Posts by dAllison | Phoenix Flyers Track Club

May 4, 2018May 4, 2018

Middle Distance Runners Move to Faster Times

Khaleb Henry & Ava Clegg Throw for New Club Records

With Coach Allison at Penn Relays and Coach Todd in the middle of a home move, our outstanding parents and awesome assistant coaches of the Flyers took control of the situation last Saturday for the final regulation meet of the season at McClintock High School in Tempe. There were over a dozen PRs set and a couple of club records in the hot Saturday sun.

8U Division

Rajah Morris is loving the 100 meters and showed that on Saturday as he set a new PR with a time of 21.01. He has a couple of more chances to get under the 21-second mark before the season ends, and we think he can do it! Antonoio Arana made the finals in the mini-javelin and took 8th overall with a solid throw for himself of 7.42 meters. Antonio also got close to his 100-meter PR with a fast time of 18.34.

9-10 Division

Max Columbus running 79 seconds in a 400 meter race would have been a good time for him, but when it is the first lap of his inaugural 800-meter race then it becomes more of a “Houston, we may have a problem” sort of situation. Max ended up taking 6th overall in the 800 m with a good time of 2:56.23. Max also ran 16.88 in the 100 m and threw 19.62 in the javelin. Simon Reynolds was one of many who had triple distance duty on Saturday. Simon ran a PR in the 400 of 1:19.37, a 5th place 800 m (2:55.16) and a 6:00.51 2nd-place 1500 m for a full and rewarding day. Italia Eason, had a good day out on the track. While no PRs were had, she came close in two of her events. Italia jumped 2.93 m in the long jump, ran 17.94 in the 100 m and 40.65 in the 200 meters. Auggie Grimm was given the mighty task of running his first 400 meters and he got by it unscathed. Auggie ran 1:25.03. Auggie came back to run the 100 m in a zippy time of 15.56 seconds. Emerson Rhodes jumped big time on Saturday as she took 6th place with her best jump ever of 3.25 meters. Emerson also ran the 100 m in 17.23. Isa Allison also had a nice jump day at McClintock as she placed 8th with a mark of 3.22 meters. Isa also ran the 100 (17.11) and 200 (37.14) to wrap up a very long and hot day.

11-12 Division

Gael Pacheco is another one of those runners who had triple duty. Gael had three good performances with times of 34.85 (200 m), 1:16.71 (400 m) and 2:56.56 (800 m). Alex Columbus didn’t get DQ’d this week in the 800 and posted an official new PR for himself of 2:57.02. He also continues to throw well, as he took 3rd place in the aero-javelin (21.66 m) and ran a 1:15 400 m to round out his day. Braden Lolli coasted to victory in his first (and maybe only) 3000 m of this year, as he ran a PR and club record of 11:23.72. Braden came back nicely to take 3rd in the 800 m (2:32.82) and then found the strength to run a PR and club record in the 400 (64.32) to take 2nd place overall. Micah Newkirk had a terrific day. Micah had two PRs and a first place finish. Micah won the 1500 in 5:28.17, ran his best time in the 400 (1:11.62) and yet another best time in the 800 m (2:36.38) to take 4th. Maddox Moses is putting the work in and getting his legs back. Maddox took 5th in the 3000 m (12:22.65), ran 79.21 in the 400 m and ran a season’s best in the 800 of 2:50.38. Jake Blair when he doesn’t come right from the football pitch to the track can really get those feet moving. Jake ran a strong PR in the 800 (2:44.83) and took 2nd in the aero-javelin with a mark of 28.71 m. Seth Henry’s ran a PR in the 400 m on Saturday (1:10.81) as well as running 30.53 in the 200 m and 14.53 in the 100 m. Ava Clegg is liking these throwing events as she set a club record and PR in the discus (15.75 m), while also taking 3rd place overall! Ava also took 4th in the shot put with a distance of 6.13 meters.

13-14 Division

Khaleb Henry flexed his muscles and launched the discus 24.80 meters for a 4th place showing, as well as a PR and new club record. Khaleb also took 4th in the shot put with a thud of 8.44 meters.. Matty Braun fighting a cold all week did come out to perform admirably. He jumped a PR of 3.90 meters in the long jump, ran 15.03 in the 100 m and a 1:11.74 400-meter time. Macy Baerman last meet ran a 200-meter PR, and on Saturday ran a 400-meter PR of 1:16.75. Macy jumped one of her better marks of the season (3.62 m) and also came through in 16.26 in the 100 m. Robert Vloemans thought running the 400 was optional, so he ended up just throwing – but throw well he did. Robert sliced the air with a new PR in the discus (22.71 m) for 5th place and took 7th in the shot put with a dust settling 7.85 m throw.

The Flyers are now into “Championship Season” with the USATF AZ State Meet up next on May 19-20 at Mesa Community College.

Go Flyers!

April 24, 2018

Javelins Soar For Flyers at Phoenix Invitational

Lolli Takes 3rd in 1500 Meters

The first two-day meet for the Flyers was last week as over 8 states were represented at the 54th Annual Phoenix Invitational at Mesa Community College. Many great performances and PRs were had by our Flyers over this two-day span.

8U Division

Antonoio Arana had a great meet. He dropped over a second in his 100 meter time to run a season’s best of 18.25 and he also is getting a firm grip on the javelin (literally and figuratively) where he was one of many Flyers who threw for a PR. Antonio launched his rubber-tipped spear nearly 5 meters longer than his last performance with a strong mark of 8.05 meters. Rajah Morris got to the meet on time and was able to compete in the 100 meters as well, where he ran close to a PR with a finishing kick of 21.49 seconds.

