AMERICAN athlete Jalen Carethers was the standout of this week's AFL International Combine in the US, with the 201cm prospect almost breaking the all-time 20m sprint record.
The 21-year-old, who comes from Virginia and has a basketball background, ran 2.79 seconds in the sprint test.
It was the equal third fastest time tested by the AFL (former Gold Coast player Joel Wilkinson holds the record with 2.75 seconds), and the quickest ever recorded by a player standing 198cm or taller.
Carethers was also the fastest of the 15 athletes to take part in the combine at the IMG Academy in Florida in the repeat sprint test, posting a time of 25.16 seconds.
He backed up his speed by being the second best performed in the agility run and vertical jumps.
North Melbourne, Richmond, Essendon and Carlton sent recruiters and officials to America to scout the prospects, with dual premiership player and now Blues development coach Matthew Capuano also assisting in running the drills.
"This is the fourth year the AFL has conducted a combine in the USA, and no doubt the best in terms of potential AFL talent," the AFL's national and international talent manager Kevin Sheehan said.
"All prospects really enjoyed the combine overall including the challenge of adopting to the oval ball," said.
"Under the watchful eye of the four AFL clubs, the 15 prospects, with an average height of 204.3cm, were given the chance to showcase their talent and potential in the hope of winning an AFL International Rookie spot at the end of the three-day job interview."
Nebraska's Kye Kurkowski showed some natural athleticism and ball-handling skills, and a new benchmark was set by John Crnogorac, who was the tallest player the AFL has ever measured in all of its national and USA combines since 1999.
The 212.2cm athlete caught the eye with his size, as did Arizona's Matt Korchek, with the 23-year-old finishing third in the three-kilometre endurance test.
"Another giant with the hard edge, drive, leadership and athletic profile to certainly appeal to AFL clubs was 205.6cm and 108kg Matt Korchek, whose background in soccer, American football and basketball prepared him for the rigours of the hard work and dedication needed to succeed as a convert to the AFL," Sheehan said.
"His time of 12 minutes and eight seconds in the 3km time trial for a young man of his size in his first ever test over that distance showed his true grit and aerobic capacity."
Carlton development coach Matthew Capuano leads the ruck drills
Clubs will now assess the international talent pool, with at least two of the American athletes to be picked to attend the NAB AFL Draft Combine at Etihad Stadium in October.
Immense interest in Mason Cox following last year's international combine in Los Angeles saw him flown out to Australia shortly after impressing with the testing, and he trialled at four clubs before choosing to join Collingwood.
He became the third American on an AFL list, following Eric Wallace (North Melbourne) and Jason Holmes (St Kilda). They are among 15 internationals presently at AFL clubs.
AFL INTERNATIONAL COMBINE TOP RESULTS
HEIGHT
John Crnogorac (Mississippi) – 212.2cm
Brian Hornstein (Dallas) – 211.3cm
Kye Kurkowski (Nebraska) – 208.9cm
STANDING VERTICAL JUMP
Reggie Spencer (Alabama) – 84cm
Jalen Carethers (Virginia) – 81cm
James Johnson (Canada) – 81cm
RUNNING VERTICAL JUMP
Junior Fortunat (Canada) – 89cm
Jalen Carethers (Virginia) – 88cm
James Johnson (Canada) – 88cm
SPEED – 20 METRE SPRINT
Jalen Carethers (Virginia) – 2.79 seconds
Christian Behrens (Seattle) – 2.95 seconds
Len Springs (Los Angeles) – 2.99 seconds
AFL AGILTY RUN
Daquan Holiday (New Jersey) – 8.40 seconds
Jalen Carethers (Virginia) – 8.48 seconds
Reggie Spencer (Alabama) – 8.52 seconds
30 METRE REPEAT SPRINTS
Jalen Carethers (Virginia) – 25.16 seconds
Daquan Holiday (New Jersey) – 25.33 seconds
Christian Behrens (Seattle) – 25.42 seconds
ENDURANCE – 3KM TIME TRIAL
Len Springs (Los Angeles) – 11minutes 14 seconds
Kye Kurkowski (Nebraska) – 11minutes 56 seconds
Matt Korcheck (Arizona) – 12 minutes 8 seconds
