Bryanna Craig, who won the 2019 national scholastic heptathlon title for Millville and also set the national freshman record, PR’d Saturday and Sunday in her first heptathlon since moving to Texas.
Craig, now a junior at Coronado High School, scored 5,117 points to win the two-day, seven-event test at the NSAF USA Meet of Champions at Doug Shaw Stadium in Myrtle Beach, N.C.
That’s the No. 36 score in U.S. scholastic history and No. 8 in Texas high school track history. It’s the best score by a Texas high school girl in six years, since Kaylee Hinton of Rockwall High School scored 5,245 points at the 2015 USATF Junior Nationals in Eugene, Ore.
Craig’s family moved last year to Texas, where her father – legendary Millville athlete Raffael Craig – is now coaching at Texas Tech in Lubbock.
The U.S. team for the 2021 IAAF Junior Pan Am Games in Cali, Colombia, in September will be determined by the top two scores among eligible U.S. Under-20 athletes through June 13.
It’s very early in the season, but with her 5,117, Craig has the highest score in the world so far this year in the Under-20 age group, moving ahead of Ana Paula Arguello of Paraguay, who scored 4,798 in a meet earlier this month in Ibagué, Columbia.
Her previous heptathlon PR was 5,049 points from the 2019 USATF Under-20 Championships in Miramar, Fla.
Her score is No. 10 overall among U.S. women this spring as well and No. 18 in the world in the early going.
Craig opened with a 14.50 in the high hurdles, scoring 909 points and taking a lead she would never relinquish. That’s just 1-100th of a second off her PR of 14.49, which she set in her heptathlon at the USATF Under 20’s in 2019.
She jumped 5-5 3/4 in the high jump for 818 points and after two events had over a 200-point lead. Next up was the shot put, where she added 503 points with a 31-6.
She ran 25.47 in the 200 for 844 points, missing her PR of 25.24 from USATF juniors by about a quarter of a second, then PR’d in the long jump with an 18-8 1/2 for 759 more points. Her previous long jump PR was an 18-5 1/2 from the 2019 Rowan Open in Glassboro, where she placed second to Tionna Tobias.
Craig finished with a 108-7 in the javelin for 536 points and a 2:25.69 in the 800 for 748 points.
This will be Craig’s last multi-event test until the Texas Greatest Athlete heptathlon in early June at St. Mark’s School in Dallas.
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Here is the all-time U.S. heptathlon list, with every girl in United States high school history to score 5,000 points.
I compiled this list in 2019 from various sources – Track and Field News annual lists, the USATF web site, old copies of Jack Shepard’s U.S. High School Track Annual and the MileSplit database.
ALL-TIME H.S. GIRLS 5,000-POINT CLUB
5,798 … Anna Hall, Valor Christian [Highlands Ranch, Colo.], 2018
5,578 … *Kendell Williams [Kell, Marietta, Ga.], 2012
5,577 … Emma Fitzgerald [Thayer, Braintree, Mass.], 2016
5,533 … Shana Woods [Poly, Long Beach, Calif.], 2006
5,523 … Sterling Lester [Marietta, Ga.], 2018
5,522 … Ryann Krais [Methacton, Norristown, Pa.], 2008
5,466 … Ashlee Moore [Hamilton, Chandler, Ariz.], 2014
5,412 … Kendra Reimer [New Braunfels, Texas], 1998
