Husky freshman Elijah Mason finishes second in discus & earns spot on Team USATF for IAAF World U-20 champs...

BLOOMINGTON, Indiana—University of Washington freshman Elijah Mason (left/photo courtesy University of Washington) finished second in the men’s discus Sunday to earn a spot on the Team USATF squad that travels to Tampere, Finland next month for the IAAF World Under-20 Championships, as the USATF Junior Championships concluded at Hayes Track on the University of Indiana campus.

Mason, a native of Casa Grande, Arizona who attended Division I Desert Vista HS, put the pressure on the field with a first round throw of 199-5 (60.78m) that led for most of the competition, until Texas A&M’s Gabriel Oladipo threw the eventual winning mark of 200-7 (61.15m) in the fifth round.

Mason was redshirted this season.  Among those he beat in the competition was fellow Arizona high school standout Turner Washington, who competed for Division II Canyon Del Oro before going to the University of Arizona.

Incoming Oregon freshman Lexi Ellis, the Washington state girls’ triple jump champion from Curtis HS, finished in second in the women’s triple jump to also punch her ticket to Tampere.

Ellis, competing for the Flying AJ’s Track Club, jumped a best of 42-11 (13.08m), as she finished behind Jasmine Moore of the North Texas Cheetahs TC, who jumped 43-4.75 (13.21m).

In the women’s pole vault, West Seattle HS junior Chloe Cunliffe, the state record holder in that event, finished sixth with a leap of 13-3.5 (4.05m), as Virginia Tech’s Rachel Baxter won at 14-6 (4.42m).

Complete day 3 results of the USATF Junior Championships are available here.