One thing’s certain about Janiah Young: She’s a winner.
The 2022 Windsor High graduate, now at the University of Southern Maine, captured a combined seven individual and relay track and field team state titles while a Yellowjacket. At USM? She’s finished first 23 times in various events at indoor and outdoor meets during her 2½-year college career.
Named the Little East Conference’s Rookie of the Year as a freshman, Young was the runner-up in the 200-meter sprint at last month’s indoor conference championships, finishing four one-hundredths of a second behind the winner in 25.527 seconds. Soon thereafter, she was also part of a 4×200 relay quartet that finished second at the New England Division III championship in 1:42.04.
“She’s very charismatic and carefree and always brings great big smiles to everything,” said USM coach Rob Whitten, whose program captured its fifth consecutive LEC indoor title last month and won its fourth consecutive outdoor crown last spring.
“She’s a unique character who enjoys competing, and she’s taken it to another level this year. She’s put it together week after week.”
Young is a 21-year-old Perkinsville resident who has two sisters, Kemari and Kiara Wildgoose. The former recently helped Windsor capture its third VPA Division III girls basketball title in four years, and the latter is a former Yellowjackets athlete now attending Vermont State University in Castleton.
Young began running track during sixth grade at Claremont Middle School. At Windsor, she was sometimes in action every 20 minutes because the Yellowjackets’ small roster required her to compete not only in sprints but relays and jumps as well. There were days she competed in five different events, with preliminaries and finals in each.
Whitten said he routinely keeps an eye on Vermont’s state meet standouts via the internet and never saw Young compete in person before offering her a chance to join his program. Athlete and coach hit it off during her campus visit, on which she was struck by how invested the Huskies were in each other’s performances.
“What really convinced me was they pushed each other and everybody was there for each other’s events,” said Young, who also won two field hockey championships in high school and who briefly toyed with also playing the sport at USM. “All eyes were on everybody. There wasn’t anyone just sitting in the stands and not cheering for each other.”
Whitten said Young’s development has centered around the 5-foot, 5-inch junior’s weight room work, which has increased her power and stamina. Attention to nutrition and sleep have added to her energy.
“She’s always had speed, but her training has given her endurance at the end of races,” the coach said. “She’s been able to maintain her form when fatigue sets in.”
The next step for Young is reaching the national championship meet, a goal Whitten said is within reach.
“It’s another level of commitment to which she really has to dial in,” he said. “It’s going to take some work.”
Young’s not afraid to grind. A public health major, she already plans to earn a master’s degree in the same subject at USM.
Tris Wykes can be reached at ctwykes@aol.com.