Georgia Southern rising sophomore NaJ Watson competed at the 2023 USATF U20 Outdoor Track Championships this past weekend at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., advancing to the finals in two events and claiming a bronze medal in the 100 meters.
Watson began her meet action on Saturday, running a time of 11.55 in the 100 meter dash to advance to Saturday night's finals. She then placed third in the final with a personal best time of 11.42, also the fastest time run by a Georgia Southern athlete, to claim the bronze medal, finishing behind Kaila Jackson (Georgia) and Camryn Dickson (Texas A&M).
The Charleston, S.C., native then competed in the 200 meters on Sunday. She qualified for the finals with a preliminary time of 23.24, another personal best, then finished fourth in the final event on Sunday evening, running a time of 23.34 and finishing behind Shawnti Jackson (Run U Xpress), Elise Cooper (Unattached) and Dickson.
"I think this weekend went really well," Watson said about her performance at the event. "Especially since I wasn't really expecting myself to get this far. I think that with time, I'll be able to come back stronger and better. But I'm happy where I'm at right now. And next year, I want to be able to put everything together, physically and mentally, to come back better."
"This weekend was a tremendous success for NaJ and Georgia Southern track and field," Georgia Southern Head Coach David Neville said. "I'm super excited with the future of our program and so proud of everything that Naj has accomplished. I think there's a lot more ahead for her and this is a wonderful foundation for what our program will look like moving forward."
