to 29 state championships and 45 state runner-up finishes. Koonce has coached 12 All Americans in Track and Field.
Koonce has been named Arkansas Coach of the Year 18 times. He’s also been a five-time Section Coach of the Year for Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Colorado, plus National Coach of the Year for Boys Track in 2009. He was the US Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association State Cross Country Coach of the Year last year.
Koonce is the first Arkansas coach to be named the NHSCA National Girls’ Track & Field Coach of the Year.
Koonce was honored in 2019 as the NFHS Coach of the Year. Additionally, he was inducted into the Arkansas Activities Association Hall of Fame. As an athlete himself he won the AIC championship in the mile run and was a 1973 NAIA finalist in the event. He was inducted into the Henderson State University Hall of Fame in 2003.
Photos
Records
Professional Achievements
Personal Honors
Long Beach Polytechnic High School
“We worked hard, we believed in the kids, and we loved the kids. We were blessed with some tremendous athletes.” -Don Norford
“We worked hard, we believed in the kids, and we loved the kids. We were blessed with some tremendous athletes.” -Don Norford
Don Norford
Long Beach Polytechnic High School
Impact Statement
“We worked hard, we believed in the kids, and we loved the kids. We were blessed with some tremendous athletes.” -Don Norford
Biography
Don Norford, who has been the head track and field coach at Long Beach Poly since 1976, went into retirement as a champion. Norford finished his coaching career leading the Poly Lady Jackrabbits to the school’s 13th California state title overall, and sixth in the last seven years.
Norford, who also coached the boys, won five overall boys’ CIF championships, giving him 18 overall California state championships. Norford has also been an assistant coach of the powerful Long Beach Poly football team, where he coached 45 former and current NFL players. He was an assistant coach on ten of the Jackrabbits’ 19 CIF football titles.
Overall throughout his career, he coached a staggering 18 CIF State Championship teams (13 girls’ and 5 boys’). That is a feat no one else in California can make. He also coached 61 individual champions. Additionally, he coached 150 individual CIF-SS champs and 25 CIF-SS team titles.
In 2018 Norford was inducted into the inaugural class of the NSAF National High School Track and Field Hall of Fame.
Photos
Articles
Records
Professional Achievements
DeSoto High School
Villers has led the Lady Eagles to success both on and off the track.
Villers has led the Lady Eagles to success both on and off the track.
June Villers
DeSoto High School
Impact Statement
Villers has led the Lady Eagles to success both on and off the track.
Biography
June Villers, a DeSoto alum, has built the Eagles into one of Texas’ top programs over the last decade. This past year, DeSoto won its third straight Texas Class 5A girls’ title. The state championship was the fourth overall for Villers’ team, including runner-up finishes in 2008 and 2010. In addition, she was the assistant coach in 2007 when the Eagles brought home another state title.
During her time as head coach, she’s coached nationally-ranked athletes in the 4X400, long jump, triple jump, discus, shot put, 4X100, 100m hurdles, 300m hurdles and 400m. She has had 30 student-athletes receive full scholarships and many more that received partial scholarships.
She led DeSoto to four consecutive state titles from 2016 until 2019. The team also finished second in the 2015 season.
Villers has been honored three times as the Texas Track and Field Coaches Association Coach of the Year. She was inducted into the Texas Track and Field Coaches Association Hall of Fame in January of 2018..
Most recently, she was named the 2019 National Boys and Girls High School Track & Field Coach of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
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Records
Professional Achievements
Randolph High School
Abby Loveys may be one of New Jersey’s best all-time, all-around runners.
Abby Loveys may be one of New Jersey’s best all-time, all-around runners.
Abby Loveys
Randolph High School
Impact Statement
Abby Loveys may be one of New Jersey’s best all-time, all-around runners.
Biography
Loveys may be one of New Jersey’s best all-time all-around runners. This past year, the Princeton-bound runner broke a 36-year old state record in 3,200-meters with a time of 10-minutes, 10.24 seconds. She closed-out her scholastic career with a second place finish in New Jersey’s Meet of Champions in the 1,600, a title she won as a junior.
In the Fall, Loveys won the Cross Country Meet of Champions with a time of 17 minutes, 54 seconds. She then finished 11th at the Foot Locker Cross Country national championships, earning All-American honors. In the classroom she owns a 4.22 grade point average.
