Phoenix Flyers Track Club | 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!

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.

April 5, 2017April 5, 2017

Pecheco & Allison Set 3 PRs Each at Phoenix Invitational

Henry Makes it to 100 meter Finals

Due to the NCAA Final Four being in town, other large track meets in the region and the Phoenix Invitational being a bit earlier this season, the number of athletes at “PIs” this weekend were lower than usual but the performances didn’t suffer one bit. Beautiful weather both Saturday and Sunday made for great times, throws and jumps across the board and the Flyers were definitely making their presence felt at Mesa Community College.

8 & Under Division

Max Columbus set a new club record in the 100 meters (besting his own time of a couple weeks ago) with a finish of 16.82 seconds. Max got very close to his personal best in the mini-javelin, where he took 3rd overall with a distance of 14.13 meters. Max also ran a strong 400 in 1:28.02 to round out his very impressive weekend. Isa Allison once again dominated the field in the mini-javelin and took 1st place with a toss of 16.51 meters. Isa had her best jump ever and made it to finals, where she took 8th overall (2.65 meters) and then ran a club record in the 100 meters (16.69), which was fast enough to get her invited to the ASU Sun Angel Invite this upcoming Saturday and compete against some of the fastest 8 and Under girls in that event. Emerson Rhodes was flying around the track this weekend. She crushed her previous best times in the 100 and 200, setting two new PRs for herself (18.01 and 40.52, respectively). Emerson just missed making it to finals in the long jump with a strong effort of 2.57 meters as well.

9-10 Division

Seth Henry had a very competitive weekend. He was able to make it to the finals in the 100 meters, which is no small feat. He took 7th overall and ran a new PR and club record in that distance (14.40 seconds). Seth also had a new best mark in the long jump, taking 6th overall (3.64 m). Seth ran a strong time in the 200 as well, where he clocked 30.68. Carter Bejar made his first meet and ran the 100 meters. He go out hard and crossed the line in a time of 17.34 seconds. Zachary Esparaza had those legs of his moving in Mesa. He was able to run a new personal best in the 200 (31.54) and then competed in his first 100 m of the year with a very strong time of 15.31 seconds. Robert Morris, like Carter, made it to his first meet of the year and ran the 200 in a solid 37.54 effort, but then felt a little under the weather and was not able to compete in the 100 meters later on in the day. Simon Reynolds loves that 100 meter race, and keeps knocking down his time with each attempt. He set a new PR for himself on Saturday with a 16.71 finish. On Sunday, Simon competed in the 1500, where he just missed a PR by a razor-thin margin with a very strong time for this part of the season (6:06.21). Auggie Grimm made it to Mesa Community College this weekend and we are glad he did. He was able to set a new personal record in the 100 meters, just missing the sub-16 second mark with an official time of 16.02.

11-12 Division

Gael Pacheco had a record breaking weekend with three new personal bests for himself. Gael started off his weekend by taking over 2 seconds off his 200 meter time (34.62). He then followed that up by taking .3 seconds off his 100 meter best (16.47) and then for a third encore came out on Sunday and nearly broke the 80-second mark in the 400 meter race, for a new PR (1:20.29). Khaleb Henry continues to improve in the throwing events. He bested his mark in the discus by .81 meters to take fourth place overall (17.77 m) and threw the shot over 7 meters again to take 7th in that event (7.08 m). Macy Baerman being away from practice all week due illness, was not going to let that deter her from competing at PIs this weekend. Macy managed to perform quite admirably with a 35.2 time in the 200, a 1:22.85 line crossing in the 400 and a leap of 3.36 m in the long jump. Braden Lolli took the lead in the 800 to push the pace in his heat and was able to muster a new PR of 2:37.09. Braden had a gutsy and strong finish in the 1500 meters to drop his time down to 5:14.86 and take 4th place overall. His legs were a bit heavy after two hard-fought races in two days, but Braden still was able to find a 1:08.95 time in the open 400 – less than two-tenths of a second off his best. Ben Geist seemed a bit out of sorts in the 800 meters on Saturday and finished in a time of 2:59.06; but on Sunday, Ben had a more confident vibe within and crushed his previous 1500 meter time by over 12 seconds to give him a new PR of 6:06.34.

