NJ HS track phenoms join Olympians, qualify for US pro national championships

Two of New Jersey’s best athletes have qualified for this week’s 2026 Toyota USATF Championships.

Union Catholic’s Paige Sheppard, a Stanford commit, will compete in the 800-meter run. Eastern’s Natalie Dumas, an Arkansas commit, will compete in the 400-meter hurdles.

The USATF Championships will be held at Icahn Stadium in New York City from July 23 to July 26. There will be 17 New Jersey alums in the field.

The event is the annual national championships for professional track and field in the United States. It also acts as the Olympic Trials during Olympic years.

Both Sheppard and Dumas earned their spots at the U.S. championships by meeting the ‘B’ standard, a qualifying mark used to fill out the field when there aren’t enough athletes who hit the ‘A’ standard.

The ‘B’ standard in the 800 was 2:02.50. Sheppard, a rising senior at Union Catholic, qualified with a national title-winning time of 2:00.65 at the Brooks PR Invitational. She will compete on Friday at 7:23 p.m.

Dumas, a 2026 graduate, hit the ‘B’ qualifying standard in both the 400 hurdles (56.13) and 400 (52.14). Dumas, who won 11 Meet of Champions titles in high school, will run the 400 hurdles on Saturday at 4:56 p.m.

Both Dumas and Sheppard won U.S. U20 national titles in their respective events last June and will compete in the World U20 Championships in August.

The star-studded list of New Jersey track athletes heading to the USATF Championships also includes two Olympians — Neptune’s Ajee Wilson (800) and Florence’s Curtis Thompson (javelin).

A two-time Olympic qualifier, Wilson has won a jaw-dropping 12 USATF national titles (eight indoors, four outdoors). Her personal best of 1:55.61 is currently the second-fastest time by an American in the 800 and was previously a national record. Wilson won gold at the 2022 World Indoor Athletics Championships and bronze at both the 2017 and 2019 World Outdoor Championships.

The first round of the 800-meter run will feature three former New Jersey state champions with Wilson, Sheppard, and Columbia alum Olivia Baker in the field.

Here’s the full list of New Jersey high school alums who qualified for the USATF Championships and the approximate time they’ll be competing.

Thursday

12:25 — 5,000m

• Liam Murphy, Allentown

4:15 — Men’s 100m dash — 1st Round

• Ajani Dwyer, Washington Township

5:21 — Men’s 1500m — 1st Round

• Collin Boler, Delbarton

6:00 — Long Jump

• Gregory Foster Jr., Lawrenceville

7:12 — Men’s 3,000m steeplechase

• Brian Boler, Delbarton

Friday

7:02 — Men’s 800m

• Sean Dolan, Hopewell Valley

7:23 — Women’s 800m

• Ajee Wilson, Neptune
• Olivia Baker, Columbia
• Paige Sheppard, Union Catholic

Saturday

1:10 — Men’s Javelin

• Curtis Thompson, Florence
• Damitrius Hester, Mahwah

2:15 PM — Men’s Triple Jump

• Floyd Whitaker, Highland

3:40 PM — Men’s Discus Final

• Sam Mattis, East Brunswick

4:40 — Women’s Shot Put

• Jessica Woodard, Cherokee

4:56 — Women’s 400m Hurdles

• Natalie Dumas, Eastern
• Aliya Garozzo, Paul VI
• Arianna Smith, Pennsville

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