9-10 Division

Isaiah Crowder keeps improving in the latter part of the season as he ran a new PR in the 100 meters with a time of 16.29 seconds. Isaiah also ran the 200 meters for the first time with a solid clocking of 33.86 and finished his meet up with the javelin as he threw 11.97 meters. Emerson Rhodes had a nice PR in the 200 meters, as she sped by in 37.20. Emerson also jumped a solid 3.10 meters, but she has her eyes on a farther distance next time around. Emerson also ran a strong 100 in a time of 17.50. Isa Allison just missed a PR in the long jump with a 3.26 mark, but was still quite pleased with her performance. Isa had a huge PR (and club record) in the mini-javelin as she took 3rd place with a 21.35 m toss. I think it was a little early for Isa in the 200 as she ran with great effort, but her turnover got her a time of 35.30, which is a bit off off her fastest time for the season. Max Columbus had a great weekend of competition. Max broke through the 80-second 400-meter barrier with a huge PR of 1:17.28. He also jumped great, as he learns this new event, with a new PR of 3.12 meters. Max also threw the javelin 18.82 meters to round out a fun and rewarding weekend. Italia Eason, due to a house move could only make one of her events last weekend, but the one event she made was worth the trip. Italia leaped a new PR and club record in the long jump with a great mark of 3.27 m – nice going! Auggie Grimm was in and out of the meet due to other obligations, but the time he was there he made it count. Auggie sprinted a new PR in the 200 meters in a time of 32.57 seconds.

11-12 Division

Braden Lolli was not too happy with his 800 meters at first because he was last in his heat; but when he found out that he had set a PR and new club record (2:27.73) his frown turned upside down. With this new confidence, he came out and ran a very strong 1500 meters in 5:04.49, which was again a PR, club record as well as a 3rd place overall finish. Braden was also part of the 4×800 team (Micah Newkirk, Jake Blair and Maddox Moses) that took 3rd overall in a time of 11:05.95. Micah Newkirk was still asleep on the first day, I think, as he ran his open 200 in 33.69, but he was definitely up and ready the following day in the 1500 meters. Micah took 7th overall in a tough field and ran a new PR of 5:26.82. Gael Pacheco each week gets faster and faster. Gael had two great personal performances. He ran a 4-second PR in the 800 with a time of 2:53.39 and came back the following day to run an over 1-second PR in the 400 (1:11.07). Gael also ran the 100 meters in 16.30. Alex Columbus is figuring out the javelin each week more and more. He proved this on Sunday when he threw for a 2-meter PR (27.27 m) and took 9th overall in a very competitive field. The previous day, Alex’s 800-heat, due to an early cut-in by many of the runners, all got DQ’d, but unofficially we had Alex down with a time of 2:50, which would have been a huge PR. Alex did come back on Sunday to run the 400 and ran a gutsy lap in 1:12.73. Lucy Arana, after being sick for the past week, ran two races on fumes, unfortunately. Lucy clocked a 2:49.05 800 m and a 5:47.36 1500 m over the weekend. Once Lucy regains her strength, we know she’ll see those times fall dramatically. Maddox Moses slowly but surely is getting his legs back. He ran a 16.66 100 m, a 2:53.66 800 m, and ran a 2:51 split in the 4×800 relay. Jake Blair had a very nice PR in the open 800 m with a time of 2:45.16 and continues to improve in his javelin throwing as he launched one for 31.83 m for a 5th place finish. Jake also ran a 2:52 split in the 4×800. Ava Clegg continues having a very strong and productive season. Ava took 6th overall in the discuss as she threw a PR and club record of 15.28 meters. Ava ran a PR in the 400 with a smooth time of 1:23.86 and also finished 7th in the shot put with a mark of 6.87 m. The timers mixed up Seth Henry’s time in the 100 m; but after looking at it, we saw that Seth crossed the line in 14.10 seconds. Due to breathing issues, both Seth and Khaleb didn’t come back to compete on Sunday, unfortunately.

13-14 Division

Macy Baerman darted to a new PR in the 200 with a 33.11 effort. She also ran 16.55 in the 100 m later in the day and jumped 3.45 m in the long jump. Robert Vloemans dashed to his fastest 200 meters of the year with a strong finish of 29.27. Robert also placed 8th in the discuss (20.24 m) and thew 7.47 m in the shot put to round out his weekend in Mesa. Khaleb Henry due to the aforementioned breathing issues, only threw the shot put this past weekend and was a bit off his game as he launched it 7.45 meters Charlie Allison while not overall thrilled with his own performances this past weekend, did show some signs of improvement. Charlie ran a PR in the 400 m (62.16) and beat his own club record in the process. Charlie still is figuring out technique in the long jump, but did manage a 5.10 m 4th place finish there. Charlie showed good progress in the triple jump (10.10 m) where he took 1st and lastly, Charlie won the javelin in 40.04 m, which is a bit away from his best throw, but he did throw with an injured finger. Sebastian Arana had two strong 7th place finishes. Sebastian threw over 25-meters for the first time ever (25.02 m) in the javelin and threw another PR in the shot put (8.50 m) for a very good weekend.

The Flyers will be back to the track on April 28 at McClintock HS for the last regulation meet of the year.

Go Flyers!

April 1, 2018April 1, 2018

New Uniforms Brighten Flyers Performances

Allison & Newkirk Win Javelin & 1500 Meters

Bright colors were all the rage for the Flyers on Saturday, as most of our athletes were donning our new neon green uniforms at the March 31st USATF AZ Regulation Meet at South Mountain High School. Although it was the first really hot day of the season (over 90-degrees) our Flyers were still producing their own winning heat on the track and in the field on Saturday.