5,411 … Gayle Hunter [North, Riverside, Cailf., 2004
5,365 … *Diana Pickler [Rowlett, Texas], 2001
5,363 … Shaina Burns [South, Lakeville, Minn.], 2014
5,357 … Lauren Reimer [New Braunfels, Texas], 2001
5,338 … Julie Pickler [Rowlett, Texas], 2002
5,337 … *Tyra Gittens’ [Ensworth, Nashville, Tenn.], 2016
5,333 … Lauren Stewart [Brentwood, Tenn.], 2005
5,300 … *Alex Gochenour [Magnolia, Logan, Iowa], 2010
5,286 … *Jacquelyn Johnson [Yuma, Az.], 2002
5,270 … Ashley Smith [Millikan, Long Beach, Calif.], 2010
5,270 … Erica Bougard [Attendance Center, Byhalia, Miss.], 2011
5,266 … Shevell Quinley [West, Tracy, Calif.], 2005
5,258 … Tiana Bonds [Centennial, Las Vegas], 2014
5,251 … *Beatričė Juškevičiūtė’ (IMG, Bradenton, Florida), 2018
5,245 … Kaylee Hinton, Wylie, Texas], 2015
5,237 … Sharon Hatfield [Fountain Valley, Calif.], 1982
5,231 … Kelly Blair [Proser, Wash.], 1988
5,217 … Kendall Gustafson [Pal, Pacific Palisades, Calif.], 2013
5,198 … Jodi Anderson [New Braunfels, Texas], 1998
5,197 … Whitney Fountain [Columbus, Bronx, N.Y.], 200
5,185 … Lindsay Vollmer [Penny, Hamilton, Mo.], 2011
5,184 … Lauren Leaverton [Naaman Forest, Garland, Texas], 1998
5,170 … Camille Harding [Kamiakin, Kennewick, Wash.], 1983
5,163 … Peggy Odita [Upper Arlington, Ohio], 1986
5,158 … *Alexa Harmon-Thomas [Free, Lawrence, Kansas], 2013
5,149 … **Tierra Crockrell [Calabasas, Calif.], 2017
5,130 … *Caice Lanovaz [Los Gatos, Calif.], 2015
5,127 … Hillary Werth [Glenwood, Chatam, Ill.], 2004
5,117 … *Bryanna Craig [Coranado, Texas], 2021
5,115 … *Ashley Bethel [Mission Viejo, Calif.], 1997
5,114 … Kerry O’Bric [Edison, Huntington Beach, Calif.], 1996
5,113 … *Shauna Rohbock [Mountain View, Orem, Utah], 1994
5,104 … Ellannee Richardson [Gladstone, Ore.], 1998
5,101 … Pam Connell [Norwell, Mass.], 1986
5,101 … **Annika Williams, College Station, Texas, 2017
5,098 … Allie Jones [San Marcos, Santa Barbara, Calif.], 2018
5,094 … ***Bryanna Craig [Millville], 2019
5,090 … Megan Franza [Cascade, Leavenworth, Wash.], 1996
5,089 … Debbie DeCosta [Palmetto, Miami, Fla.], 1982
5,087 … Jamie Walker [Paschal, Fort Worth, Texas], 1999
5,086 … Melissa Flandera [Magnificat, Rocky River, Ohio], 1993
5,084 … Debra Larsen [Weatherwax, Aberdeen, Wash.], 1982
5,074 … Gea Johnson [Washington, Phoenix, Ariz.], 1986
5,074 … Karli Johonnot [Centennial, Las Vegas, Nev.], 2011
5,071 … Aaron Howell [Farmington, Mich.], 2012, 2013
5,069 … Lyndsey Lopes [Edison, Fresno, Calif, 2015
5,029 … **Gabby Williams [Reed, Sparks, Nev.], 2012
5,109 … Allison Reaser [El Segundo, Calif.], 2010
5,108 … Jessica Flax [Pearland, Texas], 2008
5,053 … *Shakeia Pinnick [Waubonsie, Aurora, ill.], 2008
5,038 … **Shannon Meyer [Sultana, Hesperia, Calif.], 2000
5,034 … Nicolette Chambers [Hillhouse, Conn.], 1999
5,031 … Tiffany Lott [Pine View, St. George, Utah], 1993
5,029 … Gabby Williams [Reed, Sparks, Nev.], 2012
5,014 … Timara Chapman, Leesville Road, Raleigh, N.C.], 2018
5,012 … Alyssa Miller [McKinney Boyd, McKinney, Texas], 2018
5,007 … Evette Lyman [Glades Central, Belle Glade, Fla.], 1986
5,002 … Alyssa Thompson (Salpoint, Tucson, Ariz.], 2013
5,000 … Shelley Spires [St. Paul’s, Mobile, Ala.], 2014
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 