Paths to Olympics stardom began in HS

 

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Genetics. Coaching. Determination. They all play a part in every track and field athlete's path to the Olympic Games. 

Making the U.S. Olympic team in track and field is one of the hardest things to do in sports, with a variables that are both manageable and unmanageable. 

There is no sure-fire way to make the team other than to be amazing on the right day at the Olympic Trials. 

There were many paths to Rio for this year's U.S. team. Some of the athletes were high school superstars and national record-setters. Others didn't become elite until they were in college. Some of them didn't go Division I. Some emigrated to the U.S. and went into the military. 

Some have seemingly always been at the top. Bernard Lagat. Jenny Simpson. Michelle Carter. Galen Rupp. Lashawn Merritt. Allyson Felix.

Others put it all together in 2016 and their names are only now becoming familiar.

A common denominator is that nearly all had some degree of success in high school track. Here is a brief glimpse at where the 2016 U.S. Olympic track team came from:

 

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Justin Gatlin (100/200/4x100), Woodham (Pensacola, Fla.): He won Florida state titles in the 110- and 300-meter hurdles as a senior in 2000 before turning his focus to the flat sprints. Placed third in the 100 (10.36) at Outdoor Nationals. Four years later, after starring at Tennessee for two, he won the Olympic gold medal in the 100 meters at the 2004 Athens Games. He won bronze in the 100 in London in 2012.

Trayvon Bromell (100/4x100), Gibbs (St. Petersburg, Florida): His wind-aided 9.99 at Great Southwest as a high school senior in 2013 showed that he could be a great one. He won the New Balance Nationals Outdoor title in the 100 and was second in the 200. After two years at Baylor he turned pro and seems to be a potential future World's Fastest Man.

Video Interviews from 2013 - New Balance Nationals | Pre-Race Adidas Grand Prix | Post-Race Adidas Grand Prix 

Marvin Bracy (100/4x100), Boone (Orlando, Florida): He ran wind-aided times of 10.05 (2011 U.S. Juniors) and 10.06 (2012 Texas Relays). In addition to Florida state titles he also won a pair of gold medals at the 2011 Pan Am Juniors in Miramar. He played some football for Florida State before turning pro in track in 2013.

Video Interview from 2012 - Brian Jaeger Elite Classic

LaShawn Merritt (200/400), Woodrow Wilson (Portsmouth, Va.): A supreme high school talent who was undefeated as a senior and won the gold medal in the 400 at the World Junior Championships (45.25). He won 2004 Virginia state titles in the 100, 200 and 400 and was US#1 in the 400, US#3 in the 200 (20.72) and US#12 in the 100 (10.47). ... 2008 Olympic champion in the 400 meters; 2009 and 2013 World Champion in the 400.

Ameer Webb (200), Tustin (Tustin, California): He placed fifth in the 200 at the 2009 CIF state finals. He began his college career at Cerritos College and his rapid development led him to Texas A&M, where he swept NCAA indoor and outdoor titles in the 200 in 2013.

Race Video from 2009 - D3 CIF Southern Section 200 Meters

Gil Roberts (400), Edmond Memorial (Oklahoma City): He won Nike Outdoor Nationals in 2007 with 46.16 in the 400 meters. Then he went on to Texas Tech, where he was third in the 400 at the 2012 NCAA Championships. He was also on the gold-medal U.S. 4x400 at the 2012 World Indoor Championships.

David Verburg (400), E.C. Glass (Lynchburg, Virginia): He was fifth in the 400 meters at Nike Outdoor Nationals in 2009 and runner-up at the Virginina Class 3A state meet in both the 200 and 400. He was an All-American and George Mason before becoming a pro. He was on gold-medal winning U.S. 4x400 relay teams at the 2013 and 2015 World Championships.

Clayton Murphy (800), Tri-Village (New Paris, Ohio): He was a pretty good miler and broke the Ohio Div 3 record at the 2013 state meet with 4:11.72. But in that same meet he was also seventh in the 800 meters with 1:56.66. In three years at Akron he lowered his 800 PR to 1:50.03 (2014), 1:47.16 (2015) and 1:44.76 (2016). He turned pro after winning the NCAA 1,500 meters and before winning the Olympic Trials 800 meters.

