Juriad Hughes, Jr

Irondale Sr HS, Coon Rapids, MN c/o 2024
AthleticNET Bio

Juriad Hughes grew up loving to run. He’d run around the yard and race cars, trucks, trains and motorcycles when he was four years old. “I just always loved to run around like in school, and anywhere I could; on the street, just racing cars and stuff like that,” he says now.

His athletic ability can be traced back to his parents. His mom, Leticia, ran track at North High School in St. Paul. His father, Juriad, played basketball at Central High, also in St. Paul, and was Minnesota Mr. Basketball runner-up in ‘89. He was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame. Juriad jr was faster than most kids too.

It was his mom’s friend who suggested that he run AAU track. So he tried it. He had a lot of local success that first year.  He won against kids his age and the times he lost, it was against older kids or adults. The early success kept him interested. 

“My first year, I don't think I lost the race. I was just winning and winning. I just had a lot of early success, so once we found out that I was actually good at it, we just kept with it.”

As he got better, he began to branch out. In those early years, he won at the USATF JO Minnesota Championship level often, but at the AAU JO national level in the sixth and seventh grade, he would finish in the  second third in the 100m, and 200m. In the long jump, he would finish in the upper third. 

He played basketball and football too though he stopped playing basketball this past year so he could do indoor track. It was a decision that didn’t come easily.

“That was a big decision for me to make, but it was a good decision. I feel like if I would have kept playing then I wouldn't have had the indoor and outdoor season that I had.“

He still plays football and is a three star wide receiver prospect. He and the quarterback have been playing together for many years and they have a good chemistry.  Last year he had 25 receptions for 429 yard and 4 receiving TDs.

His track career has continued to improve. He hasn't always been a jumper. Initially, his coaches put him in the sprint events because he was so fast. They also had him do the long jump and as he did it more, he kept getting better and better. 

His sophomore year he stretched out his best in the long jump 24-01 and finished third at the USATF JO National meet with a 23-11.5. This past season, he won the Nike Indoor Nationals with a 24-10.75,  won the Minnesota 3A Championships with a 24-10.75(+4.0) and the Nike Outdoor Nationals with a 24-08.75. He earned a spot on Team USA for the Pan Am U20 meet with a second place finish at the USATF U20 Championships in Eugene, OR with a new personal best of 24-10.75(+1.6). At the Pan Am U20 in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, he claimed the gold medal winning with another personal best of 24-11.75(+0.1). His series was a model of consistency. Four of his jumps were  in the 24 foot range and his second best jump was 24-11.25.

He’s gotten better through weight training and practice. He started weight training at 13-14 years old and feels with more work he’s gotten stronger and will keep getting stronger. He has bests of 10.82, 21.60 and 24-11.75. This upcoming season may be the season he makes that big leap.

“My coaches always tell me that  when you hit a mark over and over, there's going to be a big leap. One thing I take pride in is my consistency. I want to increase a lot, but I feel it's also a good thing that I'm consistent. It's not like I'm dropping, I keep on hitting 24-11 so I feel like a big jump is going to come very soon.”