USATF AZ | Phoenix Flyers Track Club

July 20, 2018July 20, 2018

Everyone Qualifies!

All Flyers Qualify for National Meet

Isa Sails Jav for Win

Coburn Finds the Right Steps in the Triple

Even though the Region 10 Meet was away from the hot sweltering heat of Phoenix, the crazy Colorado weather gave us lightning, mugginess and wind gusts at times – nonetheless, the Flyers performed quite well over that weekend.

9-10 Division

Isa Allison felt pretty confident that she should make it to Nationals (top 5 in each event qualify), but the question was would she be the victor up in Colorado. Isa proved to be the tenacious competitor as she threw a new club record and PR in the javelin (22.51m), which got her the 1st place victory and an outside chance at becoming an All-American for the second year in a row over in North Carolina (site of the National USATF Junior Olympic Championship).

Simon Reynolds still new to the javelin event, coming into the meet had a better than 50/50 chance to qualify for Nationals. Simon seemed focused and threw nearly his second best attempt of the season (24.50m) to take a surprising 3rd place medal and a spot on the Flyers cross-country flight back east.

11-12 Division

Braden Lolli had a tough 800 meters on Saturday, where he was not at his sharpest and timed in at 2:29.66 for a 7th place finish. Disappointed, to say the least, “B” still had one more opportunity to get to Nationals in the 1500m on Sunday. Braden ran like a man possessed as he held onto the lead pack and mustered enough distance between himself and the 6th place runner, that once he crossed the line he had run his second-best time of the year (5:06.27) and, more importantly, gotten the final spot to Nationals. Micah Newkirk competed like a champion in the 1500m, especially after a tough 4×800 the previous evening. Micah clocked in at 5:25.47 – not his best time, but a lot of heart in that race. Jake Blair a true competitor, stayed within himself to take 3rd place in the aero-javelin (32.18m). Jake is ready for great things at Nationals and getting though the Region 10 meet was the second hurdle of three – good luck Jake! Gael Pacheco, Maddox Moses, Jake Blair and Micah Newkirk ran in the boys 4×800 meter relay on Saturday night after a long wait due to lightning concerns in the area. The boys, while technically qualifying to Nationals because they were 2nd out of two teams in their division, didn’t have it that day and ran a sub-par time for them of 11:29.25. This entire 11-12 boys group had a great season in 2018 and with most of them moving up to 13-14 next year, we expect continued success.

15-16 Division

Leopold Bond is definitely drinking for the Coach Todd Kool-Aid, as he qualified in all four events he competed in and attained club records and/or PRs in all of them. Leo won the triple jump in 12.13m, 3rd in the long jump (6.29m), and 4th in both the 100m and 200m (11.30 and 23.05). Leo will only be jumping at Nationals and we wish him the best of luck!

17-18 Division

Cameron Peters had to long jump off his opposite foot due to heal issues, but that didn’t hurt him at all. Cameron had a PR in the long jump (6.72m) and found himself with a silver in the process. Cameron couldn’t find many legal jumps, unfortunately, in the triple jump and was just a hair shy of qualifying in that event as well. Kenya Coburn was having a rough Region meet as shes hit the first hurdle in the 100m hurdle final, which caused her to get 7th place and she took the dreaded 6th place in a very closely contested 100m final (12.61). Her last event was the triple jump and she made that worth the whole trip. She skimmed that runway like a smooth stone in a placid lake, and landed with a huge PR of 11.73m, which took first place and a great shot at gaining the All-American moniker in North Carolina.

Most of these Flyers will continue their season at the National USATF Junior Olympic Meet in Greensboro, NC on July 23-29.

Good luck to all!

Go Flyers!

June 22, 2018June 22, 2018

Great Performances at State J.O. Meet for Flyers

Blair Gets Jav-Mojo Back – Junior Olympic State Champion

Boys 11-12 3200-Meter Relay Punches Ticket to Colorado

Bond – Quadruple Threat at JO State Meet

The Arizona weather gods were in kind spirits this past weekend as a light rain lowered the temperatures on Riggs Field at Mesa Community College, which lead to many great performances for our Phoenix Flyers.

8U Division

Antonoio Arana ended his season with two big PRs! Antonio threw 8.81 meters in the mini-javelin, which got him a 5th place ribbon and also ran a blistering time in the 100-meters, as he flew under the 18-second mark with a time of 17.84 seconds.

Auggie Grimm was no ghost this weekend and made his presence felt by all. Auggie ran a phenomenal 14.96 second 100-meter prelim, which got him into the 100-meter final, where he just missed qualifying for the Colorado Region Meet with his 5th place finish. Auggie also sprinted another PR in the 200, where he crossed the line in 31.95. Maybe if we can get more track and less baseball from Auggie next season, we will all be a witness to some even more amazing times than he had this spring. Isaiah Crowder had a good weekend on the track and field. Isaiah ran a new PR in the 100 m with a time of 16.18 and threw a very respectable 20.10 meter mark in the javelin to close out a terrific first season with the Flyers. Isa Allison had two PRs and club records this weekend. Isa threw 21.45 m in the javelin to take 2nd overall and set a new club and personal record. Isa also jumped 3.46 m in the long jump, which was a huge PR for her and also another club record. Emerson Rhodes, who due to a scheduling snafu only competed in one event this weekend, but luckily it was her favorite one – the long jump. Emerson “Tigger” Rhodes, as I affectionately call her, didn’t disappoint as she bounced down the runway with an amazing new PR and new club record (which she now shares with Isa) of 3.46 meters. Simon Reynolds was battling some sort of stomach-bug all week, which had me pull him from the 1500 meter on Saturday. But Simon has been wanting to throw the javelin all season and he looked like he had some promise. On Sunday he showed why it was a good decision to put him in the mini-jav, as he snatched the final spot to the Region meet with a great throw of 24.63 m for 4th place. Simon did manage to also run the 800 m on Sunday, where he ran a solid 2:58.31. Max Columbus who just turned 9 this past weekend, had a great JO meet. Max threw a HUUUUUGE PR in the javelin of 23.97 m for 5th place and jumped another PR in the long jump, where he launched himself 3.34 meters into the sand pit. Max also ran a very good 800 meters in 3:04.62.