Boris Berian (800), Widefield (Colorado Springs, Colo.): He ran US#10 46.93 in the 400 meters at the 2011 Colorado state meet, winning the Class 4A title. And he also ran 1:52.18 to win the 800. He made progress for a couple of years at Division 2 Adams State but dropped out and was working in a Colorado Springs McDonald's before an opportunity came up to run with Big Bear Track Club in California. He won the 2016 World Indoor title in the 800 meters.

Charles Jock (800), Mission Bay (San Diego, Calif.): He was a California state champion in the 800 in 2008 and second at Nike Outdoor Nationals. His career took off at UC-Irvine, where he won the 2012 NCAA title in the 800 after taking second the year before. Jock was born in a refugee camp in Ethiopia after his parents fled war-torn Sudan.

Matthew Centrowitz (1,500), Broadneck (Annapolis, Md.): Son of Olympian Matt Centrowitz (1976 and 1980), those great genes were evident in high school. After finishing eighth at the 2006 Foot Locker XC championships, he ran 4:03.40 (mile) and 8:41.55 (two-mile) during a stellar 2007 senior track season. At Oregon he continued to get stronger and was the 2011 NCAA champion and World bronze medalist in the 1,500. He turned pro in November of 2011. He was 2013 World silver medalist in the 1,500 and 2016 World Indoor gold medalist. He was fourth at the 2012 London Games. 

Robby Andrews (1,500), Manalapan (Englishtown, New Jersey): A legendary 800-meter runner in high school (1:48.66 outdoors/1:49.21 indoors) and college (Virginia) there was never any doubt that he had the talent. It was after he turned pro that Andrews' development stagnated and he had a couple of bad seasons. But he righted the ship in 2015 and made the World Championship team and in 2016 made his first Olympic team.

Race video from 2009 - Portland Track Festival HS Boys Mile

Video Interview from 2009 - Nike Outdoor Nationals

Ben Blankenship (1,500), Stillwater (Stillwater, Minnesota): He was the 2006 and 2007 Minnesota state champion in the 1,600 (best of 4:09.10). At the University of Minnesota he broke the four-minute barrier in the mile but retired from college running with a fractured sacrum. After years off to heal and re-charge, Blankenship became a world-class elite athlete for the Oregon Track Club. He missed a spot on the 2015 World Championships team by .02 seconds. 

Evan Jager (3,000 steeplechase), Jacobs (Algonquin, Ill.): As a senior, he was 15th at Foot Locker Midwest but he won the Illinois 2A title in the 3,200. At Outdoor Nationals, he was third in the mile (4:05.68) and fourth in the two-mile (8:47.59) -- behind Centrowitz. He spent at year at Wisconsin before turning pro and following coach Jerry Schumacher to Nike in Oregon. He is the American record holder and the 13th-fastest steeplechaser of all-time. He was sixth in London.

Hillary Bor (3,000 steeplechase), Colorado Springs, Colo.: He moved from Kenya to the United States in 2007 to accept a college scholarship from Iowa State. Joining the U.S. Army with his two brothers offered a path to citizenship.

Donn Cabral (3,000 steeplechase), Glastonbury (Glastonbury, Ct.): A high school standout in New England, he was 21st in his only appearance at Foot Locker (junior year, 2006). On the track as a senior in 2008 he ran US#5 in the mile (4:09.80) and US#6 in the 2-mile (8:56.35). He was the 2012 NCAA steeplechase champion at Princeton and made his first Olympic team shortly thereafter.

Bernard Lagat (5,000), Tucson, Ariz.: The Kenyan born Washington State grad is going strong at 41 years old and made his fifth Olympic team. 

Hassan Mead (5,000), South (Minneapolis, Minn.): He was fourth in the 2006 Foot Locker finals as a standout prep in Minnesota. The Somalia native was a nine-time Big Ten champion at the University of Minnesota and is currently a member of Oregon Track Club Elite in Eugene. He made his first U.S. national team in the 10,000 for the World Championships.