9-10 Division

Isa Allison was hoping to take the day off from the javelin on Saturday and run the 100 and 200 instead. Luckily, this didn’t happen because Isa ended up with a PR, club record and winning the mini-javelin with a 20.05 meter blast. Isa also PR’d in the 200 by almost two seconds with a 34.73 time and had a good mark (off the wrong foot) of 3.01 meters in the long jump. Simon Reynolds doing his best Jim Whittaker impersonation on Friday by going on supposedly a “light hike”, still had enough gas in the tank on Saturday to run not one, but two PRs. Simon ran a 6th place 2:53.79 800-meter race and came back later in the afternoon screaming down the straightaway in the 200 meters (head bobbing and all) with a 35.41 finish. Max Columbus was sooooo close getting three PRs on Saturday. He had a .01 improvement in the javelin (19.91 m) for 6th place, a 34.60 PR in the 200 and missed a third PR by .01 seconds in the 400 where he ran a gutsy 1:20.53 in the 400 – great job Max! Italia Eason jumped like a champ with a new PR in the long jump with a strong mark of 2.89 meters. Italia also ran the 100 in 18.17 to round out her day. Auggie Grimm, who I honestly didn’t see the entire day, managed to make it out to the 100 meters to run a pretty fast 15.65 time and then vanish once again into the ether. Isaiah Crowder came out to his first track meet and seemed to have a blast. To quote Isaiah, “I want to run the 200 meters next meet!”. Isaiah did run the 100 meters and ran well in his heat with a 16.98 time. Isaiah also threw the javelin for the very first time and did so quite admirably with a toss of 12.55 meters. Emerson Rhodes is getting some serious wheels as she flew both in the 100 and 200 with two new PRs. Emerson broke 17-seconds for the first time in the 100 (16.98) and improved by about one second in the 200 with another great personal best of 38.45. Emerson’s legs also reached 2.84 meters in the long jump for a sizzling Saturday.

11-12 Division

Micah Newkirk said he wasn’t feeling too great the past couple of days, well maybe he should feel “not so great” more often as he completely decimated the 1500-meter competition with a great season opener, PR and first place time of 5:30.71. Micah also ran a speedy 200 in 33.44 at the end of the afternoon. Gael Pacheco who has been training at sea-level in the Seattle area for the past week, ran a great personal best of 2:57.26 in the 800 meters and came back in the 200 meters in 34.47. Alex Columbus managed the triple-PR day. Alex started by running a 1:10.73, which was a five second PR. He then sent the javelin soaring and crushed his old javelin best by almost three meters to take 4th place overall in a deep field (25.04 m). Lastly, he showed some nice foot-speed by running 31.78 in the 200 meters – what a day Alex! Ava Clegg not only had two PRs, but two club records! Ava took third in the discus with a PR and club record of 13.72 meters. She then threw over seven meters for the first time ever to have another PR and club record in the shot put (7.48 m). And she just missed a third PR for the day by running a great personal time of 1:25.26 . Seth Henry, if we could only get him to practice a little more often he would be doing even better than the strong times he has already been producing out on the track. Seth ran a fast 100 meters in 13.88 and then came back in the 400 meters with an ever-so-close PR of 1:12.47. Maddox Moses, who has been on medical IR for the first part of the season, finally got cleared to run and run he did! Maddox smashed the first heat of the 800 to run a solo-2:50.82 and then sped around half the track in the 200 at the end of the afternoon in a nice time of 33.87. Jake Blair needs to take a deep breath, exhale and remember he is a champion. Although he took third place in the javelin with a throw of 30.05 meters, let me remind him at the Phoenix Invitational last year he was happy throwing 24.06 meters. The season is young and we have many meters yet to throw. Jake also ran the 400 with a club PR of 1:15.02.

13-14 Division

Charlie Allison almost gave this blogger/coach/dad a heart attack as he had a freak accident, which saw Charlie fly sideways high in the air and land with a thud into the long jump pit, after his right foot slipped on a buckled long jump board. Thankfully, Charlie is alright, but that ended his competition for the day. Before the long jump fiasco, Charlie did run the 100 meters in 13.19 and did get one jump in of 4.96 meters, to take 3rd overall. Matty Braun not a novice to track and field, but new to the Flyers this year, ran a 13.97 100-meter time and also a zippy 28.90 200-meter clocking. Macy Baerman saw some overall speed improvement, as she managed a PR in the 200 meters with a good time for her of 33.89 seconds. Macy also competed in the long jump where the sand touched her toes 3.52 meters into the pit. Robert Vloemans tied a PR in the shot put (7.72 m), had a PR in the discus, where he went over twenty meters (20.67 – 6th place) and just missed breaking 30 seconds in the 200 with a line crossing of 30.46 ticks. Khaleb Henry, who has great potential to be a great thrower, only needs to get to practice a bit more often to hone his mad field skills. Khaleb threw a club record in the discus to take 5th place (21.82 m) and is knocking on the door of the shot put club record, as he threw a PR of 8.71 m for a sixth place ribbon.

The Flyers will be back to the track on April 14-15 at Mesa Community College for one of the largest meets of the year, The Phoenix Invitational.

Go Flyers!

March 20, 2018March 20, 2018

Vloemans Triple PRs at Copper Canyon

Lolli, Arana and Reynolds Set Two PRs Each

The Flyers traveled westward again for the second outdoor regulation meet of the season at Copper Canyon High School in Glendale, Ariz. Our birds flew fast and strong on Saturday as we saw many personal records and even some clubs records fall by the time the afternoon was complete.

