USATF AZ | Phoenix Flyers Track Club

Three Young Flyers Make Their Mark in Kansas

August 11, 2017 by dAllison

“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.

Pecheco & Allison Set 3 PRs Each at Phoenix Invitational

April 5, 2017 by dAllison

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!

Nice Weather Brings Records and Smiles to Westwood

April 17, 2016 by dAllison

Max, Simon, Emerson, Solana and Isa – 8 and Under Crew

Saturday was a beautiful day at Westwood High School in Mesa, Arizona. The Flyers came to compete with many PRs, ribbons and club records being had by our sleek-looking track and field athletes.

8 & Under Division

Simon Reynolds showing himself as a serious contender in the 8 and Under 800 and 1500 for Junior Olympic State and Regional competitions in the weeks ahead, dropped nearly 4 seconds in his 800 on Saturday to take 2nd overall with a new PR of 3:09.61. Simon also ran the 100 meters with a very respectable time of 18.51. Max Columbus found his wheels, as he set a new club record in the 100 meters for 8 and Under boys with a time of 18.03 seconds. Max also was getting a handle on the mini-javelin, where he threw a new personal best of 11.19 meters. Max rounded out his day with the 400 meters, where he seemed to smile through the tape in 1:35.63. Isa Allison, having been ill for the Phoenix Invite, got back to the track with some pretty solid performances. Isa took 3rd in the mini-jav with a throw of 9.51 meters, ran an 18.48 100 meters and jumped 2.37 in the long jump. Solana Leyva donned on her new speed suit Saturday to blaze through the line in the 100 meters (18.54) and the 200 meters (39.38) with two huge personal records. Emerson Rhodes was as always loving life as she jumped a personal best in the long jump (2.35 m) and ran some strong times in the 100 (19.29) and 200 (4.59) Saturday afternoon.

9-10 Division

Braden Lolli after being injured early in the week, came to compete on Saturday with a solid run of 2:50.41 in the 800, which got him a 5th place ribbon. Braden also came back to the long jump after almost a year away from the event and found a mark of 3.21 meters. He finished his day with a new PR in the 200 with an impressive time of 31.83 seconds. Sean Camping, as always, is ready to compete the moment he gets to the track. Sean found two new PRs for himself on Saturday. A great jump of 2.95 meters for Sean got him ever-so-much loser to the 3-meter mark. Sean also dropped his 100 meter time down to 16.76 seconds and ended his day with a solid 200 meter sprint of 36.72. Benjamin Geist after a great debut in the 800 at the Phoenix Invitational, found himself a bit out of step on Saturday for some reason and crossed the line with a time of 3:10 – disappointed he was, but we know he’ll be back in the weeks to come to show what he can truly do out there.

Camila Cornejo-Farmer had a very nice long jump, which was a new PR for her with a mark of 2.97 meters. Camila also ran a very strong 100 meters, dipping again under 17 seconds with a time of 16.84. Levi Shoemaker ran a strong 100 meters in a time of 16.42. But this day was Levi’s coming out party in the javelin where he threw not one, but two personal bests obliterating his former best throw of 15.75 with a new mark of 19.28 meters. Apparently Levi was done after the javelin, as he cruised in the 400 meters with a time of 1:30.43 to end his day. 🙂

11-12 Division

Macy Baerman had a wonderful debut in the 800 meter race, where she looked strong and focused as she crossed the line with a time of 3:07.01. Macy came back to long jump (3.05) and run the 400 (1:23.60) on Saturday to end a very satisfying Saturday. Ella Donovan only knew PRs and club records on Saturday, with each event she competed in setting one or both. Ella found a nice PR in the long jump with a leap of 2.71 meters, dropped her 200 meter time down to 35.69 and then set a PR and new club record in the 100 meters with a time of 16.35 seconds. Charlie Allison, finally found a time under 14 seconds in the 100, where he set a new PR and club record for himself with a finish of 13.73. Charlie’s debut in the discus was a good one; he took 1st (22.39 m) and then ended his day with a long jump mark of 4.06 “officially”. Jaiden Gilette perhaps the nicest kid on our team, had a PR in the mini-javelin with a new best of 13.63 meters and ran in the 100 (16.27) and 200 (33.21), which were not PRs, but very strong times for him. Taylor Pinteric did flirt with a new PR in the 400, but just missed her best with a time of 1:18.57. Taylor did though PR big in the long jump with a great jump of 2.92 meters.