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Records
Personal Honors
Hamburg High School
Wilson, who owns a 3.86 GPA in the classroom, is also a two-time winner of Gatorade’s Arkansas Track and Field Athlete of the Year.
Wilson, who owns a 3.86 GPA in the classroom, is also a two-time winner of Gatorade’s Arkansas Track and Field Athlete of the Year.
Tiana Wilson
Hamburg High School
Impact Statement
Wilson, who owns a 3.86 GPA in the classroom, is also a two-time winner of Gatorade’s Arkansas Track and Field Athlete of the Year.
Biography
Wilson closed out her scholastic career with three gold medals at the Class 4A state championships. She won the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes. She set state records in the 100 and 200 at the Arkansas Meet of Champions. For her high school career, Wilson won eleven gold medals.
Wilson, who owns a 3.86 GPA in the classroom, is also a two-time winner of Gatorade’s Arkansas Track and Field Athlete of the Year. She will attend the University of Arkansas on an athletic scholarship.
Wilson competed in 13 events as a freshman. As a sophomore, she was named the SEC Runner of the Week after posting a career best in the 400m race at the Arkansas Qualifier. She was part of the 4-400 relay team that took fourth at the SEC Indoor Championships before the season was ended early due to Covid.
Wilson shined in 2021. She was the bronze medalist at the NCAA Indoor Championships as a member of the 4×400 Relay.
Photos
Records
Professional Achievements
Personal Honors
Roosevelt High School
Graham claimed multiple CIF State Titles in different events over her high school career.
Graham claimed multiple CIF State Titles in different events over her high school career.
Jasmyne Graham
Roosevelt High School
Impact Statement
Graham claimed multiple CIF State Titles in different events over her high school career.
Biography
Jasmyne Graham captured two gold medals this year in the CIF championships. Graham edged defending champion Mecca McGlaston of Dublin HS in the 100 hurdles final. Her time of the 13.17 seconds was the best in the nation this year. She then went-on to claim gold the 300 hurdles. As a junior, Graham claimed the CIF state indoor long jump title.
Graham was named the 2015 California Girls Gatorade Track & Field Athlete of the Year. She will attend USC.
After her first year as a Trojan, Graham transferred to UNLV. She was a NCAA Qualifier for the Rebels in the 2018 Outdoor Championships and in the 2019 Indoor Championships in hurdles.
She earned USTFCCCA Second Team All-America honors in the 100m hurdles at the 2019 Outdoor Championships. She finished her career as the top ranking 100m Hurdles All-Time outdoor performances at UNLV.
Photos
Records
Professional Achievements
Personal Honors
Long Beach Polytechnic High School
Ariana Washington is no stranger to success. She has excelled on every level from high school to international competition.
Ariana Washington is no stranger to success. She has excelled on every level from high school to international competition.
Ariana Washington
Long Beach Polytechnic High School
Impact Statement
Ariana Washington is no stranger to success. She has excelled on every level from high school to international competition.
Biography
Ariana Washington closed-out her high school career by winning gold medals in the 100 and 200 in California state championship meet.
It was the third time in a row that Washington accomplished that double. She also captured gold by anchoring Poly’s 400 relay team. The back-to-back-to-back gold medals left her one shy of Marion Jones, who did it four straight times while at Thousand Oaks High School.
This year’s gold medal performances 11.22 in the 100 and 22.96 in the 200 were both national best times in America this past year. Both were not that far behind the national high school records of 11.14 in the 100 in 1992 by Jones and 22.52 in the 2000 by Allyson Felix of Los Angeles Baptist High School in 2003. Felix was the 2003 NHSCA Girls’ Track & Field National Athlete of the Year. Washington was named MaxPreps.com’s 2013-14 Female Athlete of the Year.
Washington went on to place 7th at the Junior World Championships in 2014.
While at Oregon, Washington’s success continued. She became the first freshman to win two individual events at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 2016. She won another National Title and earned All America status ten times.
Internationally, Washington was an Olympic Team member in 2016. She continues to train with her eyes on the next summer Olympic Games.
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Records
Professional Achievements
Gresham High School
Crouser owns the national record in the javelin as she excelled at Gresham and the University of Texas.
Crouser owns the national record in the javelin as she excelled at Gresham and the University of Texas.
Haley Crouser
Gresham High School
Impact Statement
Crouser owns the national record in the javelin as she excelled at Gresham and the University of Texas.