Jake Blair competed in the discus for the first time and was able to manage a 6th place standing with a throw of 14.75 meters. Jake also threw the javelin, where he has much more experience and it showed as he found a new personal best (and club record) with a mark of 24.06 meters to take 4th place overall. Alas, the heat got to Jake in his 400 and he fought to the finish with a time of 1:23.78. Maddox Moses found a kick on Saturday as he turned on the jets with 300 meters to go in the 800 and won the heat with an impressive new best of 2:46.16. Sunday he may have even run better, as he ran a smart and strong race to a personal best time of 5:32.14, which would bring Maddox to under the 6-minute mile mark for the first time ever! Lucy Arana once she figured out how to navigate through the crowd of girls in the first 200 meters of her 800 meters race, she looked awesome. Lucy ran a speedy 800 and was able to drop her time down to 2:51.58. Like all our distance runners on Sunday, Lucy was able to run a season’s best time that day of 5:47.82, which also was a PR for her as well. Ava Clegg had a successful weekend, like many of our Flyers. She is closing in on that 3-meter mark in the long jump (2.95 m), where she garnered a new PR. And Ava’s speed is improving with each race – she cruised in the 100 meter event in a PR of 16.51 and then threw the shot 5.26 meters to round out her weekend.

13-14 Division

Sebastian Arana had many great throws in the javelin on Saturday, but due to a few foot fouls his best legal throw for the day was 17.62 m, which was over 1.5 meters better than his previous best mark in the 600 g spear. Sebastian also had a slight improvement in the shot put where he set a new high mark for himself with a toss of 6.24 m. Charlie Allison, had three personal bests this weekend on the ground, in the air and off his feet. Charlie took 5th in the long jump with a new best mark of 5.11 m. He won the javelin outright with a new best throw of 36.10 meters and is getting closer to breaking 27 seconds in the 200 as he ran out of steam down the stretch but still managed a PR of 27.2 seconds. Charlie is human and didn’t PR in the triple jump, but did take 2nd overall with his best sand landing being 10.03 meters. Robert Vloemans ran yet another personal best in the 200 (33.05), but also did some field events for the first time this year. He had solid marks in both the discus and shot put. He hurled the discus 14.45 meters and muscled the shot put 6.37 meters for a very satisfying invite.

Our next meet is in three weeks (April 22) down in Tucson.

Go Flyers!

March 20, 2017

West Siiiide Meet at Youngkers Good for Flyers

isa and emerson youngkers HS regulation Meet

Ribbons, Club Records and PRs Abound at Youngkers HS

We thought the last meet was impressive for the Flyers, but on Saturday there were 18 personal records and 11 club records set at the March 18th USATF Regulation Meet at Youngkers High School in Buckeye. With it being so early in the season and so many great performances from our athletes, the future looks quite bright for the ladder part of the 2017 campaign.

8 & Under Division

Isa Allison feeling back to her old self had some impressive performances on Saturday. Isa crushed the competition in the javelin with a new best throw of 17.82 m, which would have been good enough for 2nd at Nationals in 2016. Isa also took 7th in the 100 meters with a new club record of 17.03 seconds and placed 5th in the long jump with a mark of 2.47 m. Charlotte Faltis, a new member to our team this year, competed hard in her first ever 100 meter race with a good time of 20.58 seconds. Emerson Rhodes has those hops, baby! She once again set a new club record in the long jump (beating her own one from two weeks ago) by taking 2nd overall with a jump of 2.79 meters. Emerson also ran the 100 meters in 18.78 seconds. Brooklyn Bowman improved her 400 time to 1:31.34, which was over 3 seconds better than her time from two weeks ago. Max Columbus had a solid day on Saturday. He placed 2nd in the javelin with a throw of 11.08 meters and ran a 1:28.3 400 meters in the sweltering heat.

9-10 Division

Simon Reynolds had a great meet on Saturday. Simon set a new personal best in the 100 meters (16.95) and then ran his first 1500 meters of the season with a strong effort of 6:18.51 to take 5th place overall. Seth Henry also had another strong outing on Saturday. Seth set a new PR (and club record) in the 200 meters (30.40) for 7th place, had a new farthest jump for himself of 3.5 meters to take 6th place and then ran his first 400 meters, which got him 4th place overall and a new club record as well! Diego Mendoza was able to make a meet and he did a great job. Diego ran a nice 1:25.93 in the 400 meters and then later in the hot sun crossed the line in the 200 meters in 37.48 seconds. Micah Newkirk held back a bit in the first 200 meters of his 800-meter race and it played out beautifully. Micah took fourth overall and slashed his best time by nearly 7 seconds with a 2:46.88. Micah also competed in the 400 meters later in the day and ran a strong 1:15.81, just missing another personal best for himself.