13-14 Division

It was Groundhog Day for Haila Reed and Nathan Lind as they both once again set two new PRs and club records in the 100-meter and 200-meter races. Haila ran impressive 12.94 (5th) and 26.69 (4th) times in her races, as well as a very strong 400-meter time of 63.06. Nathan clocked in at 12.32 (2nd) and 25.51 (5th) in his races. Both athletes have great chances going to J.O. Regional and National competition in the weeks and months ahead.

Maddy Shoemaker, another potential Regional and National qualifier, set a new club record in the 800 with a time of 2:34.48 (4th) and won her first race as a club athlete in the 1500 meters, where she just missed the club record, but dusted the competition with a new personal best of 5:27.06. Peyton Burnside raced her first 3000 meters of the season and came out quite confidently, as she destroyed her personal best by over 13 seconds with a new best time of now 12:50.93.

15-16 Division

Aria Jones without the Yoda-like presence of Coach Todd, found her steps a bit out of sort on Saturday, but still had some strong marks in both the long jump (4.18 m – 2nd) and the triple jump (8.99 – 2nd). Aria did find a new personal best time in the 100 meters where she streaked by the white line in a competitive 14.27.

Most Flyers will not be competing at the next meet at Millennium High School on April 30th, due to the Flyers Coaching Staff not being at that meet.

The remaining meets for all Flyers athletes are:

Arizona State Meet – May 21-22 (Mesa CC)
Junior Olympic State Meet – June 4-5 (Mesa CC)

For those who can qualify for the Regional and National Junior Olympics, those dates and locations are as follows:

Region 10 Junior Olympics – Albuquerque, NM – July 7-10
Junior Olympic Nationals – Sacramento, CA – July 25-31

Trip to Tucson Finds Good Results for Flyers

March 13, 2016 by dAllison

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.

End of Season Recap for 2015 Flyers

June 15, 2015 by dAllison

The 2015 has come to a close for the majority of our athletes, so here’s a quick recap of how the last few meets played out for our fantastic Flyers!

May 16th – Regulation Meet

8 & Under

Isabella Allison – Long Jump – 2.19 m (PR) and 8.59 meters in javelin for 3rd place
Jade Elcock – Long Jump – 1.34 m; 100 meters – 23.04; 200 meters – 50.97
Sofia Jourdon – Long Jump – 2.22 m; Mile – 6:49.48 (PR) for 2nd place
Simon Reynolds – 100 meters – 20.00 (PR) and 3:25.80 (PR) in 800 for 1st place

9-10

Ava Clegg – Member of the 5:47 Medley Relay team; Long Jump – 2.67 m and 4.01 m (PR) in the shot put for 4th place
Braden Lolli – Member of the 5:44 Medley Relay team (took 3rd) and won the mile in 6:24.05
Jake Blair – Javelin – 19.59 m for 4th
Jay Nergard – 100 meters – 18.12 (PR) and 7.7 meters in the javelin
Levi Shoemaker – 15.84 m in the javelin for 8th place
Lucy Arana – Member of the 5:47 Medley Relay team
Macy Baerman – Member of the 5:47 Medley Relay team; 3.0 meters in the long jump for 8th place and new PR
Taylor Pinteric- Member of the 5:47 Medley Relay team
Ty Stinson – 2.52 m in the long jump and 11.00 metes in the javelin

11-12

Charlie Allison – Long Jump – 3.92 meter (4th); 32.83 seconds in 200; 3rd in 80 m hurdles (PR) 17.53
Colorado Stanley – 80 m hurdles – 18.60 (4th); 3:28.39 in 800 m; 13.65 in javelin
Peyton Burnside – 800 meters – 2:58.01 (PR and 8th) and Mile in 6:26.28 (PR and 6th)
Sebastian Arana – 15.32 m in the javelin and 2.93 m in the long jump

