National Scholastic Athletics Foundation

Forty-eight of the 63 Team USA athletes who earned medals in last weekend’s 20th Pan American Under-20 Championships have with the National Scholastic Athletics Foundation (NSAF) ties either through participation in New Balance Nationals Indoor (NBNI) and Outdoor Championships (NBNO), or Team NSAF programs and events.

NSAF athletes won 26 Gold, 15 Silver and 7 Bronze medals during the competition in San Jose, Costa Rica – 77 percent of all medals won by Team USA. The full list of Team USA’s Pan Am U20 medal winners and their most recent NSAF accomplishments is detailed in an extensive and appealing graphic from NSAF partner TRACS, Inc. You can view and download the PDF version of the graphic HERE or view the large images below. 

Team USA set three relay World U-20 records during the meet, and 10 of the 12 legs were NSAF athletes:

• The first and last legs of the Team USA 4x400 women’s squad that ran 3:24.04 to crush the World U20 mark by more than 3.5 seconds (USA, 3:27.60, 2004) were the 2018 and 2019 NBNO 400 champs: Alexis Holmes (51.21) and Kayla Davis (51.17)– who had also won Silver and Gold for Team USA in the open 400. NBNO 400m 7th- and 5th-place finishers Kimberly Harris and Ziyah Holman ran the middle legs during the scorching performance.
• The record-setting Team USA men’s 4x400 (2:59.30) was anchored by Justin Robinson (43.54) – who “only” ran a 4x200 leg at NBNO this year, but was the NBNI 400m champ in March. He was preceded by Frederick Lewis, Matthew Boling (see below) and Matthew Moorer (6th, 2018 NBNI 200).
• The night before, it was Boling who anchored the record-setting 4x100 (38.62), preceded by Arian Smith, Justin Ofotan and Marcellus Moore. Otofan was the 2018 NBNO 100m runner-up, while Moore not only was the 60m runner-up at this year’s NBNI, but also repped Team NSAF in Iceland this past winter – with individual (60m) and relay (4x200) victories.

Boling had earlier dashed to Gold medals in the 100m (10.11) and 200m (20.31), meaning that the relay triumphs made him the first 4xGold-Medal winner in meet history. Naturally, he was selected as the Pan Am U-20 Athlete of the Meet. Boling was chosen for Team NSAF last year to compete in the 400m and long jump in the Bahamas – before his uber-successful “experiment” at 100 and 200 this year – then was 6th in the NBNO long jump. What a difference a year can make!

Also, Team USA’s winning and near-record women’s 4x100 included two NSAF athletes: NBNO 200 champ and NBNI 60m runner-up Thelma Davies – who was also the 100m Silver medalist here – and Semira Killebrew, the 3rd place finisher in that NBNI 60.

Here are some of the other top Team USA / NSAF superlatives in individual events:

• Anna Hall, who won Pan Am heptathlon gold with a meet and HS national record 5,847w (5,829 legal), was a 3-time NBNI pentathlon champ and meet record-setter, plus a member of Team NSAF’s squad in Cuba in 2017.
• Both short hurdle Gold medalists here are NSAF veterans. Jasmine Jones won the NBNO 100H last month, despite a severe spike wound with Team NSAF in Cuba a week earlier (she still medaled in that meet). Meanwhile, Team NSAF alum Eric Edwards (Cuba, 2017) – also the NBNO 110H runner-up in ’17 – won his second straight Pan Am 110H, matching his victory two years ago in Peru.
• Athing Mu, who swept the NBN indoor and outdoor 800s in 2018, then was 400m runner-up at NBNO last month, ran to 800 Gold here.
• Project Javelin Gold thrower Skylar Ciccolini, took Silver here after winning NBNO this year and also Team NSAF’s meet in the Bahamas last spring. Meanwhile, men’s javelin Gold medalist Tzuriel Pedigo was the 2018 NBNO champ and trained frequently with the Project.
• Claire Bryant, the long jump Gold medalist, leapt to 2nd and 3rd in the past two NBNO meets and also repped Team NSAF with a victory in Cuba this year.
• 2019 NBNO mile champ Marlee Starliper ran to a strong Silver medal performance in the women’s 3,000.
• In the pole vault, 2018 NBNI champ Natassja Campbell won Gold for the women here, while 2019 NBNI champ Max Manson captured Bronze for the men.
• 2019 NBNI pentathlon winner Jett Kinder took Silver here in the decathlon.
• 2018 NBNO high jump champs Charles McBride and Shelby Tyler won Silver and Bronze, respectively, in their event here.
• Lanae-Tava Thomas, the 200m Gold Medalist, was runner-up in the 2018 NBNO long jump and also ran on three NBN sprint medley champions while at Rush-Henrietta HS.
• Masai Russell, who ran in several NBN championship and All-American squads while at Bullis School, won her 2nd Pan Am medal at 400m hurdles, upgrading her ’17 Bronze to Silver.
• 3,000m steeplechase Gold medalist Lydia Olivere ran on the NBNI runner-up 4x800 for Padua School in 2018.

Again, check out the PDF version of the full Team USA/NSAF Infographic HERE and see directly below for the images.