11-12 Division

Khaleb Henry is getting more and more comfortable in the throws. Khaleb took 4th in the shot put with a new PR of over 1.5 meters (7.70 meters) and a new club record. Khaleb started out his day with a 2-meter PR in the discus, taking 2nd, with a best throw of 16.96 meters. Macy Baerman running her first 800 meters of the season, ran a new personal best of 3:04.94, dropping 3 seconds from her previous best time. Macy was close in getting new two PRs in the long jump (3.47) and 200 (34.42), but was just a smidgen off of both. Braden Lolli had his wheels revving on Saturday as he set a new PR in the 100 meters (14.72), dipping under 15-seconds for the first time ever. He then ran his first 1500 of the year and demolished the competition after the 1000-meter mark, running a new personal best of 5:21.94, which got him 1st overall and a new club record. Ben Geist got off the line fast in the 100 meters and had a strong finish with a new personal best of 15.72 seconds. When it came to the running his first 1500 m, Ben put in a good effort but perhaps the sun was just too strong. He finished in 6:18.76, which doesn’t compute when you compare his other strong times this season. But we know Ben will bounce back being the determined kid he is.

Jake Blair played soccer all morning and made it to Youngkers HS just in time to run the 400 m and throw the aero javelin for the first time in competition. Jake won his heat in the 400 m with a solid effort of 1:22.52 and then took 3rd in the javelin with a nice mark of 20.90 meters. Maddox Moses got some good turnover work first as he crossed the line in the 100 meters in a time of 16.6 seconds. Later in the day, Maddox hit the 1500 meters and ran to a 7th place finish in a time of 5:46.92, a good start to the early season. Landon Day made it out for his first track meet ever and did quite well. He jumped 3.86 in the long jump, which is a great start and then was looking forward to throwing the aero javelin for the first time as well; he competed quite admirably with a good toss of 13.62 meters, which got him 7th place overall.

13-14 Division

Sebastian Arana had a good strong throwing day at Youngkers. Sebastian PR’d in the shot put with a new best mark of 6.18 meters and then threw the real 600 gram javelin quite well with a best throw of 16.09 meters. Charlie Allison, competed in 4 events and found 4 club and personal records on Saturday. Charlie took 6th in the long jump (4.97 meters), ran 1:02.94 in the 400 meters (winning his heat), triple jumped a new best of 10.52 meters and won the javelin with his best toss of 33.77 meters. Peyton Burnside didn’t have the time she wanted in the 1500 m (6:04.72), but she ran valiantly to keep her focus. We know Peyton, with the work she has put in this season, thus far, will see her times drop in no time flat.

Our next meet is in two weeks (April 1-2) at Mesa Community College – The Phoenix Invitational. This is one of the biggest and most competitive meets of the season. It’s also a two-day meet. The Flyers will be ready to rock.

Go Flyers!

March 14, 2017March 15, 2017

You Get a PR! …And You Get a PR! … And You Get a PR! | Rhodes Wins Long Jump!

Flyers Soar In Regulation Meet with Great Personal Results

There were 24 personal records and 7 club records set at the March 4th USATF Regulation Meet at Millennium High School in Goodyear. To say the Flyers had a good day would most definitely be an understatement. Let’s break down how our little Flyers fared.

8 & Under Division

Isa Allison had some medical matters that kept her out of the 100 meters and mini javelin, but She was still able to be part of the girls 8 & Under 4×100 relay team. The team took 2nd and also set a club record with a time of 1:19.81. Ellie Amsbaugh, also a member of the girls’ 4×100 relay team, managed to have two new PRs for herself as well. Ellie ran a 20.91 in the 100 m and also took nearly a full second off her 200-meter time (45.51) to round out a really terrific day. Emerson Rhodes another speed demon in the girls’ 4×100, also had a personal best jump of 2.68 meters, which got her 1st place overall in the event. Emerson also PR’d in the 100 meters with a time of 18.45 seconds. Brooklyn Bowman ran a great 400 meters with a nice opening time for the season of 1:34.89. Brooklyn also was a member of the record-setting 4×100 girls’ relay squad. Max Columbus had the trifecta with awesome personal results for himself. Max had a 2nd place finish in the mini javelin (14.27), a huge 400-meter PR (1:24.48) and a blazing 100 meters’ time to round out his day (16.96).