13-14

Aria Jones – Member of the 5:10.24 Medley Relay and took 3rd in long jump – 4.23 m (PR)
Emily Hancock – Member of the 5:10.24 Medley Relay; 200 m – 32.37; 100 meter hurdles – 20.59
Maddy Shoemaker – Member of the 5:10.24 Medley Relay
Cole Shapiro – Long Jump – 4.19 (4th); 100 meters – 14.01 (PR)
Roxy Jones – Member of the 5:10.24 Medley Relay

May 30-31 – Arizona State Meet

8 & Under

Jade Elcock – Long Jump – 1.59 m; 100 meters – 18.01 (PR); 200 meters – 47.42 (PR)
Sofia Jourdon – 1500 meters – 6:20.40 (PR) for 4th place

9-10

Ava Clegg – Long Jump – 2.07 m; Shot – 3.53; 100 m – 19.51
Braden Lolli – 800 – 2:46.88 (2nd and PR); 1500 – 5:44.62 (2nd and PR)
Brynn Pickavance – Long Jump – 2.98; Shot – 3.06
Lucy Arana – 1500 – 6:32.91
Macy Baerman – Long Jump – 3.12 (PR); 200 m – 36.55 (PR); 400 m – 1:23.18 (PR)
Jake Blair – 100 m – 17.72; Javelin – 26.10 (1st and PR)

11-12

Clayton Huston – 1500 – 6:14.37
Colorado Stanley – 80 m hurdles – 18.3 (3rd); Javelin – 21.45 (PR)
Sebastian Arana – Javelin – 15.86

13-14

Aria Jones – Triple jump – 8.50 m (2nd)
Emily Hancock – 100-meter hurdles – 23.74
Megan Griffith – Pole Vault – 2.44 m (4th)

15-16

Kaleigh Conlon – Discus – 41.70 (1st); Shot – 10.98 m (2nd)

June 13-14 – Arizona USATF Junior Olympics

9-10

Ava Clegg – Long Jump – 2.71 (PR); Shot – 3.86; 100 m – 18.34 (PR)
Braden Lolli – 400 m – 1:19.45; 1500 m – 5:51.77 (2nd – Qualified for J.O. Region Meet)
Lucy Arana – 1500 – 6:22; 800 – 3:01.38 (PR)
Jake Blair – 100 m – 17.71 (PR); Javelin- 25.85 (2nd – Qualified for J.O. Region Meet)
Macy Baerman – Long jump – 3.23; 400 m – 1:16.89; 200 m – 36.85
Taylor Pinteric- 400 m – 1:18.92

11-12

Charlie Allison – Long Jump – 4.55 meter (PR and 5th); Javelin – 32.65 (2nd – Qualified for J.O. Region Meet); seconds in 200; 80 m hurdles – 16.96 (PR and 3rd – Qualified for J.O. Region Meet)
Colorado Stanley – 80 m hurdles – 17.92 (PR and 5th); Javelin – 24.31 (PR and 6th)
Peyton Burnside – 3000 meters – 13:04.66 (PR); 1500 meters – 6:08.78 (PR)
Sebastian Arana – Javelin – 16.25

13-14

Emily Hancock – 100 meter hurdles – 19.91 (PR); 100 meter – 14.96
Maddy Shoemaker – 3000 meters – 12:26.87
Megan Griffith Cole – Pole Vault – 2.59 (PR and 2nd – Qualified for J.O. Region Meet)

17-18

Chynna Simmons – Triple Jump – NM; Javelin – Long Jump – 5.08
Tria Seawater-Simmons – Triple Jump – 11.64 (1st – Qualified for J.O. Region Meet); Long Jump – 5.17 (3rd – Qualified for J.O. Region Meet)
Isaiah Banks – Triple Jump – 12.76; (3rd – Qualified for J.O. Region Meet); Long Jump – 6.11
Nic Sibley – Triple Jump -13.60 (PR and 1st – Qualified for J.O. Region Meet); 100 m – 11.03

A lot of PRs the last few meets, which is what we are striving for here. Braden Lolli, Charlie Allison, Jake Blair, Tria Seawater-Simmons, Isaiah Banks and Nic Sibley all qualified for the Junior Olympic Region Meet in El Paso, TX on July 9-12, and they all have a good chance of making it to the Junior Olympic Nationals.

Again, thank you to all of you who have made our 3rd season another successful one – see you in January of 2016 for our 4th!