Biography
Haley Crouser holds the United States high school national record in the javelin with a throw of 181-feet, 2-inches.
She set that mark as a junior and continued he outstanding career as a senior by being ranked #1 in the nation throughout the year on her way to a gold medal in the Oregon Class 6A championships – her fourth title in the event.
Crouser, who will attend the University of Oregon, also won the state title in the shot put this past spring.
Crouser spent one season at Oregon. She finished fourth in the 2014 Pac 10 Championships. After her freshman year, she transferred to the University of Texas. As a Longhorn, Crouser was a two- time Big 12 Champion. She was also named to the 2017 USTFCCCA All-America First Team. Haley was also named to the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team twice.
Photos
Records
Professional Achievements
Legacy High School
Vaughan’s ability with the discus is stellar. She has had success on every level, including the Olympics.
Vaughan’s ability with the discus is stellar. She has had success on every level, including the Olympics.
Shelbi Vaughan
Legacy High School
Impact Statement
Vaughan’s ability with the discus is stellar. She has had success on every level, including the Olympics.
Biography
The three-time state discus champion set a national high school record in the event at the Texas Relays on March 31. Her throw of 191-6 bettered by nearly 15 feet the personal best she had established just one week earlier and broke the national record of 190-3, which had stood since 2009.
She went on to set the all-class state record in the 5A state meet with a throw of 187-10, and also won her first shot put title with a throw of 50-1¼. She was the state runner-up in the shot put her sophomore and junior seasons.
This year’s discus title was her second in 5A. After transferring from Azle High School, where she won the 4A discus title as a sophomore with a throw of 144-8, Vaughan won as a junior with a then-5A record throw of 161 feet. Deceptively fast despite her 6-foot-2 frame, she also ran on Legacy’s 4×100 relay team. Last summer, Vaughan won the discus at the USATF Outdoor Junior Championships at Eugene, Ore. (165-5) and the Pan-American Junior Championships at Miramar, Fla. (174-3). She was the bronze medalist at the IAAF World Youth Championships at Lille, France (172-6). Her meet-best throw of 176-5¼ didn’t count because it occurred in the preliminaries.
An all-around athlete, Vaughan started playing T-ball at age 3, played basketball until her sophomore year and, despite her track and field accomplishments, will attend Texas A&M University on a volleyball scholarship, though the outside hitter plans to compete in both sports. Vaughan, who holds a 3.7 grade-point average, led her team in kills (579), blocks (70) and aces (51) and was second in digs (367).
At Texas A&M Vaughan continued her success. As a freshman, she was named Girls Athlete of the Year by Track & Field News. She won four Southeastern Conference Championship titles. As a sophomore and junior, she won the Outdoor NCAA Championships in the discus. As a senior, she finished sixth.
In 2016 Vaughan was a member of the United States Olympic Team.
Photos
Community Service
Vaughan volunteers to feed the homeless and also volunteers with special needs students.
Records
Professional Achievements
Catholic High School
LeLeux is one of the best pole vaulters in Louisiana history winning five indoor and five outdoor state titles.
LeLeux is one of the best pole vaulters in Louisiana history winning five indoor and five outdoor state titles.
Morgann LeLeux
Catholic High School
Impact Statement
LeLeux is one of the best pole vaulters in Louisiana history winning five indoor and five outdoor state titles.
Biography
The nation’s top female pole vaulter capped an enormously successful high school career with the two best state series vaults of her career. In the 3A region meet, she cleared 14-2¾ to set a national record. Tori Anthony of Palo Alto (Calif.) Castilleja High had set the indoor record (14-2) and the outdoor record (14-1) in 2007.
LeLeux had cleared 14-1 indoors this year to rank No. 2 all-time indoors, and she has cleared as high as 14-9 outdoors in practice. LeLeux followed her record region jump by setting the all-class record of 13-9 at the state outdoor meet, her fifth consecutive state title after a second-place finish as a seventh-grader. LeLeux also was a five-time Division 2 indoor state champion, marred only by a second-place finish as an eighth-grader.
As a junior, LeLeux set national junior class and age 17 records when she first cleared 14-0, and also holds the national freshman record (13-2). A four-time National Junior Champion, LeLeux set a National Scholastic Juniors record and captured titles at the Nike Indoor, the National Scholastic Indoor and the New Balance Outdoor meets in 2010 and finished fifth at the 2009 World Youth Championships at Bressanone, Italy. She will attend the University of Georgia.