9-10 Division

Simon Reynolds, while we wouldn’t call him “speedy”, still managed a huge personal improvement in the 100 meters with at time of 17.29. Simon, later in the afternoon, feeling more in his element in the 800, found himself crossing the line with his second PR of the day, just missing the sub-3 minute barrier (3:00.85). Seth Henry, somehow with even a slow start out of the blocks, managed a 7th place finish and a new club record in the 100 meters with a clocking of 14.84 seconds. Seth also jumped 3.38 in the long jump and took 8th in the 200 meters, just missing a best time by .3 seconds (31.70). Sienna Amsbaugh, blasted out of the blocks in the 100 meters and grabbed a new PR with a time of 16.79 seconds. Micah Newkirk, while still figuring out this middle distance thing, ran two great times on the west side. Micah dropped 6 seconds in his 400 meters (1:15.70) and took 8th overall in a very competitive 800-meter race with time of 2:53.09.

11-12 Division

Macy Baerman found some wheels in the 200 meters and just missed a personal best with a strong time of 34.46. Macy was a bit off the mark on the long jump and found only a jump of 3.29 meters. Macy also ran the 400 in 1:21.40. Braden Lolli, showing more signs that we may not need to wait for next year to see great results, smashed his recent club record in the 400 by nearly 4 seconds (68.79) and already was nearing his PR in the 800 with a 7th place finish in 2:38.28. Benjamin Geist, not to be outdone by his middle-distance teammate had not one, but two new PRs at the meet. Ben shattered his 400 best time by almost 5 seconds (72.86) with a gutsy finsih and then broke his old 800 top time by over 5 seconds (2:55.92) to round out a very successful afternoon. Khaleb Henry finally got a chance to throw some implements and did quite well. He took 3rd in the discus (14.97 m), after borrowing Coach Allison’s shoes (No, you can’t wear spikes when throwing the shot or discus, Khaleb!) and then threw the shot put a good distance with a measurement of 6.18 meters.

Gael Pacheco put in some great effort in his events and after a long day in the sun was able to muster these solid times: 16.78 (100 m), 38.66 (200 m) and 1:24.9 (400 m). Ava Clegg, matched Max Columbus with the most PRs and club records set that day at the meet. Ava set a new club record in the shot put (5.73 m) taking 7th overall; and then ran some personal quick times in the 100 m (16.69) and 200 m (36.48) to have a strong Saturday out west. Lucy Arana had another strong meet with two new personal best times. In the 400 meters she bested her time to an impressive 1:15.82 and then began her season in the 800 with a strong 8th place finish in a great time of 2:54.55.

13-14 Division

Robert Vloemans traveled all the way out to Goodyear for one event, but he made it count. Robert high-stepped it to a PR in the 200 by over 1 second (34.18 seconds). Sebastian Arana, who is becoming on of our throwing specialists here at the Flyers, threw the shot put that Saturday and set a new PR for himself in the heavier weight class (4 kg), now that he’s in the 13-14 division, with a mark of 5.90 meters. Charlie Allison, like Sebastian, opened up his season at this meet, set two new PRs for himself – 13.36 (100 m) and 27.8 (200 m). Charlie also took second and set a new club record in the triple jump, launching himself across the runway in 9.97 meters.

Our next meet is this weekend at Youngkers High School – 8 a.m.

Go Flyers!

January 8, 2017January 8, 2017

First Day of Practice Tomorrow!

Track is back for 2017!

We hope you all had a great summer/fall and are ready once again for an enjoyable and exciting season with the Phoenix Flyers! This will be our 5th year and are looking forward to meeting and coaching all the new and returning young athletes.

We will meet at Mt. Pointe H.S. tomorrow, Monday, January 9th at 5:30 p.m. If there is a soccer game being played, then we will be on the upper practice field – just northwest of the track on the Mt. Pointe campus.

Practice this week and for the rest of January will be Mon, Tues and Thursday at 5:30 p.m. to around 6:30. We won’t start breaking up into our various training groups (field, sprint and distance) until early February.

