EUGENE, Oregon -- USATF Junior Championships open Thursday morning to kickoff USATF Outdoor Championships at Historic Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene, Oregon.
 
The Junior Championships, contested June 25-27, serve as the selection meet for the 2015 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships, which will take place July 31-August 2, 2015, in Edmonton, Canada. The top-two finishers in each event qualify for the team. In addition to athletes selected in individual events, USATF will also select up to two additional athletes for each relay team/pool (men’s and women’s 4 x 100 and 4x 400), with this selection to be based on competitive considerations.
 
In field events, the Cunningham siblings, children of NFL great Randall Cunningham, should bring excitement to their respective high jump events as both son Randall and daughter Vashti sit atop junior lists with clearances of 2.24m/7-04.25 for the 6-6, USC freshman Randall and 1.946m/6-04.25 from his 17-year-old sister. Vashti’s mark, set at Mt. SAC Relays, is a national high school record, met the “A” standard for the IAAF World Track & Field Championships and remains the best U.S. height for 2015.
 
World Junior shot put gold medalist, Raven Saunders just completed her freshman year at of Southern Illinois University, where she earned indoor (18.62 61-01.25) and outdoor (18.35) national titles as a rookie. Saunders is the U.S. Junior leader in the event after tossing a personal personal best at NCAA Outdoors. 
 
World Junior silver medalist Dior Hall of UCLA is the current 100m hurdles leader. She ran 12.74 at NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships on June 13. Joining her in the field is Jacklyn Howell of Kentucky, second on the junior list, who ran 13.07 at SEC Championships on May 15 in Starkville, Mississippi.
 
California high schooler Michael Norman tops the U.S. juniors with a 20.30 0.7-leading 200m time set at the California State Meet. Norman, who also leads all 400m juniors (45.19), will be challenged in the 200m by 2014 Youth Olympic gold medalist Noah Lyles. Lyes is second on the junior list after running 20.48 at the Caribbean Scholastic Invitational in Havana, Cuba, on June 13.
 
Donovan Brazier and Robert Ford will toe the line in the men’s 800m as they rank first and second on the junior list. Brazier holds the edge 1:48.07 to 1:48.12.
 
In the men’s 1500m, junior leader Blake Haney comes into the event with a 2015 best of
3:41.27 set at the Payton Jordan meet. Challenging Haney will be Grant Fisher, adidas Dream Mile champion and the seventh U.S high schooler to break four minutes in the mile. The entire 1500m field approaches the event with times under 3:48.
 
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