The 2026 USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships concluded Sunday after seven days of competition at Falcon Stadium on the campus of Cerritos College in Norwalk, California. More than 6,308 athletes from all 50 states competed in the nation's premier youth track and field event.
The Indiana Association enjoyed another outstanding week on the national stage as 58 athletes combined for 85 individual and relay entries while capturing three national championships and earning 16 All-American honors against the nation's top young competitors.
Indiana's national champions were led by Uriah White (Advancement Through Athletics), who captured the boys 15–16 400m title before returning to earn a third-place finish in the 200m. Chloe Tragesser (Unattached) claimed the girls 15–16 3000m title, while Ingrid Girolamo (Body in Training TC) captured the girls 11–12 1500m race walk championship.
The Tragesser family enjoyed an especially memorable week in Southern California as sisters Chloe Tragesser and Presley Tragesser combined to earn three All-American honors. Chloe added an eighth-place finish in the girls 15–16 1500m to go along with her national title in the 3000m, while Presley claimed a bronze medal in the girls 9–10 1500m.
Indiana also produced another third-place finish as the Indiana Storm TC girls 17–18 4x400m relay team captured bronze.
Indiana athletes continued to add to the association's impressive medal haul as Dane Utterback (Unattached) placed fourth in the boys 13–14 200m hurdles, Norah Reiger (Indiana Storm TC) finished fifth in the girls 17–18 400m, Dillon Price (Unattached) earned fifth place in the boys 15–16 hammer throw, and Elijah Falquist (Body in Training TC) cleared a season-best height to place sixth in the boys 13–14 high jump.
Indiana's seventh-place finishers included Elijah Clarke (Indiana Storm TC) in the boys 9–10 400m, Kourtney Taylor (Indiana Storm TC) in the girls 15–16 100m hurdles, Sophia Ngbesso Jr. (Indiana Storm TC) in the girls 17–18 400m hurdles, and the Indiana Storm TC girls 17–18 4x100m relay team. Chloe Tragesser added an eighth-place finish in the girls 15–16 1500m, while Trajan Fults (Only Throwers) placed eighth in the boys 17–18 hammer throw.
Several athletes came within a few places of earning All-American honors. Elijah Clarke finished ninth in the boys 9–10 200m, Andrew Wolfe (Indiana Storm TC) and Grant Deaton (Center Grove Track & XC) each placed 11th and 12th, respectively, in the steeplechase, and Benjamin Girolamo (Body in Training TC) earned 12th place in the boys 13–14 pentathlon. Alexander Crosby (Advancement Through Athletics) finished 13th in the boys 17–18 long jump, and Ronald Duplessis (Advancement Through Athletics) placed 14th in the boys 15–16 400m.
Additional notable performances included Jalen Scott (15th, boys 17–18 100m), Claire Heneghan (15th, girls 11–12 1500m; 20th, 800m), Declan Jenkins (15th, boys 13–14 2000m steeplechase; 37th, 3000m; 46th, 800m), Gabrielle Moore (16th, girls 17–18 100m), Kierra Roose (16th, girls 15–16 800m), Grant Dirksen (16th, boys 11–12 discus; 26th, shot put), Daniel Pilling (16th, boys 17–18 decathlon), Cianna Cunningham (17th, girls 15–16 triple jump; 41st, 100m), Jett Snell (18th, boys 17–18 400m hurdles), Graham Holtsclaw (19th, boys 13–14 3000m), Luke Manship (19th, boys 17–18 discus; 22nd, shot put), Tayden Sharrett (21st, boys 13–14 discus), Leyton Robertson (28th, boys 15–16 3000m), Seunggyun Jung (29th, boys 11–12 800m; 32nd, 1500m), Brooklyn Bradley (30th, girls 11–12 800m), Ella Robinson (31st, girls 11–12 200m; 32nd, long jump; 38th, 100m), Eden Wolfe (32nd, girls 17–18 400m), Kash Green (32nd, boys 15–16 400m), Miguel Zarate (39th, boys 17–18 100m), Kam Owensby (40th, boys 11–12 100m; 43rd, 200m), Elton Amos III (41st, boys 17–18 800m), Ameelah Scott (42nd, girls 11–12 long jump), Joey Finnerty (43rd, boys 17–18 400m), JaZelle Sanders (45th, girls 11–12 400m), Gregory Tompkins III (46th, boys 17–18 triple jump), Giselle Bibbs (30th, girls 7–8 long jump; 47th in both the 100m and 200m), and Ingrid Welch (43rd, girls 7–8 long jump; 48th, 100m).
Athletes representing Advancement Through Athletics, AthLead Indy, Body in Training TC, Center Grove Track & XC, Evansville Speedsters TC, HP Distance, Indiana Storm TC, Naptown Athletic Project, Ohio River Valley Racers, Only Throwers, Run With The Winners, Queen City Pole Vault, and several unattached competitors combined to showcase the remarkable depth of talent throughout the Hoosier State.