Boyd wins 1500 at USATF Track and Field National Junior Olympics
By FRED KRONER
Ava Boyd is no longer running alongside fast company.
The Mahomet-Seymour senior-to-be is the fast company others are trying to catch.
Boyd, competing for the Champaign-based Vipers Track Club, solidified her status as one of the nation’s elite prep distance runners on Sunday (July 30) when she won her age division (for 17- and 18-year-olds) in the USA Track and Field National Junior Olympics at the famed Hayward Field, in Eugene, Ore.
Three days after posting the third-best girls’ 1,500-meter qualifying time (personal-best 4:49.02), Boyd outkicked the other 11 finalists and blitzed the field with a new personal-best clocking of 4:46.22.
In an event where she was seeded first, based on results from nationwide regional meets, Boyd beat her closest pursuer by nearly half a second (.48) and cut 2.40 seconds off the time she ran on Thursday (July 28).
Vipers assistant coach Sarah Ganster developed a race plan for Boyd to follow.
“She told me not to take it out and lead, but to trail the front runners and push the third lap (out of four) from behind,” Boyd said.
The strategy was sound. However, implementing it was much tougher.
“She stayed with the leaders and they stayed bunched the first 2 ½ laps,” said Vipers head coach Marques Lowe, from Kankakee. “She sat in the second or third position and then got boxed in.
“She didn’t panic, and in the last 150 meters, coming around the curve, the box broke up a little and she busted out and turned on the jets. We’ve been training her to be patient and to sprint at the end.”
Boyd was elated with how the race turned out.
“I was nervous,” she said, “but I was also confident in my training. I knew I had a shot at winning.
“The last 20 meters I was a little scared someone would pass me. I pretty much gave everything I had after running the other 1,400 meters. I’m thankful for my coaches for getting me here.”
The 18-year-old Boyd finished in 4:46.22. The runner-up crossed the line in 4:47.10
“She got the opportunity to compete against some of the best from Florida, California and Texas, and it was a young girl from Mahomet who brought home the national championship,” Lowe said. “It was one of the best feelings to see her run down the competition and bring home the national championship.”
In her first-ever trip to the outdoor nationals, Boyd had a warmup race on Wednesday in the 800 meters.
“The coaches wanted me to run the 800 to have experience on the track,” Boyd said. “I wanted to get a PR, but I wasn’t competing as hard as I could. I knew I wasn’t planning on competing in the finals.”
In a field of 57 competitors, Boyd placed 23rd in the 800 meters with a time of 2:23.38. She was 5.35 seconds away from securing one of the eight berths in the national finals.
The reward came in her final race, the 1,500 meters.
“I was so excited to get first, and to see the PR added the cherry on the race,” Boyd said.
She credited the 800-meter race with getting her set up for success the remainder of the week.
“Going into my first race, I was extremely nervous,” she said. “(The first-place seeding) messed with my head. It was a good idea to run that. It worked to my benefit.”
She will have a short break from running before she returns to action. Boyd, who ended fourth in the Class 2A division of the IHSA state meet in the 1,600 meters in May (5:07.64), plans to join the M-S girls’ cross-country team in two weeks.
Boyd was one of four Mahomet-Seymour athletes who run for the Vipers who also qualified for the National Junior Olympics outdoor meet.
Two other M-S athletes also earned All-America accolades.
Sophomore-to-be Madalyn Marx ran sixth in the 400 meters in Sunday’s finals in the 15- and 16-year-old age division. Her time was 56.87 seconds.
Marx was running the race for the third consecutive day. She established new career-best times in both of her other 400 races at nationals.
Her number of events took a toll, said Marx, who scratched out of the 200 meters in order to reduce her workload.
“If I’d had more rest, I could have gotten a PR in the finals,” Marx said. “I’m definitely proud. I was seeded eighth and have several more years left (to participate in the Junior Olympics).”
She had the third-quickest 400-meter time in the prelims (56.78 seconds while winning her heat race) on Thursday and dropped more time in the Friday (July 28) semifinals (56.55 seconds while placing second in her heat race), with that day’s fifth-best time overall.
“Being able to run in the 56s three times in a row is amazing,” Lowe said. “She showed she belonged.
“She is one of the hardest workers I know and always has a smile on her face.”
Marx had to make up ground to cement her sixth-place finish on Sunday.
“I had myself in decent position (early), but I fell back,” Marx said. “Around the (last) curve, I picked it up and in the last 80 meters, I passed two girls.”
