What are the Junior Nationals?
The U.S. Junior National Track & Field Championships are open to athletes who will not turn 20 during the year of competition (for 1999 that would be athletes who were born in 1980 or later). The fields of competition are typically made up of about one-half first year collegians and about one-half high school athletes. This mixture has proven to be a good one for high school athletes. The 1998 Junior Championship Meet in Edwardsville, Illionois at Southern Illinois University, was headlined by the presence of Track & Field News Prep Male and Female Athletes of the Year, Greg Yeldell of North Carolina and Angela Williams of Chino, California. Both athletes went on to star for the U.S. Junior National team in the World Junior Championships in Annecy, France, with both setting U.S. High Schools records during involvement with the 1998 Junior program (Williams set the High School 100 Meter record of 11.11 at the U.S. Junior Meet, with Yeldell extending the U.S. High School best in the Trip
