By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA - Kelli Williams and Justin Osking will see how they fare against some of the nation's best on the track this week at Indiana University.
USF's freshman standouts will take part in the USA Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championships Friday through Sunday at the Robert C. Haugh Track and Field Complex in Bloomington, Ind.
"It gives them an idea of what it's going to take to compete at the NCAA Division I track and field level," USF head coach Warren Bye said. "This will be the best of the 19-and-unders in the country and they'll get to go compete against the best at their age level. It gets them ready."
Williams will be competing in the 1,500 meters after easily meeting the qualifying standard in March with a personal best performance. The Trinity, Fla., native's fourth-place time of 4:34.81 at the FSU Relays was almost four seconds better than the mark she had to reach for junior nationals.
Osking's personal best discus mark this season got him into junior national competition with almost a foot to spare. The Fort Pierce, Fla., native's throw of 165-3 (50.36 m) helped him finish in third at the USF Collegiate on April 6. Osking finished his freshman season off strong by scoring for USF at the Big East Outdoor Championships in May with an eighth-place throw of 161-5 (49.19m).
If Williams and Osking finish in the top two of their respective events they'll qualify for the IAAF World Junior Championships. The U.S. team will be competing in Barcelona, Spain from July 10-15.
USF has had two student-athletes qualify for world competition by winning their events at junior nationals. Casey Wagner became a champion in the javelin at junior nationals with a throw of 150 feet in 2009 and Neamen Wise won the decathlon title in 2010.
