Tyreek Hill moved to No. 2 on the all-time leaderboard for the 200-meter dash.
Photo by Ralph Epifanio/FLRUNNERS.COM
Tyreek Hill, a senior from
Coffee (Douglas, Ga.), was a virtual unknown in track outside of Georgia, that is until the past weekend when he rocketed into the national headlines.
The muscular Hill exploded with a USA all-time No. 2 clocking when he won the 200-meter dash in a blazing 20.14 seconds during the 36th Golden South Classic in Orlando, Fla. Entering the meet, his personal record was 20.94. He barely missed the national record of 20.13, which was recorded twice in 1985 by Roy Martin of Roosevelt (Dallas).
He also tied for the 2012 national-best when he ran the 100 dash in 10.19 seconds during the trials. However, he finished second in the finals with a 10.41 clocking behind defending champion Levonte Whitfield, a junior from
Jones (Orlando, Fla.), who was timed in 10.38.
Discussing the 200 effort, Jason Byrne of MileSplit wrote, "That time made all the more amazing being that it was his fourth race in a long, hot day of track. The perfect start. The perfect drive. The perfect race. Incredible!"
Hill has signed to play football at Garden City Community College in Kansas, but his brilliant effort earned him a berth in the Adidas Dream 100 June 9 in New York City. Suddenly, he may have an even bigger future in track.
* Elsewhere, Pennsylvania's Class AAA state meet produced an outstanding javelin effort by Bill Stanley, a senior from
South Park (Pa.). His throw of 246 feet, 9 inches broke the state record, was the best in the nation this year and is No. 2 all-time to Sam Crouser's record of 255-4 in 2010. Ironically, his name had been accidentally omitted from the meet program.
Stanley told Mike White of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "As I was walking out (to get the javelin after the record throw), it was pretty memorable. My coaches were bawling their eyes out. I could see all my family crying. Everything was right. It didn't even feel like I threw it that hard."
Eric Futch of
Penn Wood (Lansdowne, Pa.), who had been suspended, was reinstated just in time to win three gold medals. He captured the 300 hurdles in 36.68, the 200 in 21.70 and anchored the winning 4x400 relay (3:15.04).
Homer-Center (Homer City, Pa.) senior Angel Piccirillo set two Class AA state records by winning the 800 in 2:09.16 and the 1,600 in a 2012 national-best time of 4:39.42.
* A couple very old records were eclipsed during the Washington state meet. Amy-Eloise Neale, a junior from
Glacier Peak (Snohomish, Wash.), broke a 29-year-old Class 3A record when she won the girls 800 in 2:10.32.
Camas (Wash.) freshman Alexa Efraimson also bested the record with a runner-up time of 2:10.51.
Seattle Prep sophomore Joe Hardy also broke a 29-year-old record when he won the 3,200 in 8:55.22.
Izaic Yorks of
Lakes (Lakewood, Wash.) set 3A records by winning the 800 in 1:50.56 and the 1,600 in 4:04.77 - just off his national-leading time of 4:04.
* Other new national leaders are
Rice Lake (Wis.) star Wally Ellenson, who tied several others at 7-1 in the high jump; and Nnenya Hailey of
Mount Vernon Presbyterian (Atlanta), who ran the 400 hurdles in 59.02.
*
Winters Mill (Westminster, Md.) senior Hannah Oneda broke a 30-year-old record when she won the Class 2A 3,200 in 10:52.01.
* University of Nebraska recruit Jonah Heng of
West (Shawnee Mission, Kan.) broke a 33-year-old record when he won the Class 6A 3,200 in 9:06.64.