Paul Chelimo (5,000), Beaverton, Ore.: He came to the U.S. from Kenyan to attend NAIA Shorter College in 2010. He later transferred to UNC-Greensboro. In 2014 he started his path to citizenship by joining the U.S. Army and the World Class Athletic Program.

Galen Rupp (10,000/Marathon), Central Catholic (Portland): He played one season of varsity soccer before turning his attention to running under the guidance of Alberto Salazar. He trained with a global perspective from the start and along the way won five state championships, including a breakthrough victory over Lauren Jespersen in the 2002 cross country meet. As a senior, Rupp was second at Foot Locker and in the spring of 2004 he broke national records in the (8:03.67) and 5,000 (13:37.91) and logged 4:01.8 in the mile. He is the U.S. record holder in the 10,000 meters (26:44.36) and earned a silver medal in London in 2012. In his first attempt at the marathon, in February, he won the Olympic Trials race in Los Angeles.

Shadrack Kipchirchir (10,000), Beaverton, Ore.:The Kenyan-born runner competed in college for Western Kentucky and Oklahoma State. He joined the U.S. Army for a path to citizenship and competed for the U.S. at the 2015 World Championships.

Leonard Korir (10,000), Colorado Springs, Colo.: A two-time NCAA champion for Iona in 2011, this Kenyan native joined the U.S. Army and and began competing for the U.S. in 2016.

Meb Keflezighi (Marathon), San Diego (San Diego): An ageless wonder, though six months younger than Lagat, he was a refugee from Eritrea who came to the U.S. with his family in 1987. He competed for UCLA and gained U.S. citizenship in 1998. He was the silver medalist in the marathon in 2004 and became the first American man to win the Boston Marathon in 31 years in 2014.

Jared Ward (Marathon), Davis (Kaysville, Utah): He was a 9:08 2-miler at Davis and placed third in the 5,000 at U.S. Juniors in 2007. After a Mormon mission, Ward stretched his college career all the way to 2014 for Brigham Young before gravitating to the marathon.

Devon Allen (110 Hurdles), Brophy Prep (Phoenix): He was a two-sport star in high school who became a two-sport star at the University of Oregon. He swept the 100, 200, 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles at the Arizona state meet in 2013. The next year at Oregon, as a freshman, he won NCAA and U.S. titles in the 110 hurdles.

Ronnie Ash (110 Hurdles). Knightdale (Raleigh, N.C.): A late comer to track, he took it up as a senior in high school (2008) and found rapid success. He won NCAA titles in college for Bethune-Cookman and Oklahoma. He ran his lifetime best in the semifinals of the 2014 U.S. Championships (12.99).

Jeff Porter (110 Hurdles), Franklin (Somerset, N.J.): He tried several other events before finding a his niche with the hurdles and won the New Jersey Meet of Champions as a junior in 2002. That same spring he placed sixth at the national outdoor championships. He was US#1 in the indoor 55-meter hurdles in 2003. This is Porter's second Olympic team.

Kerron Clement (400 Hurdles), La Porte (La Porte, Texas): A supremely talented high school hurdler, he is No. 7 on the all-time list in the 300 hurdles at 35.42. He won three Texas 5A state titles in the hurdles, but lost the 2003 110-meter final to Jason Richardson 13.51 to 13.52. Clement ran 50.13 to win the Junior Olympic 400 hurdles in the summer of 2003.

Byron Robinson (400 Hurdles), Western Branch (Chesapeake, Va.): A product of powerhouse Western Branch, he was was third in the 400-meter hurdles at the 2013 New Balance Nationals Outdoor. He also anchored his team to the national title in the 4x400. He spent a year at Penn State before transferring to Texas, where he has spent the last two seasons.

Race Video from 2013 - VHSL Eastern Regional 300 Hurdles

Race Video from 2013 - New Balance Nationals Outdoor 4x400 Relay

Video Interview from 2013 - New Balance Nationals Outdoor

Michael Tinsley (400 Hurdles), Joe T. Robinson (Little Rock, Ark.): The Arkansas Meet of Champions winner in 2003 was only ranked US#26 in the 300 hurdles but he continued to develop at Jackson State and then blossomed as a pro. He won the silver medal at the London Games and again at the 2013 World Championships in Moscow. 

