Sports
Cabral Off To World Junior Track Championships
Agoura High hurdler, who won a state title in the 110-meter high hurdles, is the youngest member of the team representing the United States.
At 17 years old, Jonathan Cabral is the youngest member of the USA World Junior track and field team. But there is no debate on whether or not he belongs.
By placing second in the 110-meter high hurdles last month at the USA Junior Track and Field Championships at fabled Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa, the hurdler from Agoura High earned his spot and will compete in the World Junior Track and Field Championships July 19-25, in Moncton, New Brunswick.
Cabral is scheduled to leave Friday and join his teammates for two days of training in preparation for the meet.
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The World Junior Track and Field Championships are restricted to competitors no older than 20 years old. The USA team largely is comprised of individuals that already are in college. Cabral, however, just completed his junior year at Agoura High. More than 160 countries will compete in the week-long meet.
"It's absolutely been a dream season,'' said Cabral's father and personal coach, John Cabral. "We couldn't have expected, nor wanted anything better. I thought that we'd win at state but this has really gone well beyond what we could have hoped.''
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Cabral was undefeated on the high school circuit in the 110 high hurdles this year, which culminated with a victory over a stiff field of competitors in last month's California Track and Field Championships in Clovis. He won that race in a blistering, though wind-aided time of 13.54 seconds. He also ran a legal 13.58, which is the second-fastest high school time in the nation this year and the fastest time run by an underclassman.
Cabral won both the 110 and the 300-meter hurdles at the CIF Divisional Championships and the Masters Meet. He also won both events at the Arcadia Invitational. Cabral ran a 13.70 in the USA Junior Championships, finishing just a body length behind University of Arkansas runner Caleb Cross, who won the race in a time of 13.64.
Looking ahead to next year, Cabral has his sights set on successfully defending his state title, adding the 300-meter hurdle title that he missed out on by finishing fifth in the finals and setting state records in both events. But he still is not done this year.