As of now, our online registration is being updated, so we can’t take any online payments or sign-ups until Friday, January 13th. If you have previously registered on our old registration site, don’t worry we have your info and payment (if you payed online).

No spikes are needed. Please hold off buying spikes until we have our team’s “Spike night” at Sole Sports sometime in late January or early February.

It’s still cool – so please dress appropriately and have water.

Come with a great attitude!

Coach Young, Todd and I can’t wait to get you running, jumping and throwing in 2017!

Go Flyers!

Training & Location Schedule

March 13, 2016March 13, 2016

Trip to Tucson Finds Good Results for Flyers

A rare Sunday only meet for the Flyers last week in Tucson. But those who made the trek down south to U of A country found good to great results at the Walter Wallace Relays at Cholla High School.

8 & Under Division

Isabella (Isa) Allison, finally stepped on the track in 2016 after a successful flag football season. Isa managed to take 2nd in the mini-javelin (9.29 m), 6th in the long jump with a new personal record of 2.52 meters and ran her best 100 meters ever in a quick time of 17.95 seconds. Solana Leyva had some strong performances herself last Sunday with times of 21.32 in the 100 meters and 48.89 in the 200. Max Columbus, back on the track for the second week in a row, jumped 2.27 for his first ever try in the long jump event. Max also ran 19.15 in the 100 meters and we believe (timing and placement errors) 46.06 in the 200 meters.

9-10 Division

Ava Clegg, who was under the weather for the Millennium meet, came out last Sunday with a new found vigor. Ava set a personal record in the shot put (4.03) and took 2nd place as well! Ava also ran aggressive 100 meter (18.69 ) and 200 meter (42.75 ) races to finish up her day. Sean Camping, who was excited at the crack of dawn, sprang 2.50 meters in the long jump, ran 17.51 in the 100 and was part of the winning 4×400 team that ran 5:43.89. Benjamin Geist, another member of the 4×400 team, also had a great 400 race of his own with a new PR of 1:18.94. Sofia Jourdon, nervous for her first 800 of the season, seemed to have nerves of steel as she took 3rd overall and crushed her personal record by 14 seconds with a time of 3:00.66.

Levi Shoemaker although he had the power, he could not find the mechanics in the mini-javelin last Sunday. Nonetheless, Levi still found a way to capture 3rd place with a very respectable throw of 14.61 meters. Levi got out of the blocks well in the 100 and took the tape in 16.67 seconds and was also another leg of the 4×400 boys’ team. Braden Lolli, the anchor leg of the 4×400, also had a pretty strong day on his own. He took 3rd in the 800, just missing his PR with a time of 2:47.23 and ran a hard 400, crossing the line in 1:13.49.

11-12 Division

Macy Baerman had a very good opening meet for herself for 2016. Macy jumped a very strong 3.17 meters in the long jump, ran a hard 1:23.37 in the 400 meters and finished her day with a 37.41 200 meter race. Charlie Allison took to the track for the first time as well with strong opening performances. He took 2nd in the long jump with 4.49 meters, set a new PR for himself in the 100, winning his heat with a time of 14.42 seconds and taking 1st in the javelin with a toss of 34.29 meters. Jaiden Gilette a new member to the Flyers this year, had a great first meet as well. He ran 16.28 in the 100, ran a strong 200 in 33.34 and threw the mini-javelin for the first time ever and managed to get it 10.14 meters.

13-14 Division

Haila Reed although no PRs last Sunday, still managed three very strong times in her sprints: 13.54 in the 100 meters (4th), 27.69 in the 200 meters (6th) and 62.72 in the 400 meters (4th). Nathan Lind, found some good times as well last Sunday in the sprints. Nathan took 5th in the 100 with a run of 12.77 seconds and took 6th in the 200 with a time of 26.89 seconds. Maddy Shoemaker, stole back bragging rights from one Braden Lolli in the 400 when she crossed the tape in 71.93 seconds and setting a new PR for herself. Maddy also took 2nd in the 1600 meters with a new PR for her of 5:49.04. Carson Dada, seemed to be going through some Groundhog Day like moment, as he ran 1:20.83 in the 400 meters, which was the exact same time he ran at the end of January. Carson also took 1st in the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 21.60 to cap off a strong day.

This weekend we were at the Bobcat Relays and I will posting a blog about that meet in the next day or so.