John Nunn (50K Racewalk), San Diego: He ran well enough at the 1995 Foot Locker Midwest Regional to gain the interest of coaches at Wisconsin-Parkside, who turned him into a race walker. This is his third Olympic team.

Erik Kynard (High Jump), Rogers (Toledo, Ohio): He won national championships indoors and outdoors in the high jump in 2009, clearing a best of 7-4.50 indoors at the Huron Relays. He also won the indoor national meet as a junior. He competed at the 2008 Olympic Trials at the end of his junior year and placed 17th. As a senior, he also won Toledo city championships in the 110 and 300 hurdles. He was the silver medalist at the 2012 London Games.

Video Interview from 2009 - Nike Outdoor Nationals

Video from 2009 - Nike Outdoor Nationals

Brad Adkins (High Jump), Idalou (Idalou, Texas): He finished second in the UIL Class 2A high jump in 2012 but won the 110 hurdles. His high school best was 7 feet. He made progress at Texas Tech, earning numerous All-America citations. 

Ricky Robertson (High Jump), Hernando (Hernando, Mississippi): A two-time Mississippi Class 4A high jump champion with a HS best of 7-3, Robertson competed for four years for Ole Miss in the long jump and high jump.  

Sam Kendricks (Pole Vault), Oxford (Oxford, Miss.): He cleared a HS-best of 17-0 for his father and coach at Oxford HS. He stayed close to home and progressed rapidly at Ole Miss, where he won back to back NCAA titles in 2013 and 2014.

Cale Simmons (Pole Vault), Rocklin (Rocklin, Calif.): His best high school vault was 16-2 as a senior in 2009. He cracked 17 feet as a sophomore at Air Force and placed fifth in the NCAA Championships in 2012. He dropped out of the sport for a couple of years before making a return in 2016.

Logan Cunningham (Pole Vault), Smithson Valley (Spring Branch, Texas): The 2009 high school graduate had a 16-8 best before going to Texas State. In 2011 he was fourth at the NCAA Championships. His breakthrough came after college, though, when he made 18-8.25 in 2014. He missed the 2015 season and made his comeback in 2016.

Jeff Henderson (Long Jump), Sylvan Hills (North Little Rock, Ark.): The Olympic long jump champion jumped 24-3.75 to win AAU Junior Olympics nine years ago to close out his high school career. He went on to compete for three different small colleges -- Hinds Community College, Florida Memorial (NAIA) and Stillman College (NCAA Div 2). He matured into an elite long jumper after college, earning his first big break by making the 2013 World Championships team.

Jarrion Lawson (Long Jump), Eylau (Texarkana, Texas): He started off primarily as a triple jumper but became an elite long jumper in talent-rich Texarkana, winning the Texas Class 3A meet with US#1 25-8 in 2012. He also had a wind-aided jump of 25-10.75. His success continued through four years at the University of Arkansas.

Mike Hartfield (Long Jump), Manchester (Manchester, Ct.): He was the Connecticut state champion in the long jump and triple jump in 2008. He attended Rend Lake Junior College and then made his way to Ohio State in the fall of 2010. He went on to break Jesse Owens' 77-year-old school record in the long jump at Texas Relays in 2013. He had one podium finish at NCAAs for Ohio State. He has been one of the top U.S. jumpers since turning pro in 2014.

Will Claye (Triple Jump), Mountain Pointe (Phoenix): He was so talented in high school, with junior class PRs of 24-6.50w in the long jump and 52-4.75 in the triple jump that he graduated early and enrolled at the University of Oklahoma before the rest of his class. He was sensational at both Oklahoma and Florida before turning pro and beginning his international career.

