Moriah Evans ’24 is once again a medalist in her signature event, women’s javelin.

The national AAU Junior Olympics were held Aug. 4, 2022, on the campus of North Carolina A&T University in Greensboro. Amid a field of 95 15- and 16-year-old female athletes, Moriah placed fifth overall with her javelin throw of 35.52 m (116.6 ft).  At the national level, the top eight athletes receive medals and qualify as All-America for the season. 

The junior is no stranger to the rigors of AAU and USATF competition: the 2022 event marks her fifth year of qualifying for and participating in nationals. She has previously competed in turbo javelin, aero javelin, the 400-meter dash, the 400-meter relay and the 200-meter relay. In 2018 and 2019, Moriah surpassed her own expectations by clinching the gold medal in women’s javelin for her age group.

However, preparing for this year’s event represented a new kind of challenge. In August of 2021, Moriah suffered an ACL tear and underwent surgery in September. Following a 10-month recovery, she decided to forgo running events in 2022 and focus solely on the javelin. 

“There were a lot of physical and psychological challenges with my return to competition,” Moriah said. “But I decided I was up for them and trained with both my track club and my personal coach.”

Her dedication paid off, as she qualified for nationals with a first-place regional competition throw of 120 feet. 

While she acknowledged some disappointment at her fifth-place showing at nationals — with a throw that was shorter than both her regional qualifying throw and last year’s USATF throw of 139 feet — Moriah said she remains “determined” to continue training.  

“After coming off an ACL tear, I knew it would take more work to get me back to where I was last year,” she said. “Standing on the podium, I was happy at how far I had gotten in the amount of time I had, but I knew I had more work to do. ... I am ready and motivated to exceed my personal best. I am looking forward to the challenge and determined to come back stronger.”

Moriah is currently in off-season javelin training with a former track and field coach from UNC-Chapel Hill. She will also integrate running with her field event training. She is also looking forward to competing again this year with Ravenscroft’s track and field team. Last spring, she helped set new school records in relay events at the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association’s state championship.