Exciting American lineup features teenage standouts Beckmon, Brahe-Pedersen, Moll, Shea, Sirmon, Sumner and Wiley during three-day event; Beckford, Mullings highlight Jamaican roster, with Hassan and LoStracco part of Canadian team and Bahamian star Strachan also scheduled to compete

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

The United States will return to the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association (NACAC) Under-23 Championships for the first time since 2019, with the 12th edition of the three-day event beginning Friday at the National Stadium in San Jose, Costa Rica.

The Americans captured 27 golds and 56 overall medals four years ago at the NACAC U23 event in Queretaro, Mexico, but the U.S. didn’t attend the 2021 event, also held in Costa Rica, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The event will also showcase the NACAC U18 Championships, although the U.S. is only being represented by a U23 lineup that features 62 athletes.

Mia Brahe-Pedersen, one of the youngest members of the American roster at age 17, is one of three U.S. athletes entered in multiple individual events after completing her junior year at Lake Oswego High in Oregon and advancing to the finals of both the 100-meter dash and 200 meters at the Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field.

Brahe-Pedersen, making her U23 debut for the U.S. after competing last year at the World U20 Championships in Colombia, is entered in the 100 and 200. She is also part of both the 4x100 and 4x400 relay pools for the Americans.

Jalani Davis, an Ole Miss All-American and the reigning NCAA Division 1 indoor weight throw champion, is scheduled to compete in both the women’s hammer throw and shot put.

Maxwell Otterdahl, a Nebraska All-American, is expected to participate in both the men’s discus and shot put.

Brahe-Pedersen is joined by close friend and recent Oregon City graduate Sophia Beckmon, an Illinois signee, who is entered in the long jump.

They are two of the three 17-year-old competitors on the U.S. roster, along with Ellie Shea of Belmont, Mass., representing Emerging Elites. Shea is entered in the women’s 1,500 meters.

Hana Moll, a recent graduate of Capital High in Washington who boasts the all-time national prep outdoor pole vault clearance of 15-1.50 (4.61m), is also scheduled to compete after winning the World U20 gold medal for the Americans last year in Colombia. Moll, 18, has signed with Washington.

Addy Wiley, a 19-year-old athlete who just completed her record-setting freshman year winning seven titles for NAIA Huntington University in Indiana, is entered along with Shea to represent the U.S. in the 1,500. Wiley placed fifth at the USATF Outdoor Championships in 4:03.22 less than a year after finishing fifth in 4:11.43 at the World U20 Championships in Colombia.

Will Sumner, the NCAA Division 1 outdoor 800-meter champion for Georgia, is scheduled to compete for the Americans. Sumner, 19, decided to forgo his remaining eligibility and turn professional before the USATF Outdoor Championships, signing with adidas.

Dash Sirmon, 19, won the USATF U20 champion in the men’s javelin throw and the Nebraska athlete is scheduled to compete in Costa Rica, along with Braden Presser of the U.S. Naval Academy.

The meet is also expected to include reigning NCAA Division 1 indoor and outdoor high jump champion Romaine Beckford of Arkansas, a recent transfer from South Florida, one of several standouts on the Jamaican roster.

Arkansas will also be represented by Jamaican athletes Ralford Mullings in the men’s discus throw and Joanne Reid in the women’s 400, along with Canadian competitor Tianna LoStracco in the women’s 1,500, in addition to American sprinter Connor Washington in the men’s 200 and high jumper Kason O’Riley. Recent Wisconsin transfer Destiny Huven is also representing the Razorbacks in the women’s 100-meter hurdles.

Abdullahi Hassan of Wisconsin is another Canadian standout scheduled to compete in the men’s 800.

Keyshawn Strachan, a 19-year-old star representing Auburn, is entered in the men’s javelin throw. Strachan produced the top throw by a collegiate athlete this year at 276-6 (84.27m), but was sidelined more than two months with an injury, before recently returning to competition to win the Bahamian national title.

The U.S. women are also expected to showcase Michigan’s Ziyah Holman and Texas A&M’s Jermaisha Arnold in the 400 meters, Central Florida’s Rayniah Jones joining Huven in the 100-meter hurdles, along with LSU’s Shani’a Bellamy and Florida’s Vanessa Watson in the 400-meter hurdles, in addition to Tulsa’s Layla Roebke in the 5,000.

In the field events, the American women are scheduled to be represented by Nebraska’s Jenna Rogers in the high jump, High Point’s Sydney Horn joining Moll in the pole vault, Oregon’s Jaida Ross entered along with Davis in the shot put, Minnesota’s Shelby Frank and Michigan’s Corinne Jemison in the discus throw, Auburn’s Maura Huwalt and Delaware’s Megan Albamonti in the javelin throw, Florida’s Claire Bryant competing with Beckmon in the long jump, Missouri’s Euphenie Andre and Central Florida’s Asherah Collins in the triple jump, with NCAA Division 1 indoor pentathlon champion Jadin O’Brien of Notre Dame participating in the heptathlon.

The U.S. men will be highlighted on the track by NCAA Division 3 record holder Sam Blaskowski of Wisconsin-LaCrosse and Louisiana Tech’s Rodney Heath, Jr. in the 100-meter dash, with Brice Chabot of Texas-San Antonio joining Washington in the 200. USC teammates Darius Rainey and William Jones are in the 400, with Villanova’s Sean Dolan scheduled to race with Sumner in the 800. Caleb Cavanaugh, Sumner’s teammate at Georgia, is expected to compete in the 400 hurdles, with Texas A&M’s Connor Schulman and Davidson’s Jayden Smith in the 110 hurdles, Furman’s Carson Williams entered in the 3,000 steeplechase, Stanford’s Cole Sprout in the 5,000 and Samuel Allen of New Jersey participating in the 10,000 race walk.

Michigan State’s Heath Baldwin is the lone American representative in the decathlon, with Andrew Taylor of NCAA Division 2 Wheeling University joining O’Riley in the high jump, Akron’s Hunter Garretson and Kansas’ Clayton Simms in the pole vault, Kansas State’s Kade McCall and Auburn’s Kyle Moison in the hammer throw, Florida State’s Jeremiah Davis and Florida’s Malcolm Clemons in the long jump, Russell Robinson of Miami (Florida) and Fairleigh Dickinson’s Salif Mane in the triple jump, with UCLA’s Aiden Elbettar joining Otterdahl in the discus throw and Wisconsin’s Jason Swarens competing along with the Nebraska standout in the shot put.

Ashton Torns, a recent graduate of Austin Westlake High in Texas, along with San Diego Mesa College’s Lamar Smith and North Carolina’s Blaise Atkinson are part of the U.S. men’s relay pools, with Georgia’s Kaila Jackson, Central Florida’s Kiah Williams and USC teammates Bailey Lear and Jan’Taijah Jones among the American female athletes that can contribute to the 4x100 and 4x400 relays.