Christian Taylor (Triple Jump), Sandy Creek (Fayetteville, Ga.): Before becoming a world and Olympic champion, he was a double World Youth medalist (2007) and a huge talent. In his senior year of high school in 2008, he ran 46.60 for 400, went 25-6 in the long jump and 52-8 in the triple jump. At the University of Florida he developed into a world class athlete.

Chris Benard (Triple Jump), Santiago (Corona, Calif.): He won the CIF Southern Section title in 2008 with 49-6 before going to Arizona State where he made it to NCAAs three times. His breakthrough came in 2014 when he finished third to Taylor and Claye at the U.S. Championships.

Ryan Crouser (Shot Put), Barlow (Gresham, Ore.): Coming from a tremendous family of throwers, he was a marvel in high school. He broke the national record in the indoor shot put (77-2.75) and later broke the national record in the discus (237-6). He had setbacks caused by injuries but maintained a high level through five years at the University of Texas.

Video Interview from 2011 - Nike Team Nationals

Video of Winning Mark - 2011 Nike Team Nationals

Video Interview from 2008 - Oregon State Meet

Video of Indoor High School Record - 2011 Simplot Games

Joe Kovacs (Shot Put), Bethlehem (Nazareth, Pa.): He was a 64-10.75 shot putter and Pennsylvania 2A state champion back in 2007, and he was sixth at Nike Outdoor Nationals. After four years at Penn State he turned pro and placed fourth at the 2012 Olympic Trials. His progress was enormous after that and he won the 2015 World title. 

Darrell Hill (Shot Put), Penn Wood (Philadelphia, Pa.): In high school, he topped 60 feet just once indoors. He was second at the PIAA Class 3A outdoor championships. He went to Houston for a year before transferring to Penn State, where he placed second in the 2015 NCAA Championships.

Mason Finley (Discus), Buena Vista (Buena Vista, Colo.): He was the nation's dominant high school thrower in 2008 and 2009 and he broke the national high school record in the discus with 236-6 at the High Altitude Challenge. As a freshman at Kansas he was NCAA runner-up in the shot put and the discus. He placed as high as second in subsequent NCAA meets but never won a title at either Kansas or Wyoming.

Shot Put Video from 2009 - Arcadia Invitational Winning Attempt

Tavis Bailey (Discus), Brown (Kannapolis, N.C.): He was the North Carolina 3A state champion in the discus in 2010 and threw US#23 191-2 that year as a senior. At the University of Tennessee he placed third in the NCAA in 2014 and second in 2015. 

Andrew Evans (Discus), Portage Northern (Portage, Mich.): A two-time Michigan state discus champion, he had a best mark of 192-7 for US#12 in 2009. He made the World Juniors team in 2010 and finished 10th. He competed at NCAAs three times for the University of Kentucky with a best showing of third in 2013. 

Rudy Winkler (Hammer), Averill Park (Averill Park, N.Y.): He broke the national high school record in the hammer in the summer after he graduated in 2013. He has made progress at Cornell, where he was the NCAA runner-up as a junior in 2016 before winning the U.S. Olympic Trials title.

Conor McCullough (Hammer), Chaminade (West Hills, Calif.): He broke the national high school record in the hammer when he threw 260 feet as a junior in 2008. He also broke the national high school record in the weigh throw. He medaled twice at World Juniors, taking gold in 2010. His father was a two-time Olympian in the hammer for Ireland (1984 and 1988). He competed for Princeton and USC in college and missed making the 2012 Olympic team by one spot. 

Kibwe Johnson (Hammer), North Gwinnett (Suwanee, Ga.): He started out as a discus thrower. He ranked 25th nationally as a senior in 1999 and placed second at the Arcadia Invitational (185-10). He took up the hammer in college, starting at Georgia before ending up at Moorpark Junior College and then Division II Ashland University. His breakthrough came in 2007 when he medaled for the first of three times in the hammer at the Pan Am Games.

Cyrus Hostetler (Javelin), Newberg (Newberg, Ore.): Coming out of a high school program coached by Joe Boutin, Hostetler was third his senior year at the Oregon state meet and fifth at U.S. Juniors. After a stint at Lane Community College, he developed into an elite thrower at the University of Oregon. He broke the Pac-10 record in 2009 with 272-10 and it stood as his personal best for seven years. In a career punctuated by injuries, he made his second Olympic team in 2016.

