Hall Books Her Ticket To Worlds

Anna Hall won the heptathlon, and earned her spot on Team USA.

The main perk in competing at USATF Junior Championships was qualifying to don the red, white, and blue at the world championships, so as appealing as it was to perform well, and oh yeah, win, there was much more on the line, and Colorado's best made sure to to bring their A-Game.

Anna Hall continued to rage on through the 2018 summer season. Hall tallied 5,660 points in the heptathlon to win the event, and book her ticket to the U-20 IAAF World Junior Championships in Tampere, Finland.

The Valor Christian junior was initially engaged in a hotly contested battle with Sterling Lester early in the competition. The two played cat and mouse early, with Lester winning the 100 hurdles just ahead of Hall. But Hall dominated the high jump with a 5-11.5 result. The two went 3-4 in the shot, with Hall finishing one place ahead of Lester. They swapped out finishes in the 200, with Lester taking the event, just ahead of Hall, who had an answer for nearly every competitor. Hall won the long jump, and finished fourth in the javelin - ahead of Lester.

Less than one hundred points separated the two heading into the final event - the 800. But Hall's knack for winning the heptathlon the only way she knew - by winning the 800, was simply too much for Lester. Hall claimed the final event in 2:17, three seconds ahead of Lester. 

The 800 win secured her overall victory in the heptathlon by 137 points. 

Another Colorado star who stepped up to the national stage was Arria Minor. The Denver East junior crossed the finish line third in the 400 because two more Ms - Florida's Taylor Manson, and Miami's Symone Mason. Minor ran 52.25. 

Speaking of athletes with the letter M in their last name, Madison Mooney toed the line with collegians in the 1,500. The Wisconsin-commit finished an impressive sixth in 4:33.

Changing letters, Sydnee Larkin faced stiff competition in the triple jump, though she was clearly up for the challenge. The Arizona State commit finished fifth in the event, just off her personal best in 41-10.5.

Going backwards in time to the first day of competition, Max Manson battled the best pole vaulters in the country. The Monarch junior finished fourth among stout competition, going 16-10.75.

Andrew Doctor took his shot at some of the best U20s in the country in the 110 hurdles, and was just off in the preliminary heats. Doctor ran 14.28, and was just two spots out of qualifying for the final.