When he crossed the finish line Friday, Dwight Palmer thought he’d finished in the middle of the pack.

A little lean pushed him to the front.

The Warren Central junior edged out two other runners by less than a tenth of a second to finish third in the boys’ 15-16-year-olds’ 200 meter dash at the AAU Junior Olympics and claim a bronze medal.

Palmer clocked a time of 21.76 seconds, while Texan Macavion Hill was fourth in 21.81 seconds and Louisiana’s Nasir Ceazar fifth in 21.85.

Kendrick Jones Jr., from Temple, Texas, won in 20.81 seconds and Gretna, Louisiana’s Micah Green was second in 21.54.

“It feels good. I had to fight to get third. I was behind at first,” Palmer said. “As soon as I got out of the curve I started getting my top-end speed. When I got to 150 I started to pull back to get in third. I was almost fourth and at the end I got third.”

Palmer added his bronze medal from the AAU national championships to a growing collection from other high-level meets in the spring and summer 2024 season.

Palmer won a silver medal at the MHSAA Class 6A high school state meet in May, and then won the AAU Region 11 championship in June.

At this week’s meet in Greensboro, North Carolina, he endured three rounds of competition to finish third out of 85 runners in the field.

Palmer had times of 22.21 seconds in the preliminary round and a personal-best 21.57 in the semifinals. He’d been sixth in each of the first two rounds, then improved that standing when it mattered most.

“It’s been pretty good. It’s been a lot of ups and downs. I’m coming home and I’ve got to get first place in the state this coming year,” Palmer said. “I want to thank my coach at Olympus Bound, Michael Fields; my teammates; and my coaches from Warren Central.”

Palmer’s medal also capped off an outstanding week in Greensboro for Warren County’s track and field athletes. Palmer and Jonathan Henderson both won medals, while Adria Burrell reached the semifinals of the girls’ 17-18-year-olds’ 200 meters and competed in the 100 meters.

Henderson won the silver medal in the boys’ 17-18-year-olds’ high jump on Thursday, with a height of 6 feet, 8 3/4 inches (2.05 meters).

All three were competing under the banner of the Olympus Bound track club, which is coached by St. Aloysius’ Michael Fields. They are or were also Warren Central athletes. Palmer is entering his junior year, Burrell her senior year, and Henderson graduated in May.

“I’ve been happy for Adria and Jonathan. He jumped good and she ran good,” Palmer said.