Chants of "Sydney, Sydney, Sydney'' started to echo through the Stage House Tavern in Scotch Plains at 7 p.m. on Sunday as a packed house of students, alumni and staff from Union Catholic gathered to watch one of their own, teen sensation Sydney McLaughlin, aim for a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team.

PLUS: McLaughlin smashes World Junior Record as she makes Olympic Team

When the women's 400-meter hurdle race at the U.S. Olympic Trials started a few minutes later, the standing room only crowd of more than 100 began to crank up the volume as McLaughlin, the 16 year-old rising senior at Union Catholic High School, blasted out of the blocks from lane 5 and began to pursue her Olympic dream.

As McLaughlin came down the homestretch at Hayward Field in a battle for third place with Kori Carter, the crowd began to sense that something very special was about to happen as they roared louder and louder with each step McLaughlin took, and then they exploded in total euphoria when she crossed the finish line in third place to secure the third and final spot on the U.S. Olympic Team Track and Field Team.

McLaughlin's third place time of 54.15 smashed the World Junior Record of 54.40 as she became the youngest athlete to make the U.S. Team since 1980. The Olympic Games will be held next in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.