Trevor Foley competed in the final event of the USATF Junior Outdoor Championships Saturday night. The 10,000 meter field only consisted of seven runners, which meant the Citrus Park Christian senior and University of Florida signee had a great chance at placing in the top two and earning a spot on Team USA in Finland.
Foley, who showcased his range this year winning the 1A Cross Country Finals in the fall and sweeping the 800, 1,600, and 3,200 in the spring, jumped out to the lead early on. Through 4,400m the speedster could taste the chance to make his second national team (he also represented the USA at the NACAC Championships in El Salvador).
"I talked to John (Aho) before the race and we basically wanted to run 74s throughout the race," Foley said. Right when I got to four miles I decided to cramp up and I just started dying. I got a blister in my foot as well."
Foley slipped back to third in the second half of the race and couldn't move up. He crossed the line in 32:43.42 behind John Aho of Michigan (32:07.08), and Hociel Landa of Rice (31:22.33).
"This race was a learning curve and that's what I wanted to get out of it," he said. "I did the 8k in cross country in February so this got me prepared for college. I thought I had a good chance at running under 31 minutes because I've done that multiple times in practice, but tonight wasn't my night."
He called the experience of USA Juniors a mental grind and says he sucked up the seven to nine laps, which hurt pretty bad. Ultimately, he was happy with how it went despite being a long season.
"I'm not disappointed," he added. "I'm just ready to get to college and call it a day with high school."
So what are his plans for his time at UF?
"I'd definitely like to do the 5k at the next level and maybe the 10k at some point, Foley told us. "I'll know where I fit in with the team when I get there. I'm going to work my butt off and help them and hope they can help me. If everyone does their best then the team will be pretty good."
Other Notable Performances:
- The women's 400m dash had some Florida flare. Former Southridge standout and current University of Miami freshman Symone Mason won her heat in 52.33, the second fastest time of the prelims. Northeast High School junior Jan'Taijah Ford, a three-time 400m state champion in 3A, was third in her heat and dropped the sixth fastest time of the day, 52.87, just shy of her personal best of 52.82s. University of Florida freshman Taylor Manson posted the fastest time of any 400m runner of the day.
- Archbishop McCarthy alum Madi Malone, now a freshman at Auburn didn't get to throw the hammer in high school competition very much. Malone, who did most of her event with the Broward Elite Athletic Club threw the hammer 193'05" which was good enough for fourth place.
- Several athletes who attend Florida colleges also performed well. Cory Poole of Florida doubled up winning the 400m hurdles to go with his 110m hurdle victory from Friday. Miami freshman Hasani Knight was runner-up in the triple jump to earn his spot on Team USA at the IAAF U20 World Championships in Finland. Jayla Kirkland of FSU won her heat and was second overall in the 200m prelims with a time of 22.93 behind only Lauren Rain Williams of Oregon.
- In the 110m hurdle finals, Cortney Jones of FSU finished second in 12.91s. Miami Jackson alumni and University of Miami freshman Tiara McMinn was fourth in 13.12.
- Former Lakewood Ranch jumper and Florida state champion Sophia Falco, now at Vanderbilt, was 12th in the triple jump.