It has been a busy summer and athletes across the country have been competing well past the end of the 2026 outdoor track & field season.
Irvine welcomed athletes from 8 to 18 years of age during the third week of June to compete at the AAU Region 22 Championships in preparation for the AAU Junior Olympic Games in Des Moines, Iowa, beginning August 1st through the 8th.
Here are a few athletes you need to keep an eye on as the summer's biggest track & field extravaganza nears.
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One of the meet's standout performers did not face much competition in Irvine in June, but made a statement in front of his home crowd with his performances, capturing wins in the shot put, an event he won at this meet in 2025, and the discus.
The senior from Oakdale has had a long season and will be well prepared for a potential trip to Des Moines next month, having won 7 of his 8 appearances in the discus and sitting inside the state's top 30 in both throwing events. He has thrown 175-9 in the discus, a 30-foot improvement from last spring, and 57-6 in the shot put this season, both of which came en route to signature wins.
Last summer, Eri Rubio scored a pair of victories in the two events at the AAU West Coast National T&F Championships in Nevada, just two weeks after the Region 22 qualifier, and is now entering the final month of the summer track season as one of the circuit's top throwers.
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Representing the Missouri Valley Track Club, Magizhmathi Jayakumar will be looking for another strong performance at the AAU Junior Olympic Games in August following her 4th place finish in the javelin and 10th-place finish in the shot put a year ago in Savannah, Georgia.
Over the last year, Jayakumar has added over 16 feet to her javelin throw, having set a personal best of 67-3.25 en route to a win at the Super Heroes Championship. She most recently won the AAU West Coast National Championship over the weekend, just two weeks after claiming a win and qualifying for Des Moines at the Region 22 qualifier.
Jayakumar also qualified for this year's summer classic in the shot put and 1,500m Race Walk, her first season competing in the event. She has won the race walk three times in five appearances over the last five weeks and will pick up valuable experience against her age group's very best next month.
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The sophomore won not one, not two, but three sprint events in addition to the long jump at the Region 22 qualifier two weeks back.
It was a breakout day for Douglas Drummond, who competed in four events this spring and won several times. He made his season debut in the 100m dash in Irvine, setting a new personal best of 11.51, while setting another in the 200m dash (22.98). His 51.40 (400m dash) and 21-7 (long jump) are encouraging personal bests as an underclassman, and his impending trip could provide him with valuable experience as he enters his final two track & field seasons.
His ascension to the top of the leaderboards in California has been a quick one, and one you will want to keep an eye on as it continues, as he was named his team's 'Newcomer of the Year' as a freshman and MVP of the Twilight Fr/So Championships earlier this spring.
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Another Oakdale thrower makes an appearance on our recap today as Natalie Powell continued her breakout season last month. The junior scored a dominating victory in the shot put, throwing 41-6.25 and qualifying for the summer showcase at Drake Stadium.
She entered the summer season after a 6th-place finish at the CIF State Track & Field Championships and a personal-best mark of 40-11... until her most recent performance in Irvine. Powell threw 41-6.25, a new CA #20, and one of the best throws we saw across the circuit all summer long.
Similar to her senior teammate, Rubio, she won the two throwing events at the AAU West Coast National T&F Championships last season and has a little AAU "bling" to show for prior to her potential trip to Iowa.
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It's always refreshing to see talent in the 8 & under division and in the distance events, it was Tarun Bharathkumar who stole the show, capturing a pair of wins in the 800m and 1,500m. He also qualified for the AAU Junior Olympic Games in the javelin throw, an event he has won nine times in 2025, including the Nor Cal Youth Championships.
Competing as a member of the Missouri Valley Track Club, Bharathkumar ran a personal best time of 2:47 in the 800m at the Region 22 meet last June, an awfully impressive mark for someone his age. A couple of days before the regional qualifier, he ran a personal best in the 1,500m as well, winning the Super Heroes Championships, an event hosted for kids 10 and under.
This will be the second straight season he has competed at the AAU Junior Olympic Games, should he make the trip to Iowa. Last season, he finished 19th in the javelin and 31st in the 800m preliminaries. Earlier this year, Bharathkumar made headlines after finishing 4th at the AAU Cross Country Nationals in the 7-year-old division in Knoxville, Tennessee.