Stepanov and Miller are Golden at National Junior Olympic Championships in Oregon

Results 

On Sunday (30-Jul) the 2023 USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships concluded in Eugene, Oregon. The championships were held at Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon.

7719 athletes competed  during the seven days of competition that began on Monday (24-Jul).  USATF Colorado was represented by 76 athletes who competed in 125 individual events and three (3) relays.  

The Colorado athletes won three national titles, had four runner-up finishes and turned in an additional 12 all-American performances by way of finishing in the top eight in an event.  Each all-American was presented with a championship medal, an all-American patch, and the always coveted Junior Olympic all-American hat. 

NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!

Robert Stepanov (unattached) won two national titles in the 9-10 Boys division while Max Miller (Kokopelli Kids) joined Stepanov as a national champion and also just missed a second title as he earned a hard fought silver medal while competing in the 13-14 Boys division. Both competed in the 800m and 1500m events. Stepanov (pictured above), the 2022 national champion in cross country, won both of his titles over a span of five hours on Saturday. At just before 4 pm he ran to victory in the 800m stopping the clock in a new personal best of 2:19.39 to defeat Idris Cooper of Texas by .52 seconds. His previous best of 2:20.06 was set at the Region 10 Championships two weeks earlier. At 9 pm he toed the line in the 1500m and again ran a personal best as he defeated Nathaniel Mendez of Texas by over three seconds.  His time of 4:51.62 was over five seconds faster than his winning time at the region championships where he set his previous best. Stepanov was the 2022 USATF Colorado Athlete of the Year (9-10 Cross Country).
  Similar to Stepanov, Miller (pictued above) competed in both the 800m and 1500m but was fortunate to have the finals on separate days. On Saturday, in a battle to the line where he was still in third place with 30m to go, he won the 1500m title as he stopped the clock at 4:12.93; defeating Henry Peterson of New York by .07 seconds and Bobby Franklin of Pennsylvania by .10 seconds. Prior to arriving in Eugene his personal best was 4:24.92. In the qualifying round he lowered that to 4:14.86 and then ran nearly two seconds faster in the final to capture his first national Junior Olympic title. In the 800m finals he finished second running 2:01.79 as Franklin won in 2:00.73. The time broke his previous personal best of 3.07 seconds set in the 1st round qualifying heats. Prior to Eugene his best was 2:07.92. Miller was the 2022 USATF Colorado Athlete of the Year (13-14 Track & Field).

SILVER FOR COLORADO TRIO

In addition to Miller's runner-up finish in the 800m,  Kobe Dooley (Colorado Springs Striders), Chamorra Cooper (Kokopelli Kids), and Aaron Kucinski (Drift Motion Pole Vault) all earned silver medals and all-American honors. Dooley (pictured above), competing in the 15-16 Boys division, ran 49.33 to finish second in the 400m as Stefon Dodoo of Pennsylvania won. Dooley also finished 21st in the 200m running 22.45.  In the 13-14 Girls 3000m Cooper (pictured above) ran 10:02.68 to finish second to Region 10 rival Gianna Rahmer (9:59.85) of New Mexico. Cooper's time was a personal best by over 28 seconds. She also ran a personal best in the 1500m (4:48.30) as she earned her second all-American honor; placing sixth. Her previous best of 4:49.74 was set in the qualifying round and her previous best prior to arriving in Eugene was 4:54.52. Cooper was the 2022 USATF Colorado Athlete of the Year (13-14 Cross Country)

In the 15-16 Boys Pole Vault Kucinski improved his personal best to 4.50m (14-9¼) as he finished second to Khaliq Muhammad (4.80m / 15-9) of California. His previous best (14-5¼) was set in winning the Region 10 Championships two weeks earlier. He had also cleared the same height to win the Colorado title in June.

THEY SURE LIKED BEING ON THE PODIUM

Three other Coloradans earned multiple all-American honors and visits to the awards podium to be draped with their championship medals and all-American hats. Earning three all-American honors was Kahlael Allen (Blazers TC - pictured above) in the 11-12 Boys division. Allen, the 2002 USATF Colorado Athlete of the Year (11-12 Track & Field) finished fifth in the 800m (2;15.56), sixth in the 1500m (4:38.87) and seventh in the 3000m (9:56.06). His times in the 1500m and 3000m were personal bests while his 800m time was just .28 off the time he turned in to win the Region 10 championships two weeks earlier. The 1500m time broke his previous best by over 7 seconds and his time in the 3000m was a best by over 29 seconds.

  Zia Fadil (unattached - pictured above) earned two bronze medals as she finished third in the 11-12 Girls 1500m and 3000m races. In the 1500m she stopped the clock at 5:01.23; a personal best by 2.03 seconds and her time of 10:30.36 in the 3000m broke her previous best.  Greyson Romero (Penguins XC & TC - pictured above), the 2022 USATF Colorado Athlete of the Year (8U Cross Country), earned two all-American honors as he finished fourth in the 800m (2:39.54) and fifth in the 1500m (5:21.94) in the 7-8 Boys division. His time in the 800m was a personal best by 1.49 seconds while his time in the 1500m was a personal best by over 15 seconds.

IT'S GREAT TO BE AN ALL-AMERICAN

Other Coloradans earning all-American honors were:

THIRD PLACE

Tavon Underwood (200m 17-18 Boys, Unattached)
Zenobia Witt (Triple Jump 13-14 Girls, Alpha and Omega Athletics)

SIXTH PLACE

Evan Dann (1500m 13-14 Boys, Unattached)
Ryan Martinez (Pole Vault 15-16 Boys, Northern Colorado Pole Vault)

SEVENTH PLACE

Sofia Herf (Pole Vault 15-16 Girls, Unattached)

The complete Colorado results scoreboard can be found here. 

The 2024 national championships are scheduled for College Station, TX July 22-28.

The 2023 USATF National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships will be held in Louisville,, KY on December 9