The 2024 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials will kick off on Friday, June 21. Throughout the 10-day meet, members of Team USA will be selected for this summer’s Paris Olympics.
This year, there are 10 high school athletes who qualified for the Trials, ranging from sophomores to recently-graduated seniors. 16-year-olds Quincy Wilson and Elizabeth Leachman—both born in January of 2008—are the youngest entrants in the meet.
While it’s rare, high schoolers have showed up to the Trials and qualified for the Olympics in recent years. You might remember 16-year-old Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone setting a world junior record in the 400-meter hurdles to qualify the 2016 Rio Olympics. Or there’s Erriyon Knighton, who finished fourth in the 200 meters at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics at age 17.
Here’s a look at the prep stars who will compete at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, this month.
Christian Miller: 100 and 200 meters
Not only is it impressive that Christian Miller is at the Olympic Trials, he’s a contender to make Team USA. The 100 meters in the U.S. hasn’t been particularly fast this year—only six athletes have dipped under the 10-second barrier—but Miller, a senior from St. Johns, Florida, has been leading the charge. He posted the fastest time in the country (9.93) on April 20, which has only been bested by Noah Lyles.
The 100 is Miller’s signature event, but he’s entered in the 200 as well. His personal best of 20.51 could be in danger, but it’ll take a big race for the University of Georgia commit to make the finals.
Elise Cooper: 200 meters
Only a junior, Elise Cooper of Maryland already has plenty of experience at high-profile meets. Last year, she took silver in the 200 at the Pan American U20 Championships in a blazing 22.80, and just last week, she won the USATF U20 Championships in the 200 and took fifth in the 100 meters.
Quincy Wilson: 400 meters
At this point, Quincy Wilson is used to making headlines in track and field. As an eighth-grader, Wilson broke onto the scene running 47.77—and he’s only gotten better. At the Penn Relays in April, Wilson went viral after posting mind-boggling 4x400-meter relay splits of 44.37 (prelims) and 44.69 (final), leading the Bullis School to a win despite having teammates fall in both races. Wilson comes into the Trials ranked 13th thanks to his personal best of 45.13 from New Balance Nationals Outdoor on June 15.
Vance Nilsson: 400-meter hurdles
The future Florida Gator lines up at the Trials as the 300-meter high school national record holder. (In his home state of Arizona, high schoolers run the 300-meter hurdles instead of the 400-meter hurdles.) Although Nilsson only raced the 400-meter hurdles five times this season, he’ll have his eyes on making it out of the preliminaries at the Trials. Nilsson also owns a solid PB of 13.39 in the 110-meter hurdles.
Sadie Engelhardt: 1500 meters
Engelhardt has been on a tear this season, rewriting the record books in multiple events. The junior from Ventura, California, has broken the high school outdoor mile record twice—most recently at the Hoka Festival of Miles in 4:28.46—as well as helped her team to a national record in the DMR. She also nabbed a 1500-meter PB of 4:08.86 at the Portland Track Festival on June 9. Engelhardt is no stranger to running against the pros and was rarely challenged by her high school peers this season. She’s committed to distance-running powerhouse NC State after she graduates next year.
Elizabeth Leachman: 5,000 meters
The 5,000 meters is not a contested event at high school state track championships, but that hasn’t stopped sophomore Elizabeth Leachman from dominating the event. After winning the Foot Locker Cross-Country Championships in December (5K in distance), Leachman broke Katelyn Tuohy’s indoor 5,000 meter record on March 9, running 15:28.90. Then, just three weeks later, she added the outdoor record with a 15:25.27 performance at the Texas Relays. Her time would’ve been the ninth-fastest in the NCAA this year.
JaiCieonna Gero-Holt: high jump
The junior from Emerald Ridge High School in South Hill, Washington, can do it all. While she easily qualified for the Trials in the high jump (1.89 meters; or 6 feet, 2.5 inches), Gero-Holt is also an accomplished heptathlete. Last week, she won the USATF U20 Championships in the event, scoring 5420 points. Her high jump PB is the fourth-best of the field, but she lacks the Olympic standard of 1.97 meters.
Scottie Vines: high jump
Like Gero-Holt, Vines has a legitimate shot to mix it up with the top pros. Vines is a senior from DeBeque, Colorado, who’s committed to the University of Colorado Boulder, and he’s put together an undefeated season in the high jump. Most recently, he won the USATF U20 Championships, taking down a slew of collegiate athletes along the way. His PB of 2.24 meters (7 feet, 4.25 inches) ranks him tenth in the country.
Skylynn Townsend: triple jump
The University of Georgia commit, who just wrapped up her senior year, hasn’t lost a triple jump this entire season. She owns the best high school mark in the country (13.47 meters) and took home wins at the Texas State Championships, Nike Outdoor Nationals, and USATF U20 Championships.
Talia Green: 20,000-meter race walk
Green is the lone high schooler in the race walk. She qualified in the event, which is 12.43 miles in distance, with a time of 1:47:08 at the 2024 USATF Marathon Race Walk Mixed Relay Championships in January. Green will attend Harvey Mudd College next year and will compete on their distance team (as a runner), according to EcoAthletes.
Editor’s note: A previous version stated that there were nine high schoolers who qualified for the Trials. That has been corrected to 10 with the addition of Talia Green. Runner’s World regrets the error.
Theo Kahler is the news editor for Runner’s World. He is a former all-conference collegiate runner who’s based in Easton, PA. Previously, he worked as the newsletters editor at Runner's World, Bicycling, and Popular Mechanics.
