Lacie Rasley makes Team USA roster for the World Youth Championships

Team USA roster for the World Youth Championships
World Youth Championships: July 8-12 in Bressanone, Italy

The mark listed next to each event below is what an athlete likely needs to achieve in order to place in the finals of the World Youth Championships. Each athlete’s listed IAAF mark is the best-known performance by the athlete that meets IAAF standards and was achieved between Jan. 1, 2008 and June 22, 2009.

Shot Put (44-08.75)
1. Lacie Rasley (Shafter, Ca.) 43-09.25
IAAF: 44-00.50 (Central Sec. Sequoia-Sierra Area, 2, Oakhurst 5-13-90)
2. Sarah Howard (Trinity Christian, Dublin, Ga.) 42-09.00
IAAF: 44-06.75 (Atlanta Inter., 1, Atlanta 5-30-09)

Lacie Rasley wins throwing event at the USA Track & Field Youth Championships

Anna Jelmini's not the only one around here who can throw her way into world competition.

Stockdale High's Alex Collatz and Shafter's Lacie Rasley each won a throwing event at the USA Track & Field Youth Championships this week and advance to compete at the IAAF World Youth Championships next week in Bressanone, Italy.

The events are for 16- and 17-year olds. Both Collatz and Rasley were sophomores last year.

Collatz threw 152 feet in the discus Tuesday at the USATF event in Ypsilanti, Mich., not close to her personal best of 177-0 but enough to out-distance her nearest competition by more than five feet.

Then on Wednesday, Rasley put the shot 43-9.25 to beat Sarah Howard of Dublin, Ga., by 12.25 inches. Rasley's personal best is 44-0.25.

The top two finishers in each event were up for consideration to attend the world youth games, and USATF selected Collatz and Rasley.

Shafter High's Jelmini competed in the discus in Poland last year as part of the USATF World Junior Championships team, one age group up from Youth.

Jelmini wins shot put at USA junior nationals

EUGENE, Ore. -- Late night? College competition? No problem. Anna Jelmini is a champion again anyway.

Jelmini, a Shafter High graduate, won the junior national championship in the shot put Friday, just hours after competing in the senior discus event on Thursday night at the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Hayward Field.

Her best throw was 53 feet even, enough to out-distance the field by 3 feet, 7 inches. She hit that mark on her second of three attempts.

This came after Jelmini finished seventh in the discus among all U.S. competitors the night before.

"This morning I was a little groggy because I had such a late night," Jelmini said in a statement released by USATF. "But it was exciting to make the final in the women's discus, and I wanted to try and bring some of that excitement with me to the shot put."

Jelmini actually trailed after her first throw Friday, a 47-4.5 effort. But her second throw was the big one, and she followed that up with a 49-11.5 that also would have won the national title.

Jelmini competes in the junior discus championship at 9 this morning. Tonight, Taft native Billy Nelson goes for gold in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.