8U Division

Antonio Arana who is “not aggressive” according to him, did compete in the mini-javelin for the first time of the year and threw it straight for 3.45 meters. We will see if we can get a smidgen more umph out of him the next time he tosses the spear because we can see he’s figuring out the technique well. Antonio also ran the 100 meters for the first time this season with a very solid time of 19.51. Rajah Morris, came out for his first ever meet and was adorned with speed suit and shiny black spikes as he cruised down the straightaway in the 100 m in a good time of 21.19 seconds.

9-10 Division

Simon Reynolds’ parents found the bandwidth to confirm to me that Simon would indeed be competing at Copper Canyon and we are glad they all came out. Simon set a new PR in the 800 m (2:57.78) and took 5th overall. Simon also showed his overall speed is getting better as he ran a PR in the 100 meters in 16.66. Max Columbus is getting his legs back as he came awfully close setting a new PR for himself in the 400 meters (1:21.81) and I am sure he will be busting through the 80-second barrier perhaps even before the end of March. Max also had some good throws in the mini-javelin (18.94 – 3rd place), but still feels like the “electric-slide” technique is the way to go rather than using his forward gait to add more momentum to his throws. Max also attempted the long jump for the first time ever and did a pretty good job as he got close to 3-meters (2.89). Isa Allison likes to throw, but maybe likes throwing more when there is tough competition. When Isa saw the top competitor, Jerzy Robinson (Do Right), throw over 23-meters, Isa became laser focused and put up a 19.41 m throw of her own, which was a PR, club record and got her a second-place ribbon. Isa also competed in the 100 m (16.77) and long jump (2.56 m) to round out her day.

11-12 Division

Gael Pacheco is fun to watch each week because you see how much he enjoys running and how he gets better and better with almost every stride. Saturday was no different, as Gael crushed his PR in the 400 by over 3 seconds with a strong 1:12.65 finish. Gael also got extremely close to setting a new PR in the 200 as well by running a 2018 best of 33.80. Gael started the day in the 100 m, where he leaned back a little too much, but worked hard for a 16.24 time. Alex Columbus continues to show great improvement in the aero-javelin, where this neophyte thrower was finding more of a rhythm with his technique as he took 3rd with a 22.22 meter mark. Alex also had a rapid trip around the track, as he set a new PR of 1:15.85 and got out of the blocks in the 100 m with a final lean of 15.22 seconds. . Ava Clegg, while she didn’t set any new PRs for herself on Saturday seemed to be taking the warm breezy spring day in quite nicely as she placed 3rd in the shot put (6.56 m), ran a satisfying time of 35.74 in the 200 and jumped 3.18 m in the long jump. Seth Henry ran 28.71 seconds in the 200 and he looked pretty smooth doing it. That time was both a PR and a new club record. Seth also ran the 100 in 13.87, which was close to another new PR for him as well. Braden “The Ice King” Lolli had temporary amnesia on Friday night, obviously, as he surely thought that the winter Olympics were still going on as he skated for a few hours for his quest for gold in the men’s figure skating competition. But even though he was a bit haggard from the previous night’s Ice Capade, Braden still somehow managed to run a new PR and club record in the 1500 meters (5:12). Braden also gave distance runners a good name as he was pretty close of holding sole possession of the 200-meter club record with a new PR of 28.94, which as I mentioned previously went to Seth after his strong 200 performance. Jake Blair was signed up for three events, but due to his busy soccer schedule, made it in time for just two of the three. Jake had a nice PR in the long jump (3.61 m) and started off the season with an impressive opening throw of 32.19 m in the aero-jav, which got him 2nd place overall. Lucy Arana I know believes now she can run with virtually anyone in her age group. Lucy ran her first 1500 meter of the season and looked like an old pro, as she placed 5th, set a club record and PR with an excellent time of 5:40.63. Lucy then came back at the end of the day and shredded her old 200 best by screaming around the turn to finish with a 32.56 clocking. Ginger Money, who is in the midst of middle school track season, had a chance on Saturday, due to spring break, to compete for the Flyers. She ran a new PR in the 800 with a 3:09.94 crossing and should be getting down to that sub-3-minute barrier in the not-so-distant future.

13-14 Division

Robert Vloemans, who I may start referring to as our “gentle giant” had three big PRs: 29.78 in the 200 (his first time breaking 30 seconds); 7.72 m in the shot put for 4th place; 19.39 m in the discus for a 6th place. Robert is a hard worker in practice and it’s good to see how he is being rewarded with great times and marks come competition days. Charlie Allison is starting to get into shape as he broke the 13-second barrier in the 100 meters for the first time ever (12.91). Charlie did take care of business in the javelin (41.55 m) with a first place ribbon. Charlie’s jumping is slowly getting back into gear, as he took 2nd in the long jump (4.87 m) and 1st in the triple (9.81). Khaleb Henry is still tossing some good marks in the shot put as he had yet another PR in this event (8.14 m) and took 3rd place. Khaleb also threw the discuss for a distance of 18.99 meters. Macy Baerman’s overall foot-speed is increasing as she had a new PR in the 100 m (16.16), but now we need to translate that down the long jump runway, as she landed 3.39 meters for her best mark of the day. Macy also ran the 400 in a hair’s breath under 80-seconds (1:19.99) to complete a solid day on the west side of the valley.

17-18 Division

Kenya Coburn came out on Saturday to compete in the women’s 100 meter hurdles. Kenya came out ready to go, as she got over the barriers pretty quickly and efficiently with a final first place time of 17.74 seconds.