At Georgia, LeLeux set records pole vaulting. As a true freshman, LeLeux placed second in both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor National Championships. She was twice named for the First Team Indoor and two time Outdoor All American.
She was an alternate on the 2016 Olympic Team.
Photos
Records
Professional Achievements
Ozen High School
Brannon is one of the best jumpers in Texas history, as she won 4 state titles in the Long Jump and 3 in the Triple Jump.
Brannon is one of the best jumpers in Texas history, as she won 4 state titles in the Long Jump and 3 in the Triple Jump.
A’Lexus Brannon
Ozen High School
Impact Statement
Brannon is one of the best jumpers in Texas history, as she won 4 state titles in the Long Jump and 3 in the Triple Jump.
Biography
The University of Texas recruit ended her career as one of the top jumpers in Texas high school history. She won her fourth 4A state title in the long jump with a leap of 20 feet, 3 inches, winning the event by nearly 2½ feet with the nation’s longest jump this season. She followed that with another national-best jump, a personal best 42 feet, ¾ inch in the triple jump, her third state title in that event, to extend the status she already held as the national leader and giving her seven gold medals in state competition.
Brannon was the long jump champion in the USA Track and Field National Junior Olympic Outdoor Championships last year, with a leap of 19-10¼, and finished fifth in the triple jump with a leap of 39-6½, and has competed in both events and the 100-meter hurdles in national events. In the International Association of Athletics Federations World Youth Championships, Brannon finished eighth in the long jump and 15th in the triple jump in 2009.
At the University of Texas Brannon competed in both the Indoor and Outdoor seasons. Over her career she was a nine time All-Big 12 honoree in the long jump and triple jump. In 2013 she was named as an USTFCCCA Second Team All-American.
Photos
Records
Professional Achievements
Personal Honors
Del City High School
“I feel like I’m always open to learning and getting better, and I have another level to reach”
-Toni Young
“I feel like I’m always open to learning and getting better, and I have another level to reach”
-Toni Young
Toni Young
Del City High School
Impact Statement
“I feel like I’m always open to learning and getting better, and I have another level to reach”
-Toni Young
Biography
The 6-foot-1 Young will play basketball at Oklahoma State University, but may be a better track and field athlete. On the same day Finley cracked the national high school record book, Young joined him, tying the 15-year-old high jump record by leaping 6 feet, 4 inches in the Norman North Invitational. Young also cleared 6-0 and 6-2 in the same meet as she broke her own state record. Her 6-4 jump stood as the world’s best this year until it was bettered in a European professional meet May 8.
Last weekend she took her third Class 6A state title with a leap of 5-6. Raised in a household of 10 children by a single mother, Young didn’t play on traveling teams or attend elite camps. But she could dunk a basketball as a junior, and this year she led Del City’s basketball team to a 24-5 record and the 6A state title, averaging 14.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.1 steals and 2.0 blocks per game. She was named Big All-City Player of the Year by The Daily Oklahoman, which also named her to its All-State First Team.
Young did go on to play basketball for the Cowboys her first three years and put herself into the top 10 in six statistical categories all-time at OSU. Midway through her junior year Young went back to the high jump and joined the Track & Field team. At the 2012 Outdoor Championship Young became an All American by placing 5th. She also competed at the 2012 Olympic Trials.
Photos
Videos
Records
Professional Achievements
Personal Honors
Chamblee High School
Reese was a 12x State Champion before heading off to Harvard.
Reese was a 12x State Champion before heading off to Harvard.
Emily Reese
Chamblee High School
Impact Statement
Reese was a 12x State Champion before heading off to Harvard.
Biography
Reese finished off a Dandy Dozen – state titles, that is – in the track and field state meet this month. She took home her fourth Class 3A state championships each in the 1,600 and the 3,200, to go with four state cross-country crowns. As a junior Reese turned in times of 4:47.96 in the 1,600 and a state-record 10:16.05 in the 3,200 – both times the second best in the nation. Last fall her winning cross-country time of 17:14 beat her nearest competitor by 1 minute, 14 seconds.
Recognized as Athletes Only Athlete of the Week for the week of April 23, 2007, Reese won the USA Track and Field Junior Olympics national title last year and was selected the Gatorade Georgia Cross Country Runner of the Year this year. In March Reese finished 30th in the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh, Scotland, helping the U.S. squad to finish sixth. Also an outstanding student with a 4.15 grade-point average, as well as an accomplished pianist, Reese will attend Harvard University.
