Track and field: Adams earns a spot on USATF U20 team
EUGENE — Draped with the USA flag behind her shoulders, Clara Adams celebrated a monumental milestone, adding to a resume that is littered with accolades.
The 17-year-old has made the USA track and field U20 team in the 400 meters after finishing second on Friday at the Nike Outdoor Nationals at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
“It’s a surreal moment,” said Adams, the youngest qualifier in the 400. “I’m still trying to process it. It just happened. There’s a lot of excitement. This is something I really wanted. I’m proud of myself.”
Two weeks after capturing three CIF State titles, including the 400, the former North Salinas High sprinter set a new personal record with a time of 51.63 seconds.
The top two in each event advance to the World U20 Nationals, set for August 5-7 in Eugene. By earning a spot in the 400, Adams will also be a part of Team USA’s 1,600 relay team.
“We’ll go home and keep her off the track for 12 days,” said Adams’ father and coach David. “Then we get back to work. I have to come down and re-peak her again. That’s the challenge. We did it last year. So I have something to work off of.”
Last year Adams set personal records in both the 200 and 400 meters at the Junior Nationals in late July, while still living in Salinas, setting Monterey County records in the 200 (23.42) and 400 (52.58).
Adams, who now attends Long Beach Wilson, was a triple-event winner at the State Championships on June 6, with titles in the 200 and 400, as well as running a leg on the 1,600 relay team, helping her school to a fourth straight state meet team title.
Adams, who holds the Southern Section record in the 400, came into the meet with a high school time of 51.98, which is No. 3 all-time in California.
“I’d like to dip under 51 seconds at Worlds,” said Adams, who won Central Coast Section titles in the 200 and 400 in her first two years at North Salinas. “I know it will be hard. With my training, I believe it’s possible.”
Assigned Lane 8 for the 400 finals with the temperature sitting at 80 degrees, Adams had just one runner in front of her. Yet, peaking up at the massive JumboTron inside the stadium at the midpoint of the race, the incoming senior caught her 200 split.
“It was 23.89,” Adams said. “I thought I’m good. I didn’t feel too tired. I felt like I got out of the blocks well. I felt like I had enough to kick and close. I felt in my mind that I’m stronger than these girls. I wanted to make this team.”
Yet, when Adams came around the turn for the final 100 meters, she was sitting in seventh place after her opponents made up the stagger.
“I could tell where I was at,” Adams said. “It was a matter of do I have that extra in me. It was either that or I’m not going to be on Team USA. I felt strong over the final 80 meters. Hey, I got a personal record out of it.”
What Adams deemed important was not to get caught in who was behind her, or panic when five runners made up the stagger and briefly were ahead of her in a race where four runners dipped under 52 seconds.
“I didn’t panic,” said Adams, who ran 52.23 in Thursday’s prelims to advance to the finals. “If I had run someone else’s race, I would not be where I am right now. I knew my time was going to be in the 51’s. But to see the PR, that was exciting.”
Adams, who has drawn serious interest from track and field powers Miami, Houston, Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, USC and LSU, will run the 200 on Sunday in the Nike Championship Series.
Earlier this week, Nike promoted the 5-foot-7 sprinter from its development team to its elite team, which allowed her to wear the Nike uniform during Friday’s finals.
“We’ll keep the same regimen,” said David Adams. “When we’re not on the track, we are doing weights and plyometrics. We’re only on the track twice a week. When we’re on it, we make it count. It’s real quality work.”
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This story was originally published June 19, 2026 at 8:13 PM.