Lowe was pleased by the tenacity that Marx displayed down the stretch.
“The girls took it out fast and the fact that she was sixth was amazing,” Lowe said. “She fought tooth and nail. Mady is strong and is built for the last half of the race.”
Three of the five runners who placed ahead of her were 16-year-olds who will move up an age-division next year. Marx will remain in the same class for 15- and 16-year-olds for one more year.
“She has much room to grow,” Lowe said, “and will only get better.”
Marx capped a six-month period where she won the 400 meters in the USA Track and field national indoor meet and placed second in the IHSA Class 2A 400-meter state finals at Charleston in May, with a time of 57.18 seconds.
All three of her times at nationals were under the mark she achieved in the IHSA state meet.
In all, Marx ran four competitive 400-meter races in the final three days this week at the USA Track and Field National Outdoor Junior Olympics .
She also ran on the 1,600-meter relay at nationals.
The foursome of Nina Brown, Marx, Noelle Hunt and Isabella Roundtree placed ninth and was one position away from a berth in the finals. Their combined time was 4:03.97.
The Vipers’ 400-meter relay unit consisting of Roundtree, Marx, Trinity Noble and Hunt placed 14th (out of 46 entries) with a time of 48.88. They were less than a second from securing one of the eight berths for the finals. They needed a time of 48.29 to advance.
In her first year of high school, Marx became a four-time All-American. Indoors, in the USA Track and Field national meet, held in Kentucky, besides winning the 400 meters, she placed third in both the 60- and 200-meter sprint races.
Mahomet-Seymour senior-to-be DeAngelo Hughey earned All-American honors for his participation on the Vipers Track Club’s 1,600-meter relay in the boys’ 17-and 18-year-old age division.
The foursome of Amare Harris (Bloomington), Reese Dusek (Dunlap), Hughey and Cedric Sabin (Urbana) captured the sixth-place medal after registering a season-best time of 3:18.88.
The same four runners had qualified in seventh with a time of 3:21.09.
Prior to taking the track on Sunday, Hughey said he and his teammates had one thought on their minds: “what we could do better and hit a PR.”
A first-time participant in the outdoor nationals, Hughey felt honored to be among the country’s elite.
“It was a great experience to be at Eugene and run my events,” Hughey said.
Lowe took a gamble and changed the running order for the 1,600-meter relay for the finals.
Only leadoff runner Harris ran in the same spot for both the semis and the finals. Hughey ran the second leg in the semis and the third leg in the finals.
“We switched the order, but I just ran my race,” Hughey said.
Lowe was pleased by Hughey’s performance in his final race of the season and the final race of the 2023 national meet at Eugene.
“He held his composure and gave us a good split (48.8 seconds),” Lowe said. “It was good to watch him have the end of the season that he had.”
Hughey was also an entrant in the 400 meters, an event which had 85 competitors. He was seeded 12th and qualified for the semifinals with the 13th-best time (48.53 seconds).
However, he fell back in the semis and wound up 22nd with a time of 50.81 seconds.
“I got out strong and was pretty aggressive,” Hughey said. “I stayed with my speed, but around the second curve, I started to die.
“I was happy to still have the chance to be an All-American with the 4-by-4 (relay). That was truly a blessing.”
Hughey earned three All-America citations during 2023. In the USA indoor nationals, he was honored in both the 200- and 400-meter races individually.
The Vipers’ fourth representative from Mahomet-Seymour was recent graduate Cole Marshall. The 18-year-old was among 101 entries in the 200-meter dash for 17- and 18-year-olds.
In the preliminary round on Wednesday (July 26), Marshall was timed in 22.77 seconds and finished 68th.
Besides the M-S athletes who were accorded All-America honors, Rantoul’s Brianna Dixon also achieved that status for the Vipers, who had 34 of their club members participate at outdoor nationals. Dixon was the national runner-up in the 100-meter hurdles in the 17- and 18-year-old age division and also copped a sixth-place finish in the high jump.
“I’m happy with how our athletes are honing their skills and also becoming better people,” Lowe said. “We ended on a positive note.”
The Vipers celebrated their success on Sunday night with a celebratory team meal. Boyd and Marx chowed down on a cheeseburger and fries. Hughey ordered mac and cheese, with bacon.
Not only will the athletes take a short break from running, but the coaching staff will also take time off until after the Labor Day holiday.
“We head back (home) on Tuesday and I’m going to do absolutely nothing for a few days,” Lowe said.
