Latest news with #NewBalanceNationals
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
‘Next-level talents': Record-breaking Central HS relay team qualifies for nationals
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — To qualify for New Balance Nationals, you have to be one of the best in the country. Central High School's boys 4×100 relay team is. 'It's very rare. It's very rare you get a team like this, this good with this dynamic on the track at the same time,' said Central track & field head coach Byron Ragsdale. 'They're all next-level talents.' 14-year-old Maryville golfer one step away from US Open qualification None of the four runners had ever run the relay together coming into this season, but then the blocks lined up perfectly. 'It really happened during practice. We were just competing. We were all just like, 'wait a second, we could do something. We could build a 4×1 team.' So it's just been happening,' said junior Javaston Badgett. Ragsdale said they knew this group had serious potential when they started winning races by multiple seconds. 'Honestly, I feel like we just wanted it more. The chemistry is there,' said senior Niko Townsend. The Bobcats ran into the record books by breaking a longtime school best in the 4×100 and earning an automatic bid to the 2025 New Balance Nationals with a time of 42.2. Greenheck Group to invest $2 million in Carter High School engineering program 'It was really an eye opener of what we could really accomplish,' said Badgett. 'We all jumped around screaming with joy because we worked so hard for the moment so we deserve it,' senior Eric Moore said. Part of the reason the four have been able to be successful is by executing their roles within the relay. Out of the blocks, it's Caleb Harris. 'His reaction time is ridiculous. It's lightning quick,' said Ragsdale. After the first 100, the baton is in the hands of Moore. The second leg the perfect spot for the senior because of his 'top end speed, my ability to catch people,' he said. Then it's a changeover to Townsend. 'I feel like my curve, I run the best curve. Whether we're in last or in first, I'll make it up,' said Townsend. Finally, Badgett serves as the anchor. 'His top end speed is a lot better than a lot of the other kids that we compete against, so it makes sense to put him in that spot,' Ragsdale said of Badgett. The group has neared the 40-second mark in practice, but they're racing towards more. 'We got to 40 really just playing so I think we can reach down to the 39s,' said Badgett. ▶ See more top stories on 'To represent your school, to do something that has never been done before is pretty good,' said Harris. The 4×100 team looking to cross the finish line on making even more history before the end of the season. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
09-04-2025
- Sport
- CBS News
Race walking champ at Long Island high school aims to make Olympic sport more popular
Race walking is an Olympic sport that made its debut more than 100 years ago, but it still doesn't get a lot of attention. Long Island high school athlete Gianna Mauri is hoping to change that. Walking a mile in Mauri's shoes may be the fastest mile you'll ever walk. The Sachem High School East senior is a dominant race walker who can walk a mile faster than most people can run it. "I can run it and feel out of breath, but be able to race walk in a race at that pace," she said. "Sometimes I'm like, 'I race walk at this pace?!'" Mauri won two national titles in the girls' one-mile race walk just three days apart at the New Balance Nationals in Boston and the Nike Indoor Nationals in New York City. "I feel like I made a milestone in my life. I will always look back at this moment, even when I'm struggling, and think I was able to accomplish something that I really didn't think that I would be able to do," she said. Race walking can be incredibly difficult because of the rules which require continual foot contact with the ground while keeping your support leg straight at all times. "Sometimes the rules can be a little stressful. In freshman year, I did get disqualified twice," Mauri said. Her coach Daniel Schaub said that's not unusual for new race walkers. "It's really common for new race walkers to break form early and have to deal with disqualifications," Schaub said. "'G' showed potential right away, and the journey from then has been insane." As if back-to-back titles weren't enough, Mauri beat her time by almost 14 seconds in the second championship for a personal record. "It felt amazing because my personal record was 7:23, and I was also kind of upset that I didn't break that at New Balance," she said. "I thought it would be easy to do, but I was so grateful to be able to break that." "I wasn't surprised and just very proud of her for committing in the way that she has," Schaub said. Mauri hopes people continue to learn more about this sport. Race walking is not offered at every college track program, but Mauri hopes she will inspire that to change. "I feel like sometimes people judge it before they know much about it, they think 'oh that's really easy' when it's difficult," she said. "It's one of those sports that if you work for it, you'll be able to accomplish great things."
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
News 8 Primetime 585 Elite Awards: Boys field
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — Here are the News 8 Primetime 585 Elite Award winners for boys field. Our large school boys award goes to one of the best high jumpers in the nation! This junior is his school's record holder in the high jump for both indoor and outdoor seasons. His regular season featured a 15th place finish at the New Balance Nationals. He finished 4th in the high jump at sectionals, but turned it on for the state competitions. He was first in the state qualifying event with a jump of 6-foot-9. He took that up an inch at the state finals, clearing 6-foot-10 to finish number two in New York. That height placed this athlete among the top 15 high jumpers in the country this winter. Our large school boys field athlete Elite Award winner is Beckham Taylor from Pittsford Sutherland. Our small school winner is another two-time Elite Award winter champ. This junior had a dominant regular season which featured a variety of event wins including a long jump and triple jump championship at the Virginia Showcase, which invites the best high school athletes in the country. At sectionals he won the long jump by five feet, and the triple jump by seven feet! He was first in both events at the state qualifier as well, but elected not to compete in the state championships. His long jump of 24 feet, 10.75 inches was the second-best distance of any jumper in the country. His best triple jump, at 50 feet and 8.5 inches, was number one in the country, by more than five inches. The Elite Award for the best boys field athlete at a small school once again goes to Aiden Bryant at Midlakes High School. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
News 8 Primetime 585 Elite Awards: Girls field
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — Here are the 2024-25 Elite Award winners in girls field. Our large school winner is a senior who has become one of the best throwers in the area. She went undefeated all year in the shot put, and the regular season was highlighted by an invite to the New Balance Nationals — her fourth invite to a national event. At sectionals, she not only won the shot put, but the weight throw as well, both for the second year in a row. She qualified for states in both events, finishing 17th in the weight throw and number six in the shot put. She is a National Honor Society student who has been high honor roll with distinction every quarter of her high school career. She plans on taking her talents to Division I Villanova next year. Our large school girls field award winner is Jane Carey from Webster Thomas. Our small school winner will be on this stage for the second time, but this is her first win for the indoor season. This year, she won a weight throw sectional title for the second year in a row and a shot put title for the third year in a row. Her shot put of 39 feet, three inches was the best at sectionals for any class. She went four feet further in the state qualifier and finished first in that event against the best throwers from every class. She capped her season at the state championship with a runner up in the shot put. She is committed to Division I Western Michigan for next year. The small school girls field elite award goes to Kaylee Oswald of Wellsville. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Washington Post
04-04-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
2024-25 Winter All-Met: Boys' indoor track first team, relays, honorable mention
The following student-athletes were selected to The Washington Post's 2024-25 All-Met team for boys' indoor track and field: Quincy Wilson, Jr., Bullis Fresh off winning an Olympic gold medal at age 16, Wilson returned to dominating the high school scene this winter to win this award for a second straight season. He beat his own under-18 400-meter indoor record at the New Balance Grand Prix in February with a time of 45.66 seconds while running alongside professionals. A month later, he repeated as the 400 indoor national champion at New Balance Nationals with a time of 45.71 seconds and was the anchor of the Bulldogs' record-breaking 4x400 relay team.