At Harvard Reese was named to the USTFCCCA All-Region team her junior year. She also placed third at the Penn Relays in the 10,000m run.
Photos
Records
Professional Achievements
Personal Honors
Niwot High School
Matthew jumped 21’2″ – the best high school girls long jump in 2005 and seventh-best all-time.
Matthew jumped 21’2″ – the best high school girls long jump in 2005 and seventh-best all-time.
Griffin Matthew
Niwot High School
Impact Statement
Matthew jumped 21’2″ – the best high school girls long jump in 2005 and seventh-best all-time.
Biography
Matthew jumped 21 feet, 2 inches – the best high school girls long jump in 2005 and seventh-best all-time – to win the Simplot Games in Idaho last summer. At the Nike Indoor Championships she won the long jump and the 60 meters. After winning the Class 4A state title with a state-record long jump as a sophomore, Matthew won four events – the 100 and 200 meters, the long jump and the 4×100 relay – as a junior, and she posted the second-fastest time during the season (11.56) in the 100.
Also an outstanding student, Matthew holds a 4.3 grade-point average in Niwot’s International Baccalaureate program, and will attend Stanford University.
While a sophomore at Stanford, she was one of two athletes to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the long jump and the 100-meters. As a junior, she again qualified in the 100-meters in the Outdoor Championships.
Photos
Articles
Records
Personal Honors
Morgan Park High School
Anderson won multiple Illinois State Championships, an NCAA Outdoor title and the Gold at the 2011 World Championships.
Anderson won multiple Illinois State Championships, an NCAA Outdoor title and the Gold at the 2011 World Championships.
Alexanderia Anderson
Morgan Park High School
Impact Statement
Anderson won multiple Illinois State Championships, an NCAA Outdoor title and the Gold at the 2011 World Championships.
Biography
Anderson is about to conclude one of the greatest girls’ track and field careers in Illinois high school history. She will try to win the 100, 200, 400 and long jump titles for the second consecutive year, and if she does so, will be a four-time champion in the 100 and 200. She set a state record in the 100 as a junior, and her time of 11.41 was the fastest high school time in the nation and just 27 hundredths of a second off Marion Jones’ national high school record time. Her times in the 200 and 400 were the second fastest in state history, and her winning long jump (19-11) was the longest in the state tournament in 17 years. She will continue her career at the University of Texas.
While at the University of Texas she was a seventeen time All American. She is a three -time Big 12 Champion and won the NCAA Outdoor 100m in her senior year.
After college Anderson was part of the gold medal team at the 2011 World Championships in Daegue for her leg in the 4x100m relay.
Photos
Articles
Videos
Records
Professional Achievements
Personal Honors
Liberty High School
Owens made an impact on every track her feet have touched.
Owens made an impact on every track her feet have touched.
Ashley Owens
Liberty High School
Impact Statement
Owens made an impact on every track her feet have touched.
Biography
Owens blazed her way into the Colorado elite, along with national recognition by the National High School Coaches Association.
Owens pulled the first ever four-peat double by winning the “4A” 100 and 200 meters at the Colorado state championships beginning with her freshman year. She also doubled up for a pair of wins at the prestigious Great Southwest Classic Track Meet and will attend UNLV where she hopes to better her national indoor record for the 60 meters (7.19).
Owens went on to win the Gold in the 100 meters at the World Junior Nationals.
Owens went on to run for a year at LSU before transferring to UNLV. Ultimately, college running was not for her. She opted to turn professional.
Photos
Records
Professional Achievements
Personal Honors
Los Angeles Baptist High School
“Sports did more for me socially than athletically. Learning how teammates can lift you higher, make you faster, that was vital. Also, just running around connected me with friends. It teaches empathy.”
“Sports did more for me socially than athletically. Learning how teammates can lift you higher, make you faster, that was vital. Also, just running around connected me with friends. It teaches empathy.”
Allyson Felix
Los Angeles Baptist High School
Impact Statement
“Sports did more for me socially than athletically. Learning how teammates can lift you higher, make you faster, that was vital. Also, just running around connected me with friends. It teaches empathy.”
Biography
“There are very few athletes that come along in any sport with the talent and drive that Allyson Felix demonstrates on the track,” said NHSCA executive director Bob Ferraro. “The NHSCA is proud to honor Allyson Felix as the National High School Senior Girls Track Athlete of the Year.”
