Teams coordinated by Fred Baer, founder, Track and Field Writers of America. Boys selections by Jack Shepard, high school editor of Track and Field News.
Criteria included ranking on USA TODAY and Track and Field News national lists and the number of top performances, along with head-to-head competition during the regular season and in major postseason meets.
Chris Nilsen (Photo: Ross Martin Platte County Citizen)
MORE:
Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year: Noah Lyles, Williams (Alexandria. Va.)
Boys Track & Field Coach of the Year: Doug Soles, Great Oaks (Temecula, Calif.)
Long Sprints and Middle Distance
Below are the athletes selected for jumps (high jump, pole vault, long jump, triple jump). Returning ALL-USA selections are denoted with asterisks (*).
w = wind-aided (more than 2.0 meters a second). i = performed indoors.
VERTICAL JUMPS (high jump, pole vault)
First Team
Darius Carbin
School: Mt. Pleasant (San Jose, Calif.)
Year: Senior
Height, Events: 7-3 1/4, HJ
Chris Nilsen
School: Park Hill (Kansas City, Mo.)
Year: Senior
Height, Events: 18-4 1/2, PV
Mondo Duplantis
School: Lafayette, La.
Year: Sophomore
Height, Events: 18-0, PV
Vernon Turner
School: Yukon, Okla.
Year: Junior
Height, Events: 7-4 1/2, HJ
TRACKINGS: Duplantis has now set freshman and sophomore class records and is the youngest to clear 18 feet. He has also surpassed the 17-11 3/4 family record set by his father Greg in 1981 – which was then the high school record. With Nilsen’s record smashing pacing the vaulters this season at 18-4 1/2, there remains just nine high schoolers who have ever cleared 18 feet. The South Dakota recruit became the first prep to go over 18 feet four times. Turner (and second team pick Noah Martin) both made it to the U.S. Olympic Trials in the high jump but failed to advance in the rain-hampered qualifying round. California state high jump champion Carbin won the USATF Junior National title.
Second Team
Jaron Brooks
School: Clay (Lexington, Ky.)
Year: Senior
Height, Events: 7-2 1/4, HJ
Jett Gordon
School: Marina (Huntington Beach, Calif.)
Year: Senior
Height, Events: 17-2, PV
Noah Martin
School: University (Spokane Valley, Wash.)
Year: Senior
Height, Events: 7-3, HJ
HORIZONTAL JUMPS (long jump, triple jump)
First Team
Rayvon Grey
School: Beacon, N.Y.
Year: Senior
Distance, Events: 25-4 3/4 (26-0 1/4i), LJ
Dexter Neboh
School: Permian (Odessa, Texas)
Year: Senior
Distance, Events: 49-9 3/4, TJ
Harrison Schrage
School: Grant (Portland, Ore.)
Year: Senior
Distance, Events: 25-3 1/4, LJ
*Ja’Mari Ward
School: Cahokia, Ill.
Year: Senior
Distance, Events: 25-6 3/4, LJ
TRACKINGS: Ward led the outdoor season lists in both horizontal jumps and bounced back from an early May dislocated kneecap to win the USATF Junior National long jump title. He ranks fifth on the all-time high school triple jump list. Grey, after becoming only the third high school athlete to long jump over 26 feet indoors, had a great outdoor season that included titles at the NB Nationals and Penn Relays, in addition to the New York state championship. Texas state champ Neboh was the NB Nationals triple jump winner and the top high school finisher at the USATF Nationals.
Second Team
Isaiah Holmes
School: Oakmont (Roseville, Calif.)
Year: Senior
Distance, Event: 25-5, LJ
Christian Miller
School: Northside (Lafayette, La.)
Year: Senior
Distance, Event: 50-11 3/4, TJ