4 New Club Records Set at Arcadia High School

May 4, 2015 by dAllison

With only about half the team coming out this past Saturday for the USATF AZ Regulation Meet held at Arcadia High School on May 2nd, you would think that maybe the Phoenix Flyers had lost some momentum in the early days of May – nothing could be farther from the truth, as 4 athletes set new club records for the Flyers, with many others setting new personal best marks/times for themselves.

8 & Under Division

Jade Elcock got another PR, this time in the 200 m (22.43) and also jumped for only the second time this season with a leap of 1.52 in the long jump. Emma Fernandez who has run a couple of our Time Trial Tuesday events, hadn’t been out for a meet all year – but wow, did she show her stuff on Saturday! Emma took 4th overall in the 400 with a great time of 1:26.83, ran 18.48 in the 100 m and jumped a 2.11 in the long jump. Isabella Allison placed 5th in the mini-javelin with a solid throw of 8.47 meters and jumped a respectable 1.84 meters in the long jump, as well.

9-10 Division

Ava Clegg just missed her PR in the long jump, going 2.50 meters and ran the 100 meters in 19.27 seconds. Braden Lolli set 2 new PRs for himself over the weekend, one of those being a club record as well (400 meters). Braden ran 15.82 seconds in the 100 meters (not too shabby for a distance guy) and then came back with an 8th place finish, from the outside lane, to run 1:14.02. Brynn Pickavance was ready to go on Saturday with 2 new PRs of her own – got to the 3-meter mark in the long jump for the first time and also broke 18 seconds in the 100 meters with a good split of 17.74 seconds. Jay Nergard running one event all day, made it count as he ran a new PR in the 100 with a time of 18.2 seconds.

Ty Stinson got his feet out in front of him finally and that enabled him a new PR in the long jump of 2.77 meters; Ty also competed in the javelin where he threw 11.66. Macy Baerman came so close to hitting a new PR in the long jump, leaped a very solid 2.86 meters. Macy also ran in the 200 (38.37) and 400 (1:29.34) on Saturday. Taylor Pinteric had 2 new PRs, and one of those breaking her own club record (400 m). Taylor jumped 2.86 meters in the long jump, but took 6th in the 400 meters and went under 80 seconds for the first time with a very strong run of 1:18.21.

11-12 Division

Although Colorado Stanley didn’t have his best jump (2.94) or best throw (18.74) on Saturday, he definitely left it all out there in the hurdles where he ran a new PR and a new club record. Colorado nearly dropped a full second off his best hurdle time and took 2nd overall in the 80 m hurdles (17.93). Charlie Allison having been getting over bad allergies and breathing issues, stuck with field events on Saturday and had some solid performances. Charlie jumped 3.71 m to take 8th and won the javelin with his first throw (37.91), which also is a new Flyers’ club record. Peyton Burnside, who doesn’t usually like the faster races, showed great enthusiasm as she took the 800 and the 400 with gusto and ran two new PRs (2:58.50 and 1:20.92). Clayton Huston had some solid performances on Saturday with a 2.96 jump and 3:02.07 800 meters. Reece Johnson, like Jay Nergard, came out to run only one race (100 meters) on Saturday, but made it count, as she ran a new PR of 17.50 seconds.

13-14 Division

Emily Hancock, our sole 13-14 athlete, had a new season’s best in the 100 (14.95) and ran the 400 in 1:16.89 to finish out her day.

In two weeks (May 16th), the Flyers will be heading west to compete in the new Walter Wallace Relays. It should be a fun and different feel due to the number of different relays the Flyers will be able to compete in.

Phx Flyers: Many PRs at PIs

May 3, 2015 by dAllison

In one of the largest meets that any of our athletes will compete in all year (over 2000 entrants), our Phoenix Flyers showed their mettle at the Phoenix Invitational at Mesa Community College on April 18-19.