The California state champion in the 100-meter dash the past three years, and the champion in the 200-meters as a junior and senior, Felix has achieved well beyond even her outstanding prep accomplishments. With at time of 22.11 at the Grand Prix banamex in Mexico City this spring, Felix has announced that she is ready to compete with anyone in the world.
Running times that are besting marks set by legendary runners like Marion Jones, it appears only a matter of time before the entire world, track fans or not, will know Allyson Felix as a household name.
And that was very true, Allyson Felix became a household name and one of the greatest women Track and Field stars to ever set foot on the track. Felix has had an astounding career and she’s still going.
Felix is a nine time Olympic medalist and a six time Olympic Gold Medalist. She holds world records and has won an absurd 25 global medals – between Worlds and Olympics.
Photos
Mountain Pointe High School
“…if I raced smart, I would accomplish my goals.” – Sally Meyerhoff
“…if I raced smart, I would accomplish my goals.” – Sally Meyerhoff
Sally Meyerhof
Mountain Pointe High School
Impact Statement
“…if I raced smart, I would accomplish my goals.” – Sally Meyerhoff
Biography
“Athletes like Sally Meyerhoff are among the success stories produced in high school athletics today,” NHSCA executive director Bob Ferraro said. “She has worked extremely hard to develop her skills and has become one of the best track athletes not only in the state of Arizona, but the entire nation, and we are proud to be honoring her.”
Meyerhoff excelled in both cross country and the distance track events during her career at Mountain Pointe. She was a two-time Class 5A state cross country champion, leading Mountain Pointe to the state team title last fall, and won back-to-back state crowns in the 800-meter, 1,600-meter, and 3,200-meter runs as well. Also an outstanding student, Meyerhoff earned a scholarship to Duke University. Sports Illustrated magazine also recognized Meyerhoff’s distinguished career with a mention in its “Faces in the Crowd” section this year.
Meyerhoff was a was a 2x All American and won the ACC Cross Country individual title in 2004 while at Duke. She graduated in 2006 and competed in the 2008 Olympic Trials.
Sally was at the height of her post collegiate career, while being considered one of the top ten marathon runners, when she her life was cut short. She was tragically struck while on her bike. Sally passed away at the age of 27.
Photos
Records
Professional Achievements
Personal Honors
Samuel F.B. Morse High School
The two time Olympic Gold Medlaist is the only four-time 400 meters California State Champion in the state’s history.
The two time Olympic Gold Medlaist is the only four-time 400 meters California State Champion in the state’s history.
Monique Henderson
Samuel F.B. Morse High School
Impact Statement
The two time Olympic Gold Medlaist is the only four-time 400 meters California State Champion in the state’s history.
Biography
“Athletes like Monique Henderson are among the success stories produced in high school athletics today,” NHSCA executive director Bob Ferraro said. “She has worked extremely hard to develop her skills and has become one of the best track athletes not only in the state of California, but the entire nation, and we are proud to be honoring her.”
Henderson, who will attend UCLA, is the nation’s top female sprinter. She will be going for her third straight state title in the 400-meter dash and her second straight 200-meter title this year. She set the national high school record in the 400 in the state finals last year – her time of 50.74 seconds marked the second week in a row she had set a national record in the event. She also has run the nation’s fastest 200-meter time this year, 23.16 seconds on April 21.
Henderson also has run the 100-meter dash, a race that is not her specialty, in 11.61 seconds, and will try to set Southern Section records in all three events this week.
While at UCLA, Henderson was a 5x Pac-10 Champion. She also won the 2005 NCAA Outdoor Track Championship in the 400-meter dash and set a record that still stands.
Henderson also won a Gold medal in Athens in the 4×400 meter relay, an honor she would repeat in Beijing at the 2008 Olympic Games.
Photos
Records
Professional Achievements
Personal Honors
La Cueva High School
“My philosophy as a coach is you take the kids at the level they come to you and you try to raise them to the next level.” -Jim Ciccarello
“My philosophy as a coach is you take the kids at the level they come to you and you try to raise them to the next level.” -Jim Ciccarello
Jim Ciccarello
La Cueva High School
Impact Statement
“My philosophy as a coach is you take the kids at the level they come to you and you try to raise them to the next level.” -Jim Ciccarello
Biography
For 45 years, Jim Ciccarello has been coaching the track & field teams in New Mexico.
