Trust The Process Track Club excels at 2024 USATF National Junior Olympic Championships & Around The Corner

By Guest Columnist Johnathan Perkins

The Junior Olympic program is a progression series of meets consisting of Association, Region and National Championship meets. Our athletes first have to compete in our Association Championships, which consist of Mississippi and Louisiana track clubs, and finish in the top eight in order to advance to a Region meet.

Those that advance to the Region meet, consisting of Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee and Alabama athletes, then have to finish in the top five to advance to the USATF National Junior Olympic Championships.

Trust The Process Track Club, led by Coach Johnathan Perkins, who also serves as the Clinton High School Track and Field Head Coach, and Coach Ben Prevost, who is also the Clinton High School Throws Coach, recently helped thirteen athletes advance to the 2024 USATF National Junior Olympic Championships held at College Station, Texas, with twelve out of thirteen athletes being Clinton Public School District students.

Athletes who advanced to the USATF Nationals included Jonas Nash (8 and under – Boys 100m Dash), Zandon Perkins (11-12 year old – Boys 100m and 200m dashes), Jurnee Nash (13-14 year old – girls shot put), Tanaeje Jefferson (13-14 year old – girls discus throw), Ethan Knox (13-14 year old – boys shot put and discus throw), Aiden Knox (15-16 year old – boys 100m and 200m dashes and 4x100m relay), Jaxcen Williams (15-16 year old – boys 100m and 200m dashes and 4x100m relay), Jeremiah Barnett (15-16 year old – boys 100m dash and 4x100m relay), Kristian Chambliss of Harrison Central High School in Gulfport (15-16 year old – boys triple jump and 4x100m relay), Khamrin Harper (15-16 year old – girls 400m and 200m dashes), Nathan Perkins (15-16 year old – boys shot put and discus throw), Omari Hampton (17-18 year old – mens 100m and 200m dashes), and Howard Banks (17-18 year old – mens 400m dash).

Our team had several athletes that were the only Mississippians competing at Nationals in their respective events: Jonas, Zandon and Omari in the 100m dash, Zandon in the 200m dash, Khamrin and Howard in the 400m dash, Jurnee and Nathan in shot put, and Tanaeja and Nathan in the discus throw.

Zandon, Aiden, Jaxcen, and Omari all made it to the Semifinal Round (Top 27) of their 100m events with preliminary times of 12.74, 10.71 (personal record), 10.94, and 10.65, respectively. Zandon ran a personal record of 12.57 in his 100m Semifinal race.

Other personal records earned this past week at USATF Nationals include Jurnee in shot put (33’4.75″) and Tanaeja in discus throw (71’7″).

Our 15-16 boys relay team of Jeremiah Barnett, Aiden Knox, Kristian Chambliss and Jaxcen Williams slid their way into the finals from Lane 9 with a season best time of 42.43 to ultimately earn the honor of 2024 USATF All-Americans with their eighth-place finish overall in the finals, with a time of 42.46.

USATF Region 6 Honors went to Aiden Knox, who is the 15-16 year old boys 100m (10.77) Region 6 Champion and 200m (21.86) Region 6 Champion; Omari Hampton who is the 17-18 year old mens 100m (10.69) Region 6 Champion; and Jurnee Nash, who is the 13-14 year old girls shot put (32’3.5″) Region 6 Champion.

USATF Southern Association Honors went to Aiden Knox, who is the 15-16 year old boys 100m (10.88) Association Champion and the 200m (22.48) Association Champion; and to Omari Hampton, who is the 17-18 mens 100m (10.84) Association Champion and the 200m (21.92) Association Champion.

I’m so proud of each and every individual who competed with our program this summer, and I’m so overjoyed for all those individuals who advanced and competed at this year’s USATF National Junior Olympic Championships. The athletes worked extremely hard all summer to make it to Texas, and we can’t wait to see what the track future brings for all of our track athletes.

Around The Corner: Clinton brothers compete in USATF Junior Olympics

By Danny C. Davis

While the 2024 Summer Olympics are being held in Paris, France , a little closer to home, the Junior Olympics were being held in Texas recently.
Clinton High School, long known for winning high school track championships in the MHSAA Class 7 Classification, had twelve athletes competing in the Junior Olympics.

A couple of those competing were brothers Aiden and Ethan Knox of Clinton.

Aiden Knox

Aiden is a junior and a starting wide receiver on the Clinton Arrow football team, while younger brother Ethan is a rising ninth grader at Sumner Hill Junior High School and a defensive back on the Arrows’ ninth-grade football team.

Both young men have been involved with the Clinton High and Clinton Junior High track teams and have participated in many track and field events.

The USATF Junior Olympics were held July 22-28 at E. B. Cummings Stadium at Bryan, Texas, on the campus of Texas A&M University.

The brothers qualified for the national event by placing at the District 6 event in Baton Rouge in June and later at the Regionals, which were held in July at Hughes Field in Jackson. That earned them a trip to the USATF finals in Texas.

Ethan Knox

Ethan competed in the discus and shot put competitions, while Aiden competed in the 4×1 relay team and also in the 100m and 200m dash.

On Saturday, July 27, Ethan finished twentieth in the United States in the national age 13-14 discuss competition.

Aiden, who finished tenth in the 100m, also competed in the 4×1 track relay event track finals, along with Kristian Chambliss, a freshman at Harrison Central High School in Gulfport, and Clinton teammates Jaxcen Williams and Jeremiah Barnett, both ninth graders at Sumner Hill Junior High.

The relay team faced very tough competition in the finals of the 4×1 relay, facing national record holders in the 15-16 age bracket. They competed against the third best and the fifth best relay teams in the United States. The team with Clinton runners finished eighth best in the nation – good enough to be named to the USATF All American team.

Competing at the national level is nothing new for Aiden, who has competed nationally since the eighth grade.

His national-level awards are numerous, and include 2021 Amateur Athletic Union Track and Field (AAUTF) All American 13-14 in the 100m dash, 2021 AAUTF All American 13-14 in the 200m dash, 2022 AAUTF All American 13-14 in the 100m dash, 2022 AAUTF All American 13-14 in the 200m dash, 2022 Speed Cable All American in the 100m dash, 2022 Speed Cable All American in the 200m dash and 2024 USATF All American 15-16 in the 4 x 100 relay.

The boys’ parents, Shaun and Micca Knox, say they couldn’t be prouder of their boys.

“We are proud of the success of both of our boys and the entire team,” commented Shaun. “The team has proven that Mississippi athletes have what it takes to stand out and compete amongst the best in the nation and be on top.”

“We would also like to thank Coach Perkins, Coach Prevost and Coach Sims for their many years of dedication to helping our sons and the entire team achieve these great levels.”