8 & Under Division

Isabella Allison placed 4th in the mini-javelin with yet again another personal record (10.29 meters) beating many girls that are 1-2 years older than her. Isa also competed for the first time in the shot (2.68) and took part in the long jump where she jumped 2.03. Jade Elcock got another PR in the 100 meter, where she ran a quick 22.62 and sauntered in a 50.36-seconds in the 200 and long jumped 1.70 meters (her 2nd time competing in this event). Sofia Jourdon ran some gutsy races in the 800 and 1500, where she placed in the top-8 in both events (8th in 800 and 6th in 1500) and ran some new PRs – 3:14.36 and 6:19.96! Simon Reynolds made his first appearance on the track this season competing in the 100 (20.25), 200 (40.2 – new PR) and 400 (1:33.41 – new PR) with some good focused running.

9-10 Division

Ava Clegg had no PRs over the weekend, but had some solid personal performances – 2.30 meters in the long jump, 3.71 meters in the shot put and 18.76 seconds in the 100 m. Braden Lolli set 2 new PRs for himself over the weekend and took 6th in the 1500. Braden ran a gutsy 800 m in 2:55.4 (PR) and also ran a 15-second PR in the 1500 with a great time of 5:54.15. Brynn Pickavance wasn’t totally on her game over the weekend in her field events, but shaved .01 seconds off her 100 to claim a new PR in that event. Jake Blair jumped, ran and threw over the weekend; but it was his new PR in the mini-javelin (24.43 m), which found him a 5th place overall finish in that event.

Levi Shoemaker boasted about how he was going to beat his older sister’s (Maddy) best time in the 200 from last season and that he did, with a new PR for himself in 37.21 seconds. Levi also threw a new PR in the javelin with a toss of 15.75. Ty Stinson came out and performed in the long jump and mini javelin just missing some PRs in both of those events. Lucy Arana had a terrific weekend with 2 new PRs and one great opening time in the 1500. Lucy jumped a PR of 2.69 in the long jump, ran a new 800 PR (3:07.92) and then ran her first 1500 in a very solid time of 6:09.42. Macy Baerman, due to scheduling conflicts couldn’t compete in the 400 and long jump, but on Saturday she did come out and hit some new PRs in the 100 (17.64) and 200 (37.03). Taylor Pinteric keeps improving in the longer sprints and Sunday was no different when she set a new club record and new personal best in the 400 meters with a time of 1:21.70.

11-12 Division

Colorado Stanley had once again multiple PRs over the weekend. He threw over 20 meters for the first time in his career in the mini javelin with a 20.66 toss, jumped a very solid 3.24 meters in the long jump, yet another PR, and ran under 19-seconds in the 80-meter hurdles (18.88). Charlie Allison had no PRs over the weekend, but did have his season best jump of 4.08 meters and took 4th overall in the javelin with a 33.91 effort. Peyton Burnside, who was very excited to compete in the 3000 for the first time this season, came through with a great performance of 13:06.35. Clayton Huston had not his best weekend, but ran tough in the 800 with a 3:05.37 finishing time. Sebastian Arana jumped over 3 meters in the long jump (3.02) and threw over 16 meters in the javelin (16.79), both for the first time, setting two new personal bests for himself. Natalie Coats ran a very fast 100 meters to give herself a new PR (16.75) and tried the 200 meters for the first time as well and ran a competitive 35.08 split.

13-14 Division

Emily Hancock had her 2nd PR of the year when she ran 31.77 in the 200 over the weekend. Emily also competed in the 100 hurdles where she ran 20.77. Cole Shapiro in his second track meet with the Flyers didn’t find PRs in the 100 (14.31) or long jump (4.51), but came out blazing in the triple jump, where he took 5th with a very good mark of 8.87 meters. Megan Griffith, came back to the pole vault where she vaulted 2.13 meters (PR) and took 6th in the triple jump (7.88 m) with her, I believe, first ever attempt in this event. Maddy Shoemaker had a 30-second PR in the 3000 meters and took 3rd place overall (11:39.49) and came back in the 1500 m the following day and just missed setting a second PR for the weekend (5:28.19). Colby Grennan didn’t find any PRs over the weekend in the long jump (4.33) or 100 hurdles (21.67). but he did run a solid 200 m (29.46) for his first attempt as a Flyer in this event. Aria Jones used those long legs of hers to take 5th in the triple jump with a very strong mark of 8.55 meters. And Ariana Coats in her 2nd meet ever dropped 5-seconds off her previous 800 meters time, to run a much improved 3:16.16.