During his thirty-nine years as a high school coach, he has coached more than 200 individual New Mexico State Champions. His teams have combined for eight New Mexico Team Titles. Ciccarello has eight second place finishes, four third place finishes, and his teams have won twenty-four district championships.
Coach Ciccarello has been named Coach of the Year ten times in New Mexico. Ciccarello is the first coach from New Mexico to be named NHSCA National Girls’ Track & Field Coach of the Year.
In 2014, Ciccarello was inducted into the New Mexico High School Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame. He was a member of the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame.
After 51 years, Ciccarello will be entered into his 51st year at the helm of La Cueva’s Girls’ Track & Field team.
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Videos
Records
Professional Achievements
Personal Honors
Northwestern High School
“A humble and focused athlete always wins (in life) and gets the greater piece of the pie.” -Carmen Jackson
“A humble and focused athlete always wins (in life) and gets the greater piece of the pie.” -Carmen Jackson
Carmen Jackson
Northwestern High School
Impact Statement
“A humble and focused athlete always wins (in life) and gets the greater piece of the pie.” -Carmen Jackson
Biography
This past season, Coach Jackson led the Lady Bulls to a state-record eighth straight state championship. In nearly a quarter-of-century as Northwestern’s coach, Jackson has led the school to eleven track and field state titles.
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Records
Warner Robins High School
Cassondra Hall capped a decorated high school career with two first-place GHSA Class AAAAA individual titles.
Cassondra Hall capped a decorated high school career with two first-place GHSA Class AAAAA individual titles.
Cassondra Hall
Warner Robins High School
Impact Statement
Cassondra Hall capped a decorated high school career with two first-place GHSA Class AAAAA individual titles.
Biography
Cassondra Hall capped a decorated high school career with first-place GHSA Class AAAAA individual titles in the 100 and 200 meters. She was also part of the Demons’ 4×100 and 4×400 relay teams, which finished second in the state meet, carrying Warner Robins to a state runner-up finish.
Hall will leave high school and head to run for LSU as a three-time 200-meter and four-time 100-meter state champion, and for the third year in a row, she is the Macon Telegraph’s All-Middle Georgia Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year.
While at LSU, Hall earned All American status three times during her three years as a Tiger. Hall transferred to UNLV to complete her final year of eligibility.
Photos
Personal Honors
Homewood High School
“As a coach, you’re trying to maximize the potential of what you have.” -Tom Esslinger
“As a coach, you’re trying to maximize the potential of what you have.” -Tom Esslinger
Tom Esslinger
Homewood High School
Impact Statement
“As a coach, you’re trying to maximize the potential of what you have.” -Tom Esslinger
Biography
Esslinger led the Homewood girls to their fourth straight state championship in May. Led by sprinter Jasmine Griffin, who won three individual gold medals along with a relay gold, Homewood took home seven gold medals in individual events, plus one in the 4X400 relay. The state title was the tenth overall for Esslinger, who is head coach of the boys’ team as well.
Since taking-over in 2005, Homewood girls and boys have captured ten state titles with nine runner-up finishes. The track and field title gave the Homewood girls a three-peat this year under Esslinger. The Homewood girls also won the cross country and indoor track state titles during the 2016-17 school year.
Coach Esslinger is the second coach from Alabama to win the NHSCA National Girls’ Track and Field Coach of the Year award. Jim Tate of St. Paul’s Episcopal School won it in 2010.
Esslinger remained the coach at Homewood until he was hired as the head coach at Hewitt-Trussville High School in the spring of 2020. Over his tenure at Homewood, he coached 31 State Championships in Cross Country and Track and Field.
Esslinger has continued his winning ways at Hewitt-Trussville. In his first season, both the boys and girls won 7A Indoor State Championships. In the Outdoor State Championships, the boys and girls finished in second place.
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Records
Shelbyville Central High School
Kethlin Campbell captured three gold medals this past year by winning the 100- and 200 meter dash titles, plus the long jump at the Class AAA championships.
Kethlin Campbell captured three gold medals this past year by winning the 100- and 200 meter dash titles, plus the long jump at the Class AAA championships.
Kethlin Campbell
Shelbyville Central High School
Impact Statement
Kethlin Campbell captured three gold medals this past year by winning the 100- and 200 meter dash titles, plus the long jump at the Class AAA championships.
