Clayton Vaughn facts for kids

Clayton Vaughn is an American track and field athlete. He is a very fast runner, known as a sprinter. He was born on May 15, 1992. Clayton competes in races like the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash. He is famous for running the 100-meter dash in less than 10 seconds. His best time is 9.93 seconds. In 2015, he finished third in the 60-meter dash at a big national competition.

Clayton competed for the Texas–Arlington Mavericks college team. He won eight sprint titles in different races. These included the 60 m, 200 m, and the 4×100-meter relay. He holds the school records for the 100 m and relay events.

Clayton Vaughn's Running Journey

Early Life and School Years

Clayton Vaughn was born in Sulphur Springs, Texas. His dad, Chris Vaughn, played college football. This shows that sports were important in his family. Clayton went to Judson High School. Later, he studied business and kinesiology at the University of Texas at Arlington.

He started running track for the Texas–Arlington Mavericks team. Clayton had shown his running talent before. However, injuries to his hamstring muscles kept him from reaching his full potential in high school.

College Running Career

In his first year with the Mavericks, Clayton set many personal best times. He ran the indoor 60 m in 6.76 seconds. He also ran the 100 m in 10.36 seconds and the 200 m in 21.31 seconds. At the Southland Conference championships that year, he placed third in the 60 m. He also came fourth in the 100 m. He even competed at the NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

In 2012, Clayton got much better in the indoor 60 m race. He won the Southland Conference title for this distance. Then, he placed fifth at the NCAA Men's Indoor Track and Field Championships. He set a new best time of 6.61 seconds. Outdoors, he got injured at the Texas Relays. This made him miss most of the rest of that season.

He returned to indoor running in 2013. He won both the 60 m and 200 m races at the Western Athletic Conference championships. He set a new personal best in the 200 m with 20.86 seconds. He also ran in the 60 m heats at the NCAA Indoor Championships. He finished ninth overall there. His outdoor season was cut short again due to another injury. This time it was a stress fracture in his right lower leg bone.

At the end of 2013, Clayton faced a very sad time. His mother passed away unexpectedly. He promised himself to work hard and achieve his goals. His coach, Tyrone Edgar, encouraged him to run in her honor.

Starting his fourth year at Texas–Arlington, he set a new 60 m best time of 6.55 seconds in February 2014. This was a new school record. It also put him among the top 25 runners globally that year. He won the 60 m at the Sun Belt Conference championships. But he missed the NCAA competition because of another injury.

He got back in shape for outdoor events. He finished second in both the 100 m and 200 m at the Sun Belt Conference meet. He was also a finalist in these events at the 2014 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships. His performance in the relay race earned him three All-American honors. This was a first for a Mavericks athlete. He broke the school record in the 100 m with 10.07 seconds. He also set the record in the 4×100-meter relay (39.55 seconds). A new 200 m personal best of 20.47 seconds put him fourth on the school's all-time list.

In January 2015, Clayton set a leading time of 6.54 seconds for the 60 m. This happened at the Leonard Hilton Memorial event. He beat famous sprinters like Trell Kimmons and Mike Rodgers. Then, he achieved his first national award at the 2015 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships. He took third place behind Marvin Bracy and Joseph Morris. His time ranked him 14th in the world for that distance that year.

The 100 m final at the Sunbelt Conference Outdoor Championships was on Mother's Day. He won the race with a huge personal best of 9.93 seconds. This made him the 95th man ever to run the 100 m in under 10 seconds. Clayton dedicated this amazing run to his mother. He said, "my mom always believed that I could run fast...But I never really saw it. I did it on a day where I could honor her." This time made him the fourth fastest American college athlete ever. Only Ngoni Makusha, Davidson Ezinwa, and Ato Boldon had run faster. Clayton also finished third in the 200 m. He was a relay winner at the Sunbelt Conference meet. He reached the 100 m final again at the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Championships. He finished eighth there.

Professional Running

After finishing college, Clayton started competing as a professional runner. He entered the 2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. He ran in the 100 m heats but did not qualify for the next round. He was very close, just one hundredth of a second behind the last qualifier.

Personal Best Times

Here are Clayton Vaughn's fastest times in different races:

• 100-meter dash – 9.93 seconds (2015)
• 200-meter dash – 20.66 seconds (2014)
• 60-meter dash indoor – 6.54 seconds (2015)
• 200-meter dash indoor – 20.86 seconds (2013)