For Immediate Release:
Nebraska’s Second Largest Youth Track Meet Continues to Grow and Improve!
Omaha, Nebraska – May 29th, 2025, USATF Nebraska is pleased to announce the 2025 USATF Nebraska Junior Olympic Championships (JO’s) will be held at the Gretna High School Track and Field Complex. Building upon the success of the past two years, the 2025 event anticipates participation from over 35 clubs statewide and will feature over 2,000 entries across a multi-day competition spanning June 3rd to June 8th. The USATF Nebraska Association team has diligently worked to enhance this year’s event.
This year’s event will feature an Open Division, welcoming Post Collegiate and Masters athletes. “We anticipate the participation of several Master/Open world record holders and competitors from the Team USA Masters squad and they might even bring some Gold Medals”, according to USATF Nebraska, Communications Director, Matt Scott
This year’s Nebraska Junior Olympics will showcase returning National Champions, State and Regional record holders, and athletes ranked in the top 10 nationally in their respective events. USATF Nebraska President Mike Maryott notes, “Our Nebraska athletes compete at a very high level nationally, and we are privileged to witness potential future Olympic athletes.”
The championships commence on June 3rd with the Hammer Throw, Javelin, and Steeplechase events held at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. USATF Nebraska Youth Chair, Wade Lanum, states, “We are delighted to return to UNL, providing our athletes the opportunity to compete at state-of-the-art facilities. Given the increasing interest in the Steeplechase and Hammer Throw, UNL enables athletes to participate in events that might otherwise be unavailable.” Lanum further adds, “The steeplechase competition in Lincoln will feature some of the nation’s top athletes, several of whom are potential contenders for a National Championship at the National Junior Olympics in Savannah.”
Multi-events will begin in Gretna on June 5th and 6th. Track events will commence on Friday, June 8th at 7 PM with the 3000m race, featuring two of the nation’s leading distance runners in the 13/14 girls category. A full day of track action will follow on Saturday, June 7th.
FYI – Several helpful links to our social media, website and upcoming events are attached on the last page of this release.
Youth athletes may register for the Gretna JO meet at https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/meet/613277/info
To qualify for the USATF National Junior Olympics in Savannah, our Nebraska athletes must place in the top 8 at the USATF Nebraska JO qualifying meet to advance to the Region 8 Championships in Ames, Iowa. The top five finishers at the regional level will proceed to the National Junior Olympics.
The USATF National Junior Olympics will take place at Savannah State University at the end of July.
Stories of participating athletes are available upon request.
For further information or to schedule an interview, please contact Matt Scott at communications@nebraska.usatf.org.
Additional links to social media, website, and upcoming events are provided at the conclusion of this release.
About USATF Nebraska
USATF Nebraska is a 501c nonprofit that is made of volunteers from across the state of Nebraska. Our primary focus is facilitating and promoting track and field in Nebraska following the guidance of our national governing body USATF. The Nebraska Association currently has over 10,000 members and sanctions over 40 events each year in the state, including the Nebraska Junior Olympic (JO’s) Championships held each year in June. Our Junior Olympic Championship meet is the second largest youth track meet each year in Nebraska, second only to the High School Championships. The top 8 finishes from the Nebraska JO’s advance on to regionals and a chance to compete at the National Junior Olympic Championships.
About USATF
USA Track & Field (USATF), based in Indianapolis, is the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running, and race walking in the U.S. The organization provides leadership for Athletics, the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, and develops and selects Team USATF, #1 in the World.
The organization also provides leadership to school-aged, prep, collegiate, and adult athletic programs and competitions. With more than 30 million adult runners in the US, the organization’s activities are broad, encompassing sanctioning more than 8,000 events annually and nurturing grassroots programs, such as the Junior Olympics, to help develop the future stars of the sport.
Additional Information and resources
Check us out Online and Get Social:
Website – www.nebraskausatf.org
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/nebraskausatf
Twitter – https://twitter.com/usatfnebraska
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/usatfnebraska
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/usatfnebraaka
All the details and dates are below for qualifying for the 2025 National Junior Olympics: https://www.usatf.org/events/2025/2025-usatf-national-junior-olympic-track-field-cha
Nebraska Association Junior Olympics | Gretna H.S. | June 3rd – 8th, 2025. Meet info here – www.nebraskausatf.org
USATF Region 8 Junior Olympics | Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa |July 10th – 13th, 2025 | Meet info here – https://usatfregion8.org/regional-championships/
USATF Junior Olympics | Savannah, Georgia | July 21st – 27th, 2025 | Website – https://www.usatf.org/events/2025/2025-usatf-national-junior-olympic-track-field-cha
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