The Flyers will be back to the track on March 31st at South Mountain High School in Phoenix for the next USATF AZ Regulation Meet.

Go Flyers!

March 6, 2018March 6, 2018

Flyers Throw Team Improves on Saturday

Lolli, Allisons and Columbus Win

Now that the Arizona “indoor” season is over, on Saturday, March 3rd the Flyers headed to Alhambra High School for their first of many regulation meets for the 2018 outdoor track and field season. As a team, we had many great personal and meet accomplishments. The Flyers throwing crew (shot put, discus and javelin) came to compete on Saturday with many strong marks throughout the afternoon.

8U Division

Antonio Arana who is toying with the idea of throwing the mini-javelin this year, stuck to the track as he streamed around the red-rubberized oval in the 200 meters with a finishing tick of 41.35 seconds.

9-10 Division

Italia Eason was registered for the 100 meters and the long jump on Saturday, but she seemed to only compete in the long jump. Her long jump debut was a good one as she leaped 2.48 m. Emerson Rhodes, a top 8U long jumper who has moved up divisions this year, had a 2.62 meter best attempt. While that isn’t Emerson’s best jump, we did see some awesome improvement with her overall speed down the runway. This was proven as she set a new PR for herself in the 100 meters by over one second (17.47). Max Columbus had to be reminded more than once that he still needs to run forward when throwing the javelin. When he did finally decide to take his first three steps forward the javelin came off his hand like a missal for a new PR (19.90 m) and a 4th place ribbon. Max also had another big PR in the 200 m (35.02) and ran 16.61 in the 100 m to round out his day. Isa Allison was having a hard time breathing all week, so was relegated to just throwing the javelin. Luckily, that’s Isa’s best event. She took first with a throw of 18.36 m, which was also a new club record.

11-12 Division

Alex Columbus had his debut in the aero-javelin on Saturday and took 1st place. Alex threw with conviction and landed a top distance of 22.33 meters for the day. Alex also PR’d in the 400 meters dropping below the 80-second barrier (79.20) and looked like he’s getting into shape with a strong time of 14.95 in the 100 m as well. Ava Clegg continues to show signs that she is going to be a beast in the throws. She threw the discus for the very first time and took third with a very impressive distance of 13.06 meters. Ava also took 4th in the shot put (6.42 m) and ran a 1:28.66 to finish up her Saturday. Braden Lolli didn’t set a PR in the 800 on Saturday, but who cares! Braden had a gutsy kick as he dug deep and sped past another top 800-meter runner, Zuri Glenn of the AZ Burn, to take a one-second victory (2:30.75). Braden had an even more impressive run in the 400 (66.05), which was a new PR and just missed a top-8 place. When Micah Newkirk figures out he’s a bada– on the track, we all better watch out! Micah once again set a new PR for himself (2:41.29) in the 800 meters, slicing three more seconds from his last week’s PR. Micah is still 10 years old (he turns 11 on Sept. 5th) and is competing with some kids more than two years older than himself. He ran a taxing race and just missed out on a ribbon with a 7th place finish. After the hard 800, Micah came back a couple hours later to run a new PR in the 400 (1:13.06) to put a nice bow on this great running day. Lucy Arana was told to get out fast in the 800 and to keep contact with the rest of the runners. She did that well and came away with a new PR and club record (which she already owned) in 2:44.78. Lucy, like Micah, came back to run the 400 and set another PR and club record by turning her legs over rapidly in 1:12.69. Gael Pacheco is learning to run the 800 meters and was rightly aggressive in the first lap. Gael did feel the second lap, but still ran a 3:00.48, which was a one-second PR. Gael came back strong as well and ran a good 400 time for him as he crossed the line in 1:18.40. Seth Henry ran hard on Saturday, but definitely needs to begin doing some block work to help him with his first few steps. He ran 14.29 in the 100 meters and 29.90 in the 200 m to complete his day.

13-14 Division

Every one of our 13-14 athletes had not one, but two PRs on Saturday. Robert Vloemans had great personal success in the shot put, which he PR’d with a new high mark of 7.28 meters. In the discus, Robert found even larger improvement, when he threw a new best distance of 16.76 meters. Robert finished the day with the 200 meters, as he continues to flirt with low-30-second times (31.11). Khaleb Henry is feeling the power as he is a young’n in his new 13-14 division this season. Khaleb just missed the 20-meter threshold, as his discus sliced the air and landed 19.59 meters away from him for a 6th place ribbon. Khaleb also PR’d in the shot, where he got over 8 meters for the first time with a 8.06 m toss. Macy Baerman who is not one of our throwers, showed some sweet improvement with her speed on Saturday as she ran a 16.21 PR in the 100 meters and is obviously getting her wind back because she ran a new PR of 1:17.40 in the open 400. Macy also competed in the long jump, where dirt was displaced at 3.63 meters. Back to our throwers, Sebastian Arana’s new favorite number might be five as he took 5th place in both the shot and javelin, with two new PRs of 8.46 m and 21.95 m, respectively. The saying “talk softly and carry a big stick” is proving to be Seb’s new mantra as each week he improves in the throwing events, while hardly uttering a single syllable. Charlie Allison after an early season departure last year to Honduras for over a month, was back for his first meet of the 2018 season and took advantage of it. Charlie won the javelin by over 17 meters with a PR and club record of 42 meters-even. He then matched is best 100 meter time of last year with a 13.19 second dash and while he couldn’t find his mark in the long jump, still managed a legal jump of 4.68 m to take 2nd place.