Biography
Kethlin Campbell captured three gold medals this past year by winning the 100- and 200 meter dash titles, plus the long jump at the Class AAA championships. Her winning jump of 20-feet 3.5 inches was the sixth best in the nation in the spring during the 2016-17 school year.
Campbell also won the Tennessee Indoor State Championship in the 200-meter dash and she’s the 60-meter state record holder. Campbell won over 30 medals during her scholastic career. Campbell, who owns a 3.98 GPA, is a member of the National Honor Society and National Society of High School Scholars. She’ll attend Duke on a track and field scholarship. Campbell was also Gatorade’s Tennessee Track and Field Athlete of the Year.
Campbell is the first Tennessee student-athlete to win the NHSCA Girls’ Track and Field Athlete of the Year Award.
Campbell was named Second-Team All-ACC as a Freshman at Duke. At the conclusion of the season, she declared her intent to transfer to the University of Arkansas. As a sophomore, she competed in 16 events. She won the SEC 400-meter with a time of 51.03, placing her second overall in the program’s history. In 2021, she was a member of the second place distance relay team. She is now a four time First-Team All American (2 indoor and 2 outdoor).
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Records
Professional Achievements
Personal Honors
Pioneer High School
“To say he went the extra mile with his students is an understatement. He was there for kids on the track as their coach, but he was so far beyond that.” -E. Claar, AD
“To say he went the extra mile with his students is an understatement. He was there for kids on the track as their coach, but he was so far beyond that.” -E. Claar, AD
Bryan Westfield
Pioneer High School
Impact Statement
“To say he went the extra mile with his students is an understatement. He was there for kids on the track as their coach, but he was so far beyond that.” -E. Claar, AD
Biography
“Bryan Westfield has had Ann Arbor Pioneer competing at the very top levels of track and field from coast-to-coast for the past two decades,” said NHSCA executive director Bob Ferraro. “The NHSCA is proud to recognize Coach Westfield as the National High School Track Coach of the Year.”
Westfield has coached Pioneer High to 16 state championships and six runner-up finishes since 1985. He also has won three Cross Country State Championships and six runnerup finishes. Westfield has also won more than a dozen state high school coach of the year awards through the duration of his career. Individually, he coached 243 All-State Track and Cross-Country runner recipients and 59 All-Americans
Westfield was quite the athlete himself. He was a varsity letter winner in Track and Football, where he did both at Cornell University. He competed in the hurdles at the Olympic Trials and was a team member on the developmental squad for the New York Giants.
In 2009 the running track at Pioneer High School was named in his honor for his commitment to Pioneer and the community.
After completing his 37th season as coach, Westfield passed away in July of 2015 after a battle with esophageal cancer.
Photos
Articles
Community Service
Bethel AME Church
NAACP
Mentoring program through the University of Michigan
Ann Arbor Youth Track Club
Records
Professional Achievements
Summit High School
Turnbull has continued to lead Summit to success on and off the field.
Turnbull has continued to lead Summit to success on and off the field.
David Turnbull
Summit High School
Impact Statement
Turnbull has continued to lead Summit to success on and off the field.
Biography
The school’s only track and field coach since Summit opened its doors in 2001, Turnbull’s boys and girls teams have won seven state team championships in less than a decade.
The Storm swept the 5A state titles last season. Now in his 23rd year of coaching, Turnbull led the boys team to its first 4A state title in 2005. His girls teams, after finishing second in 4A in 2006, are the five-time defending 5A state champions, and are heavily favored to win a sixth straight title this spring.
A Bend native, Turnbull graduated from cross-town Mountain View High School, and competed at Oregon State University, graduating in 1988. Turnbull was an All Pac-10 competitor, clearing seven feet in the high jump and also competing in the long jump, triple jump and the 4×100 relay. A strict disciplinarian, Turnbull administers random drug tests to his athletes and coaches, and forces parents to run laps for using profane language.
Still, nearly 200 student-athletes come out for his boys and girls teams each year. Also a professional musician, Turnbull formed the group “Count Zero” while still a student at Oregon State, and today operates Studio 7 DJ and Recording Services. A six-time Coach of the Year honoree by the Oregon Athletic Coaches Association, Turnbull was named Northwest Region Coach of the Year by the National Federation of State High School Associations in 2006.
Since being honored, Turbull continues to lead at Summit.
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