USATF Outdoors
At the outset of this weekend, I did not intend to write this article but as I started watching the USATF Outdoor Championships and refreshing the results more and more familiar names kept popping up. Baylor Franklin, Elijah Dryer, and Jalen Tate were all names I knew immediately since I coached against them in Section 3 and after I saw they were all competing in Eugene this weekend I messaged some of my counterparts in the community and asked "Hey, I think I'm going to write a recap for Tennessee athletes from this weekend, so far I have this. Is there anyone I'm missing?" As it turns out, those three names were less than half of the total competitors in action who called Tennessee home high school athletes. Here's a quick recap of who they are and what they did.
Baylor Franklin - Wilson Central Class of 2018
With this performance, Franklin becomes the fastest Tennessean ever over the 800m distance breaking the record of 1:46.30 previously held by Quamel Prince. This is just shy of an 8 second improvement from his high school PR of 1:53.64.
Race Highlight: Baylor Franklin Wins 800m At Eastern Relays
Willington Wright - Hardin Valley Academy Class of 2018
Willington Wright would place 10th in the semi-finals missing the final heat by just 2 qualifying spots. This winter, Wright, and the Longhorn Men, won the NCAA National Indoor Championship.
Race Highlight: Willington Wright Win 400m State Title
Jalen Tate - West Creek Class of 2017
In the spring of 2017, Jalen Tate went from never competing in track and field before to winning the state triple jump title by almost three feet. His 48-5.75 is #7 All-Time in our database. 16.51m converts to 54' 2".
Elijah Dryer - Ravenwood Class of 2017
2017 was also Elijah Dryer's first and only year as a high school track athlete and managed to finish 2nd overall in the 200m dash. While he didn't land at an SEC school immediately like Tate (above) did he eventually found a home with Ole Miss. He would end his collegiate career with PRs of 10.42 and 20.71 outdoor for the 100m and 200m respectively. In Eugene, Dryer ran 21.40 in the opening round of the open 200m.
Dear Younger Me: Dryer's Letter To His Younger Self
Maia McCoy - Whitehaven Class of 2015
Maia McCoy is no stranger to Eugene. She made the trip multiple times for the NCAA Outdoor Championships as a Vol and again shortly after graduating at last year's US Outdoors. She ran in both the opening rounds of the 100m and 200m dash prelims. She currently runs for Star Athletics Track Club.
Race Highlight: McCoy Wins 2014 AAA 100m Dash
Alex Young - Lavergne Class of 2012
Alex Young is a name I did not recognize when a colleague in the community texted it to me but it's a name you and I should know considering he qualified and competed for Team USA in the Olympics in 2021! The Lavergne graduate won the Shot Put State Championship in 2012 and placed 3rd on Saturday in the Hammer throw with a toss of 251-4. He currently ranks 21 in the world in the event. I'm not 100% sure if he'll throw in Eugene at the World Championships later this year or not as I'm not an expert on how qualifying works with the standards system but if he does I'll be sure set a reminder to tune into the event feed for hammer when he does.
More On Young: IAAF Profile | Journey To Tokyo
Sharika Nelvis - Memphis Northside Class of 2009
In 2009, Sharika Nelvis won the 100m, 200m, 100m Hurdles, and 300m Hurdles in the same state championship AND had to run prelims for every event! Not to mention she placed runner up in the pentathlon scoring a solo 48 points for Memphis Northside which no longer exists (or was renamed). Since she has become an NCAA Champion, a US Champion, a Diamond League Champion (see above) and placed 4th in the World Indoors in 2018. She qualified for the semi-finals last week in the 100m Hurdles but unfortunately fell and did not finish.
More On Nelvis: Instagram | Wikipedia
Former Tennesseans
Over the course of the competition, Tennesseans had a qualifier in almost every event category: Sprints, Hurdles, Distance, Throws, Horizontal Jumps. We were only lacking a vertical jumper. But keep in mind, this was only the US Championships. If you widen the lens, more Tennesseans come into focus.
Former Ensworth Tiger Tyra Gittens competes nationally for Trinidad and Tobago whose National Championships also took place this weekend.
While the focus of this site is on high school athletes, when those athletes continue to accomplish things in track and field and cross country beyond our purview, we'll try our best to shine light on those performances. This weekend was a great opportunity to do so and I learned a lot about a couple of former athletes in the process. Hope you did too.
*Please reach out if we missed anyone and apologies in advance if we did.