The Flyers will be back to the track on March 17th at Copper Canyon High School in Glendale for the next USATF AZ Regulation Meet.

Go Flyers!

February 19, 2018

February Results Signify a Strong 2018 for Flyers

Coburn, Lolli & Henry with Fast Early Season Times

The 27th Annual Arizona Classic, which is usually held up at the NAU Skydome, was “indoors” in name only this year as the meet was held at Mountain Pointe High School on Saturday Feb. 17th. The Flyers who came out to compete on Saturday continued to show great promise with some strong early season marks and times.

8U Division

Antonio Arana had his debut on Saturday where he ran the 55-meter and 200-meter races. “Oso”, as he’s lovingly called within his family, was a bit nervous in the 55, but managed a solid time of 10.89. Antonio looked a lot more confident in the 200, where he ran a quick 40.83 as he closed up his day.

9-10 Division

Simon Reynolds ran his first race of the year, but due to being under the weather only managed a time of 3:21.20, which is far from what Simon expects from himself; but knowing Simon, he’ll be back with vengeance when he steps back on the track again. Italia Eason now in her second-ever meet, came out strong in the 55 m (10.45) and 200 m (41.75) to wrap up her Saturday at the track. Max Columbus left track early on Thursday due to a bad headache and then combine that with a Friday night flag football game (which his team won!) Max’s times on Saturday in the 55 m (9.65) and 400 m (1:30.22) were a tad bit off his norm. But as we move into javelin throwing season, Max will definitely get his swagger back and show the 9-10 boys who to watch out for in 2018 . Isa Allison realizes she’s not in 8U anymore as girls in her 55-meter heat got away from her pretty quickly as she ran 9.65. But when it came to the jumps, Isa showed she’s not missing a beat as she took 3rd place overall with a great early season mark of 3.05 meters. Emerson Rhodes, who just turned 9, was a bit excited about her horse riding party on Saturday, managed to hit the 2.80 meter-mark in the long jump.

11-12 Division

Seth Henry, although he just turned 11 the other day, is showing he is going to be a force in the 11-12 division all year. Seth ran a PR in the 200 m (29.19), which also tied the club record and took 5th overall. Seth also made the finals in the 55-meter dash with a new PR and club record of 8.08 seconds. Good job Seth! Ava Clegg ran a terrific PR in the 400 m, as she took nearly 4 seconds off her time with a finish of 1:24.98. Ava had another strong throw in the shot put (6.78 m) as she took 3rd overall there. Ava also got out fast in the 55 m, where she ran a 9.33 . Braden Lolli “warmed up” with the long jump, which he hadn’t done in years, and found he was pretty springy as he took 5th place with a 3.69 meter jump. Braden then moved to the 800 m, where he ran a great race to set a new PR and club record (2:30.39) to achieve 2nd place. He finished up his day with a strong 200 m in 29.27. Alex Columbus is slowly getting his legs and fitness back as he dropped almost 2 seconds in his 200 meter (33.78) and ran a solid 1:20.64 in the 400 for the first time this year. Lucy Arana who is bound for some awesome things on the track this year, showed us all how to get it done with two PRs and one club record (which she already owned in the 800 m). Lucy ran a 2:48.38 basically by herself in a competitive 800-meters, where she will be dipping under 2:45 in no time flat. She then looked quite aggressive in the 200, where her other PR was made in 34.08. Gael Pacheco ran two very good races on Saturday. His first attempt at the 800 got him a 3:01.5 with pretty much even splits. He then came back to run the 200 in 34.18. Gael is sure to break the 3-minute barrier in the very near future.

13-14 Division

Sebastian Arana even with an injured leg, still managed to throw another PR in the shot put (7.87 m) and take 4th place. Khaleb Henry is now in the “big boys” division, but held his own with a sixth place mark of 7.21 m with the new weight of 4K vs. the 11-12 division 6 lb weight. Macy Baerman had a great jump, which just missed the 4-meter mark (3.98 m), but was an enormous PR for Macy and a 5th place ribbon. Macy also ran her first 800 of the season with a time of 3:12.20.

17-18 Division

Kenya Coburn is getting ready for a strong junior year at Tempe High School. She showed she will be a young woman to be reckoned with as she put out some solid performances on Saturday. Kenya set a club record in the 55 m, to take 1st overall (7.36). Kenya also PR’d in the long jump at Mountain Pointe, where she jumped 5.16 meters and took another 1st place medal. Kenya finished her day in the triple jump with a 9.49 m best, which got her 2nd overall.

The Flyers will be back to the track on March 3rd at Alhambra High School for the next USATF AZ Regulation Meet.

Go Flyers!

February 11, 2018February 12, 2018

Flyers Put Up Some Good Results at Youngker HS

Clegg & Arana “Put” in High Places with Their Throws

Grimm Makes it to 55-meter Finals and Takes 3rd

Although the journey was a bit far to Youngker High School on Saturday, it was a good trip for our Flyers all around.

9-10 Division

Auggie Grimm showed it was no fluke two weeks ago when he took 3rd in the 100. On Saturday, Auggie made it to the finals in the 55-meter dash and ended up placing a speedy third with a great time (and new PR) of 8.74 seconds. Auggie also had his first go at the 200, where we ran a quite respectable time of 33.74. Max Columbus took a break from the 400 to work on some short speed. He ran a nice PR in the 200 (36.37) and ran his very first competitive 55 meter in a solid mark of 9.47 seconds. Isa Allison found a new PR and club record in the 55-meter dash (9.6 seconds), ran another PR in the 200 (36.35) and began her season off nicely with a powerful take-off of 2.87 m in the long jump. Emerson Rhodes, who I fondly call “Tigger” leaped to a great season opener in the long jump of 3.01 meters and is on her way to another great season in the jumps this year. Emerson also ran 10.3 in the 55 m and 40.62 in the 200. Italia Eason, a third member of our lady 9-10 amigas, had a very successful day as well. She ran 10.23 in the 55 meters and got under the 40-second mark in the 200 with a 39.28 clocking.