The Flyers next meet is on May 2nd at Arcadia High School in Phoenix, Arizona.

All Meets Now Start at 7 A.M.

March 31, 2015 by dAllison

Starting April 4th, all meets (excluding Phoenix Invitational and Tucson Meet) will now start at 7 a.m.

A Baker’s Dozen (+1) of PRs on Saturday at Millennium

March 18, 2015 by dAllison

In the truly first hot day of the year the Phoenix Flyers headed west to Millennium H.S. for a USATF AZ Regulation meet on Saturday, March 14. There were 14 personal bests by our athletes this weekend, plus some top-6 performances that earned some of them ribbons as well.

8 & Under Division

Jade Elcock had a strong performance in the 100 meters on Saturday, nearly dropping an entire second off her previous best time as she crossed the finish in 22.72 seconds. Isabella Allison, maybe will try to set some state records like her brother in the mini javelin one day, but at 6 years old, she found a way to get 5th place and set a new PR for herself with a nice throw of 7.41 meters.

9-10 Division

Ava Clegg, didn’t set any new PRs on Saturday (but just missed one in the long jump where she jumped 2.31 m), but she did try a new event – shot put – where she found air under the weighted orb for 3.06 meters. Braden Lolli found another gear in the 400 meters, where he shattered his previous time by almost 5 seconds with a new best of 1:15.98. Braden also managed to garner himself with two ribbons (5th and 6th places) in the long jump (3.24 m) and in the 800 meters (2:55.79 – PR by over 4 seconds), respectively.

Brynn Pickavance was no novice this day. With now one track meet under her belt, Brynn competed much more confidently and found 2 new PRs for herself in the long jump (2.52 m) and in the 100 meters (18.26). A new member of our team, Ava Busot, ran a very strong 100 meters with a time of 17.89 seconds. Ava’s friend, Camila Cornejo-Farmer, keeps knocking down her time in the 100 meters, where on Saturday she set another PR for herself with a finishing time of 16.73. Jake Blair, who came directly from a lopsided soccer victory to make the meet, wasted no time in setting two new PRs for himself and taking a 2nd place ribbon. In the long jump, Jake jumped a new best of 3.15 m; but Jake showed why he was a national qualifier in the mini-javelin last year by throwing 22.78 meters on the west side of town and landing himself in the 2nd spot.

Levi Shoemaker, absolutely crushed his former best in the 100 meters by over a full second with a new time of 17.74. Macy Baerman, moved up to the 400 meters for the first time on Saturday with a strong race and finish (1:28.94) and looked like she may have found her new event for 2015. Ty Stinson, a bit apprehensive about competing in his second track meet ever, performed admirably in the 100 meters (20.36) and long jump (2.06 m) on Saturday, as well.

11-12 Division

Colorado Stanley seems to be taking a strong liking to the mini-javelin, where he once again set a new PR for himself (18.98 m) and made it to the final round. Colorado also had his first go at the 80-meter hurdles, where he placed 3rd and succeeded in the first goal of hurdling – to not fall down. Charlie Allison, like Colorado, also tried the 80-meter hurdles for the first time, didn’t fall either and took 2nd. Charlie found a new PR in the 100 meters, where he posted a 15.09 time and also managed to find his mark in the long jump to take a 5th place ribbon (3.73 m). Clayton Huston (I am allowed to call him “Clay”) had nearly a 5-second PR in the 400 meters, where he ran 1:17.66 and also enjoyed the long jump (2.91 m) and 100 meters (17.05), as well.

Peyton Burnside, who finally had her chance at a distance event (1500 m) didn’t squander the opportunity at all by taking 6th place and ran a very impressive opening season time of 6:14.85. Luke Busot, another new addition to the Flyers this season, ran a strong 400 meters where he clocked in at 1:19.98 and also took to the air in the long jump where he got a mark of 3.25 meters.

13-14 Division

The lover of track and field, Emily Hancock, had a very strong day on Saturday. Although no new PRs were established, she ran season bests in the 100 m (15.14), 400 m (1:16.4) and looked great over the 100-meter hurdles for the first time ever with a time of 20.56 seconds. Maddy Shoemaker is getting too predictable by setting PRs every meet and Saturday she didn’t disappoint. She set a new PR in the 1500 by over 12 seconds (5:27.95) and just missed our club record by 2 seconds in the 13-14 girls’ division – oh, and she took 2nd place in the race, by the way…ho-hum…

The Flyers are off this weekend, but will have a shorter trek for their next meet, which will be at Chandler HS on March 28th.

