VOTE: Girls T&F Athlete of the Decade: Round 2, Brackets 1&2

Fifth-seeded Olivia Gruver was the only low seed to advance to the second round of the girls athlete of the decade bracket, beating out fourth-seeded Javonne Antoine. Gruver is one of two Franklin athletes to advance to the girls' Sweet Sixteen, along with second-seeded Nyjari McNeil. (Photo by Lisa McArthur)

Sixteen girls remain in our athlete of the decade tournament! These second-round polls will typically remain open for four days, and this particular set of polls will close at 11:59 PM on Thursday, August 7!

Matchup 17: (1) Masai Russell v. (5) Olivia Gruver

Masai Russell	Name	Olivia Gruver
Bullis	School	Franklin
2018	Class	2015
Def. (8) Emma King, 82-18	Round One	Def. (4) Javonne Antoine, 73-27
40.16 300H (US #2 all-decade) 7.81 55H (MD #2 all-decade) 1:13.72 500 (MD #4 all-decade) 13.80 100H (MD #5 all-decade) 24.41 200, 38.74 300, 55.57 400 6x ISL/MAC champion Won 400H at 2018 Penn Relays Member of three national championship relays Holds two ISL/MAC outdoor meet records (100H and 300H)	Accolades	13'4 indoor pole vault (MD #1 all-decade, US #6 2015) 5'0 HJ, 16'11.75 LJ 3x state champion 6x regional champion, 8x county champion Twice finished in top five at New Balance nationals Holds 3A outdoor meet record and overall indoor meet record (PV)

Matchup 18: (2) Nyjari McNeil v. (3) Hayley Jackson

Nyjari McNeil	Name	Hayley Jackson
Franklin	School	Patuxent
2018	Class	2017
Def. (7) Seasons Usual, 76-24	Round One	Def. (6) Mobolaji Adeokun, 86-14
1:12.39 500 (MD #1 all-decade, US #8 all-decade) 2:07.34 800 (MD #2 all-decade, US #14 2017) 54.45 400, 2:58.56 1000, 5:10.53 1600 13x state champion, 2x runner-up 16x regional champion, 15x county champion Member of relay that twice finished in top four of championship 4x400 at nationals Holds 3A outdoor meet record (400)	Accolades	4:45.55 indoor 1600 (MD #1 all-decade, US #1 2017 (w/ conversion)) 10:11.01c 3200 (MD #1 all-decade) 2:12.79 800 11x state champion, 1x runner-up 17x regional champion, 14x conference champion Finished top five in mile at 2017 Penn Relays and Millrose Games Holds 2A indoor meet record (800) and overall indoor meet record (1600) Holds 2A outdoor meet records (1600 and 3200)

Matchup 19: (1) Juliette Whittaker v. (4) Lauryn Harris

Juliette Whittaker	Name	Lauryn Harris
Mount de Sales	School	Bullis
2022	Class	2019
Def. (8) Claudia Ababio, 87-13	Round One	Def. (5) Jessica Caldwell, 73-27
2:03.01 indoor 800 (US #2 all-decade) 4:42.24c indoor 1600 (MD #1 all-decade (w conversion)) 10:23.14 indoor 3200 (MD #1 all-decade) 55.74 400 6x IAAM champion Finished second in 800 at 2019 New Balance nationals Holds IAAM outdoor meet record (800)	Accolades	13.46 100H (MD #1 all-decade, US #10 2019) 7.97 55H (US #20 all-decade) 19'11 LJ, 7.29 55, 11.95 100, 24.53 200, 39.61 300, 55.79 400 2x ISL/MAC champion, 4x runner-up Competed seven times at New Balance nationals Member of five national championship relay teams

Matchup 20: (2) Olivia Ekpone v. (3) Shania Collins

Olivia Ekpone	Name	Shania Collins
Wootton/Northwest	School	Huntingtown
2011	Class	2014
Def. (7) Abigail Green, 62-38	Round One	Def. (6) Madeleine Akobundu, 84-16
53.15 400 (MD #2 all-decade, US #3 2011) 11.58 100 (MD #6 all-decade) 6.96 55 (MD #7 all-decade) 23.89 200 (MD #10 all-decade) 38.96 300 14x state champion, 6x runner-up 20x regional champion, 20x county champion Four times finished in top five at New Balance nationals Holds overall outdoor meet record (400)	Accolades	38.47 300 (MD #2 all-decade, US #3 2014) 6.94 55 (MD #5 all-decade) 23.73 200 (MD #5 all-decade) 11.80 100, 58.02 400, 1:18.82 500 6x state champion, 1x runner-up 8x regional champion, 5x conference champion Won 200 at 2014 New Balance nationals Holds 3A and SMAC indoor meet records (300)