11-12 Division

Ava Clegg is having one heck of a year thus far. Ava blasted a 6.82-meter mark in the shot put to take 2nd place and set a new PR and club record in the process; Ava also ran another PR in the 55-meter dash (9.14) and finished up her day, even while trying to keep her heat/lane sticker from falling off, with a third PR of 35.69 in the 200 meter race. Braden Lolli is also looking sharp thus far in 2018. He cruised to winning his heat in the 800 with a 2:38.79 (taking second overall by missing out on first by only .05 seconds because of the winner of heat 1), but then showed some real wheels when he flirted with breaking 29 in the 200 (29.19) and took 5th overall, which was both a PR and club record. Micah Newkirk started out quite strong in early February in the 800, by taking 3rd overall and running a new PR of 2:44.36. Alex Columbus, older brother of Max, ran his first track meet and did so admirably. He ran a 3:04.03 800-meter, and is sure to break the 3-minute barrier in the not-so-distant future and then came back to run a solid 35.55 in the 200-meter race. Ginger Money, who was a bit nervous before the 800 m, had no reason to be as she ran a very strong race in 3:10.31. She then came back in the 200 m with a time of 38.18. Lucy Arana, showed some great poise on Saturday. She ran a terrific opening time in the 800 in 2:52.23 (6th) and had a spirited 200 meter race with a good time of 34.49. Gael Pacheco looked like a wily veteran in the 400, where he ran a great opening season time of 1:16.95 and will sure to be under the 70-second mark by season’s end.

13-14 Division

Sebastian Arana is growing up right before our eyes and looked quite confident on Saturday as he took 3rd place in the shot put and set a new PR with a throw of 7.39 meters.

15-16 Division

Maddy Shoemaker ran the 800 m, where she crushed the competition and cruised to a 2:40.6 1st place victory, setting herself up for a great 2018 high school campaign.

The Flyers will be back at our home track (Mountain Pointe HS) on Feb. 17th for the 27th Annual Arizona Classic & Arizona Association Indoor Championship. Once again, only indoor events will be competed at this event.

Go Flyers!

January 31, 2018

Good Start for Flyers on Home Track

Grimm takes 3rd in 100 meters – Many other Flyers PR

It was a very long day at the track last Saturday, not because our Flyers didn’t perform well, but because the meet ran for almost 9 hours. But luckily, the meet was at Mountain Pointe High School (our club’s home track) and so that took a bit of the sting out of the lengthy meet. As always, our Flyers performed well, so let’s see how they did.

9-10 Division

Max Columbus, a former 8U standout, now has stepped up to the “big boys” in the 9-10 division. Max headed out to the track for the 400 meters, where he sneaked under 90-seconds with an opening season time of 1:28.52. Isa Allison, perhaps the most veteran 9-year-old on the track (as she enters into her 6th track season) ran the 100 meters in 16.55, which was both a PR and club record. Emerson Rhodes, another former fantastic 8U athlete last season, moved up this year as well and also ran the 100 meters, where she clocked a time of 18.48. Italia Eason, one of our brand new athletes this winter, had a strong showing in the 100 meters where she ran 17.68. Brady Brown, yet another new member to the Phoenix squad, was all smiles on Saturday in his new speed suit as he broke 18-seconds in the 100 meters with a finish of 17.59. But the man of the day was Auggie Grimm, who was with us last year, and now that he is 10 years old has something to prove, it would seem. He was lightning on the track as he set a new PR for himself (15.24) and took 3rd overall in the event – awesome job, Auggie!

11-12 Division

Braden Lolli, who for some reason thought that running 1:11 in the 400 meter in PE class was supposed to make Coach Allison impressed, showed what he was really made of on the track Saturday as he ran two new PRs – 30.91 in the 200 m and 68.46 in the 400 m (where he took 6th). Seth Henry, one of the fastest athletes on our team, showed why on Saturday, as he took 4th overall in the 100 m with a new PR and club record of 13.61. Ava Clegg, one of the “old” Phoenix Flyers, opened the season with a 400 m and did it quite well with a solid effort of 1:28.56.

13-14 Division

Macy Baerman, now a permanent fixture with the Flyers, started the season with the 400 m and ran a 1:25.47, which is a good beginning for her in 2018. Robert Vloemans seems to love the 200 meter distance and so that is what he competed in on Saturday. He crushed his PR by nearly 3 seconds as he finished in 30.45 seconds.

15-16 Division

Maddy Shoemaker, came out to see where her fitness and speed were this time of year. She ran a 15.6 100 m, which is quite a step up from her overturn usually; also, Maddy ran the 800 m, where she got out fast and ended the race with a 2:43.62 time and a 6th place ribbon.

The Flyers will be at Youngker HS on Feb. 10th for the second USATF AZ Regulation Meet of the season. Only indoor events will be competed at this event. Hope to see you there.

Go Flyers!