Sam Crouser (Javelin), Gresham (Gresham, Ore.): Part of a great throwing family, he was a senstational thrower with all three implements. Perhaps the only high school thrower ever with 500 feet in a single meet (63-6.25 SP, 203-9 DT, 244-2 JT). He broke the national high school record with the javelin (255-4) and won two NCAA titles at Oregon. He made the 2015 U.S. team for the World Championships.

Video Interview from 2009 - Oregon State Meet

Video of Federation record from 2009 - Oregon State Meet

Sean Furey (Javelin), Methuen (Methuen, Mass.): He won the Foot Locker Outdoor Nationals in 2000 with a throw 216-3. At Dartmouth he was third in the NCAA javelin in 2005. He was seventh at the 2008 Olympic Trials and made his first Olympic team in 2012 after placing fourth (he had the standard).

Ashton Eaton (Decathlon), Mountain View (Bend, Ore.): A versatile high school athlete in football, wrestling and track, Eaton showed flashes of his skill in the long jump and 200/400 as a high school senior in 2006. He ran 21.69 and 48.69 for state titles and was also a 24-foot long jumper. At the University of Oregon he rapidly turned into a phenomenal decathlete, able to pick up new skills quickly. He was a five-time NCAA champion at Oregon and broke the world record in the decathlon twice to become the World's Greatest Athlete.

Jeremy Taiwo (Decathlon), Newport (Seattle): Primarily a jumper in high school, he scored 5,726 points to win the Washington state decathlon competition as a senior in 2008. His father competed for Nigeria in the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games in the triple jump. At the University of Washington he was second in the 2013 NCAA decthlon. He competed in the 2013 and 2016 World Championships but was unable to finish the 10 events either time.

Zach Ziemek (Decathlon), Lake Park (Itasca, Ill.): He was an excellent jumper and pole vaulter who won Illinois state titles in the long jump, triple jump and pole vault as a senior in 2011. At the University of Wisconsin, he won Big Ten decathlon titles in 2013 and 2014. In 2016 he placed second at NCAAs before scoring even better at the Olympic Trials to secure a berth on the U.S. team.

Mike Rodgers (Relay Pool), Berkeley (St. Louis, Missouri): After high school he became a 10-time NAIA champion in the sprints at Lindenwood University and Oklahoma Baptist.

Tyson Gay (Relay Pool), Lafayette (Lexington, Kentucky): One of the top sprinters in the country when he graduated in 2001, he attended Barton Community College and the University of Arkansas on the way to becoming the American record holder in the 100 meters. His failed drug test in 2013 cost the U.S. 4x100 relay team its 2012 Olympic silver medals.

Christian Coleman (Relay Pool), Our Lady of Mercy (Atlanta, Georgia): The 2014 high school graduate won the 100 at the Brooks PR Invitational and was second at New Balance Nationals Outdoor. He competes for the University of Tennessee and placed second behind Jarrion Lawson in both the 100 and 200 at the 2016 NCAA Championships.

Video Interview from 2014 - Brooks PR Invitational

Arman Hall (Relay Pool), St. Thomas Aquinas (Pembroke Pines, Florida): A high school star, he was a World Youth champion and the silver medalist in the 400 meters at the 2012 World Juniors with 45.39 seconds. His success has continued at the University of Florida. 

Video Interview from 2012 - Florida State Championships

Tony McQuay (Relay Pool), Suncoast (Riviera Beach, Florida): He won Florida 2A state titles in the 100 and 400 in 2009. He won three NCAA titles at the University of Florida and is a two-time World champion on the U.S. 4x400 relay and an Olympic silver medalist from London.

Kyle Clemons (Relay Pool), Rowlett (Rowlett, Texas): He was the Texas Class 5A champion in the 400 meters (46.35). He continued to develop at the University of Kansas but did not make an NCAA final despite a pair of Big 12 titles. He was the bronze medalist in the 400 at the World Indoor Championships in 2014.