Lolli Lolli Lolli: Braden and Carter Lolli get Awards not Adverbs at Phoenix Invitational

April 12, 2014 by dAllison

Over 2000 youth athletes from Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Texas descended upon Mesa Community College last Saturday and Sunday (April 4-5) for the 50th Phoenix Invitational. The weekend didn’t disappoint, as amazing young athletes ran fast, jumped and threw far at one of the oldest and most prestigious track meets in the country for youth track and field. This is a very difficult meet to get a ribbon (4th thru 8th place) and even harder to receive a medal (1st-3rd place) – but a handful of our Flyers did just that last weekend.

Charlie Allison

It wasn’t a huge surprise that Charlie Allison, in the boys 9-10 division, continued his strong season by placing 2nd in the javelin with a season best of 34.96 meters – just missing 1st by .3 meters and also setting a new long jump PR with a 3.78 meter mark; What was a pleasant surprise was newcomer, Carter Lolli, who found a third place medal in his possession on Sunday after he threw a season long 22.86 meters – beating his previous mark of 18.34 meters from March 15th.

Not to be outdone by his older brother, Braden Lolli not only took 3rd in the long jump with a new PR of 3.31 meters, but took 12 seconds off his 800 meter best (3:02.31) and taking 8th place, while also attaining a faster time in the 400 meters with a 1:21.44.

Dylan Anderson

Dylan Anderson, only in his second-ever track meet, found success in the boys 11-12 high jump – placing 1st with a leap of 1.35 meters, and then coming back in the long jump and placing second with a tremendous jump of 4.80 meters.

Jake Blair

Isabella Allison, managed a new PR in the javelin with a 4.4 meter toss. Jake Blair had a very solid mark of 2.84 meters in the long jump for a new best, as well as knocking off over 2 seconds in the 200 meters with a new time of 41.94. Levi Shoemaker also found another gear in the 200 meter race and setting a new fastest mark for himself with a time of 42.49 seconds.

Taite Lockett set a new personal best in the long jump with a nice improvement of 2.63 meters in the girls 9-10 division. While Hannah Weier, also one of our 9-10 year-old athletes, found two PRs in the 800 and 1500 meter races. Hannah squeaked a best in the 800 with a new time of 3:08.45, but really raised the bar in the 1500, where she was tenacious and strided to a very good time of 6:13.97.

Maddy Shoemaker

Lexi Nissen, in our 11-12 girls division, came up with two new PRs over the weekend, with a nearly 2-second improvement in the 200 meters (36.6) and a very strong effort in her 400 meters, setting a new best for her of 1:20.68. Maddy Shoemaker, also came up with two new PRs over the weekend in the 800 and 1500. She chipped a bit deeper past the sub-3 minute 800 meters with a new best of 2:53.59, but like Hannah Weier, really shined in the 1500, where she dropped 13 seconds off her best time to a new mark of 5:40.91. Bekkah Weier, also found great success in the 11-12 girls 1500 meters, where she lowered her best time down to 5:49.48. Nate Foltz was another of our 1500 meter crew who found a new PR as well and looked solid in the process (5:38.68).

Owen Donnelly

Away from the distance events, in our 11-12 division, you had Owen Donnelly throwing a great javelin to a new long mark of 21.63 meters, Tollen Lockett jumping to a new best distance of 3.17 meters and Diego Avila setting a PR in the 400 meters with a new time of 1:17.09.

In the 13-14 division, Carter Sokolovich was our other three-time PR athlete over the weekend. Setting new best times in the 200 meter hurdles (32.86), 800-meter run (2:27) and in the 1500-meter run (5:09.51). Kit Donnelly found his stride on Sunday and crossed the line with personal best in the 400 (1:17.87) and then our sole 15-16 girl athlete, Camille Avila, ran her first ever 400 meter with a respectable time of 1:18.56.

The Flyers next meet is on April 26th at South Mountain High School.