August 11, 2017August 11, 2017

Three Young Flyers Make Their Mark in Kansas

isa first place at junior olympics 2017 javelin

“Isa” Allison – National Champion in 8U Mini-Javelin

Weather was all-over the map in Lawrence Kansas, the site of the 2018 USATF Junior Olympics National Championship from July 24-30. There was lightning, thunder, flash flooding, wind and sunshine over the four days our three young Phoenix Flyers were competing. Our kids represented both the Flyers and the Arizona USATF Association quite admirably and should be proud of their amazing accomplishments.

8 & Under Division

Max Columbus flew in style to Kansas and made the most of his first trip to the USATF National Championship meet. He took 19th out of 42 athletes and threw a solid 16.35 meters. As stated previously, weather conditions were all over the place that Wednesday afternoon and so PRs were pretty hard to come by. Max seemed to enjoy the moment and being with his fellow teammates for this momentous achievement. Now that Max has this experience under his belt, we know he will be ready in the years to come for future JO Championship events, which he will be participating in most assuredly.

Isa Allison, the #1 ranked 8U thrower in the U.S. this year, wanted to first make All-American (top-8 athletes) status for the second year in a row (and more importantly get those “cool” All-American caps). Isa came out throwing fire and was leading after the first two rounds. She briefly lost the top spot in the third round when Meredith Banner threw 17.49 meters, but Isa being the competitor she is got up to the runway and immediately answered that assault with a 17.79-meter dart on her third throw, which would end up solidifying her top place for the remainder of the event. Isabella took 6th place in last year’s JO National Meet and this year joins her brother Charlie (National Champion in 11-12 Javelin in 2016) as our Flyers’ second National Champion – congrats Isa!

Isa did show us she was mortal by taking 29th in the long jump on Friday, which she shook off quickly knowing that the following day was an all-day adventure at Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun.

11-12 Division

Jake Blair has never missed qualifying for the JO Nationals since joining the Flyers in 2014 – that’s an amazing accomplishment in itself. Last year Jake was a bit disappointed in his 12th place finish and had his eyes at a top-8 (All-American) result in 2017. He was the number 3 ranked thrower at the meet and had been throwing quite well in practice over the past few weeks. Jake’s first throw was an absolute missile, but unlike anytime this year, the javelin drifted to the right and out of the sector making it a non-legal throw. Jake tried to dust off this rogue throw, but the torrential rains would be muddying up his plans and he was unable to crack the top-8 with his next two tosses. Jake ended up taking 12th overall and although he was broken up by this result, we know that next year will be his year and that walk up to the podium will be one that will have been extremely well-earned and oh-so-sweet.

Proud of All Our Flyers

Another year is in the books for the Phoenix Flyers and Coach Todd and I are so very proud of what our kids have been able to accomplish over these past 5 seasons. Every year we get a bit better as a team and we always seem to find new athletes who join us that are not only good competitors, but more importantly, amazing young people. We look forward to the 2018 season (registration is already open!) and wish you all a great fall and winter.

July 20, 2017July 20, 2017

Flyers Make Their Presence Known at Region 10 Meet

8 Flyers Qualify for National Meet in Kansas

Temperatures were in the triple-digits on July 8-9 in Mesa, Arizona, the site for the Region 10 USATF Championships, but there was nothing hotter that weekend than our own Phoenix Flyers. 8 of our 9 athletes who competed qualified for the National Championship Meet in Kansas due to placing in the top 5 in their respective events.

8 & Under Division

Max Columbus after a week away at camp was not as sharp as he has been all season, but the competitor inside of him found a way to make it into the top-5 with a 5th place throw of 15.83 meters. Isa Allison, the #1 ranked 8U thrower in the U.S. this year, had a slow start with her first few attempts, but tossed a season’s best, club record and PR with her final throw of the day of 18.37 meters, which was also a new Region 10 Championship meet record. Isa also had a PR and club record in the long jump with a great mark of 3.28 meters, which got her 2nd place and another ticket punched to JO Nationals.

11-12 Division

Jake Blair is getting the hang of this aero-javelin. He once again set a new club, personal and state record in this inaugural season of the 450-g aero-javelin, with a great throw of 36.04 meters. Jake took 1st place and has him currently ranked #5 in the U.S. Maddox Moses in his first season with the Flyers had a very gutsy and hard fought race in the blaring heat. He ran 12:44.43, which didn’t get him into the JO National meet, but we know great things are on the horizon for Maddox in the 2018 season.

15-16 Division

Kenya Coburn, Coach Todd’s sensational sophomore superstar, qualified for the JO national meet in the long jump (5.04 m – 2nd), triple jump (10.55 m – 4th) and she also ran a strong 100 meters as well (12.86 seconds). While Kenya won’t be traveling out to Nationals, she has had a very successful sophomore year and her junior season should bring her even more success with her continued focused work ethic.

17-18 Division

Chynna Simmons set a couple of club PRs, a club record and qualified for USATF National Junior Olympic Championship meet by taking 3rd in the triple jump (11.26 m – PR), 4th in the long jump (5.18 m) and was on the second-place 4×100 team (50.54 – club record). Brittany Patterson, not to be outdone by Chynna, took 1st in the triple jump (11.62 – PR), 3rd in the long jump (5.45 m) and was also on the 4 x 100 meter girls’ team. Catera Lee was there to just run and run she did well by helping the 4×100 team take second place. Lastly, Nura Muhammad took 2nd in the triple jump (11.58 m) and was also a member of the qualifying 4 x 100 relay squad.

While only Max, Isa and Jake are heading out to Kansas for Nationals, all of the Flyers this season should hold their heads up high to a very strong 2017 season.

The National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championship will be held in Lawrence, Kansas on July 24-30. Max, Jake and Isa will all compete Wednesday in the javelin and Isa will long jump on Friday.

Good luck Flyers!