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The Hays Striders track team were in competition at the AAU Junior Olympic Games July 29 through Aug. 7 in Greensboro, N.C. Of the 125 Striders on the 2022 team, 11 made the trip to compete against the best athletes in the nation. The weeklong competition serves as the culmination of the training and dedication the athletes started in April, with qualifying meets held in Hays and Joplin Missouri in June.
“We are just so proud of our kids,” Coach Dave Haberman said of the Striders. “They have put in the work required to compete at this meet, and it definitely shows with their results.”
The Striders have had athletes compete in every Junior Olympic meet since its inception and look to continue that tradition next year at the USATF Junior Olympic meet in Eugene, Oregon, and the AAU meet in Des Moines, Iowa.
“Everybody is excited about the potential to compete next year at ‘Track Town, USA’ in Eugene next year,” Haberman said. Eugene is home to numerous championships, including the Olympic Trials for the USA. “Quite a few of our athletes will continue to compete in their school programs this fall and next spring, and then start up with us again once those seasons ends."
Even though the Striders sent a contingent of athletes to the Junior Olympics every year, Haberman feels it’s important not to discount those who do not go or even qualify.
“We have a great team of athletes with wonderful families in our area,” Haberman said. “It’s those athletes, maybe out for their first or second year, as well as those nationally competitive kids that come out every day to train, that are the backbone of our team. They are the future of track and field in Hays and their communities, and this program will hopefully give them a good start when that interscholastic season comes around with their schools. We tell parents every year that we’re just hoping that ‘track bug’ bites so they will love track and field like we hope they will.”
The following are the Hays Striders results from the Junior Olympics of the Girls Division:
Aliviah Ball, 14, brought home a 3rd Place medal in the high jump with a leap of 5’3”
Audrina Ortiz, 14, placed 38th in the 100 meter hurdles at 17.25 seconds, and 52nd in the 200 meter hurdles with 31.61.
Lyndi Zimmerman, 13, placed 12th in the Pentathlon with 2,191 points; and 27th in the 200 meter hurdles at 31.53 seconds.
Makayla Lewallen, 13, placed 9th in the Pentathlon with 2,316 points; 7612st in the 1500 meter run at 5:36.48, and 31st in the 100 meter hurdles with a run of 17.80 seconds.
Sydney Lewallen, 12, placed 87th in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:49.75.
On the Boys side, results include:
Emery Zimmerman, 10, bringing home a 3rd place medal in the 1500 meter run with a time of 5:05.10; and a 10th place finish in the 800 meter run at 2:28.86
Tayte Lewallen, 10, placed 22nd in the Triathlon with 489 points; 69th in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:51.16, and 39th in the 1500 meter run at 5:40.39
Kobe Schmidt, 11, placed 49th in the 400 meter dash with a run of 1:06,75
Caleb Englert, 14, took a 23rd place finish in the Shot Put with a toss of 39’1 ¼”
Auston Bland, 13, placed 11th in the Javelin with a throw of 104’11”
Grayson Walburn, 17-18, placed 10th in the Discus with a throw of 153’9”; and 59th in the Shot Put at 40”6”.