11-12 Division

Ava Clegg had a great weekend in the throws. Ava set a new PR, club record and took 3rd place in the discus (16.32 m) to qualify for Colorado. Ava also took third in the shot put, where she found a mark over 7 meters (7.24), which is her 2nd best throw all-time. Braden Lolli had some stiff competition in the middle-distance events, but “B” came up smelling like roses in both the 800 and 1500 events. B got out-kicked in the 1500 to take 2nd place and had a gutsy finish in the 800 to nudge out a 3rd place and qualify for his second event of the weekend for the Region 10 Championships. Micah Newkirk ran hard in the 1500 and he managed to hold off enough competitors to snatch the 3rd place medal with a 5:18.44 finish. Micah also lead the team’s 4×800 relay, which qualified easily, but showed it would not be outrun by any 11-12 girls’ teams, as the boys managed to win the race outright. Ginger Money had a very good weekend to end her 2018 season. Ginger ran a sold 3:13.95 in the 800 m, but really showed her stuff in the 1500 m, where she ran possibly her fastest 1500 m of the year with a time of 6:26.24 (which equates to a 6:55 mile). Jake Blair has got his jav-mojo back as he won the boys’ aero-javelin with his second best throw ever (34.30 m) and Jake also ran the second-leg of the boys’ 4×800 relay with a sound split. Alex Columbus had such a great track season this year – his first with the Flyers. And in his first ever season doing the javelin, he took to it quite admirably. He was laser focused in the boys’ javelin on Sunday, where he threw a great PR of 28.76 meters to take 6th place and is poised to throw even better next season with the 600-g javelin. Lucy Arana definitely ran hard both Saturday and Sunday, but unfortunately fell a bit short in grabbing a qualifying place in either the 1500 m or 3000 m races. Lucy ran 5:56.96 in the 1500 and 12:53.52 to wrap up a good season, but we know she’ll have even more fire in her eyes come her 2019 track campaign. Gael Pacheco just keeps getting faster each week. We had him at a 2:41.99 split in the boys’ 4×800 and on Sunday came back ran a 2:46.73, which is his official new open 800-meter PR for him as well. Maddox Moses ran in the boys 4×800 meter relay, but really showed his mettle in the 3000 m early the very next day, where he almost pulled off an amazing qualifying run by gaining ground on the 4th place runner, but Maddox unfortunately ran out of real estate and had to settle for 5th (12:02.34), but believe me he left everything out there on the track!

13-14 Division

Macy Baerman ran a scorching 15.74 100-meter, which is the first time Macy has ever run under 16 seconds! Macy also had another first for her, which was competing in the triple jump. Macy showed great promise as she hopped-skipped-and-jumped 8.08 meter for 5th place. Macy also long jumped 3.61 m and ran 34.12 in the 200 m to round out her weekend. Sebastian Arana had a puncher’s chance at breaking into the top 4 in the boys’ javelin, but unfortunately he couldn’t put all of the elements together to get that last qualifying spot and ended up throwing 26.50 meters, which is still his second best throw ever. Seb also threw the shot put on Saturday with a strong personal mark for him of 8.49 meters.

15-16 Division

Maddy Shoemaker was on pace for an overall PR (high school or club) through the mile of the 3000 m, but after a long track season, her legs got a bit heavy and she crossed the line 1st in her age group, but short of her goal. Her time of 11:28.68 is still a club PR and club record – so that’s not too shabby, baby! Leopold Bond was able to qualify in four events, which is pretty impressive at any level. Leo took first in the triple jump (11.30 m), 4th in the long jump (5.61), 2nd in the 100 m (11.41/11.74) and 2nd in the 200 m (23.88/23.4). Leo has an excellent chance to go all the way to nationals in a number of his events – way to go, Leo!

17-18 Division

Kenya Coburn is really feeling her groove now, sista! Kenya took 3rd in the 100-meter hurdles and ran a big PR of 15.29. She jumped another PR in the triple jump (10.99 m) for 2nd and ran a third PR in the 100 m (12.44 in prelims) for took 3rd place in the 100-meter finals on Sunday in 12.94. Cameron Peters another one of Coach Todd’s Tempe Buffaloes came out to join the Flyers and qualified for Region in two events. Cameron jumped 12.73 m for 2nd in the triple jump and 6.20 m in the long jump for a 2nd place finish as well. Cameron did make the finals in both the 100 (11.58) and 200 (23.70), but wasn’t able to capture a 4th place slot in either.

Some of our Flyers will continue their season at the Region 10 USATF Junior Olympic Meet in Aurora, CO on July 5-8.

As always, it’s been a pleasure coaching all of you. Thank you this year to our great coaches (Elam Pacheco, Kim Mays, Maria Arana and Coach Larry Todd). It’s truly wonderful to see how our kids improve over the course of 4-5 months. We are lucky to have great parental support and kids with great attitudes (well…usually)…Seriously, to all of you whose season is finished – congrats on a great 2018. Hope to see you all next year. To the remaining athletes, let’s keep pushing for greatness!

Go Flyers!

May 30, 2018May 30, 2018

Flyers Find Flashes of Fierceness at State

Allison, Bond & Lolli – State Champions

As the weather starts warming up so does the competition for USATF AZ. The Flyers last week competed in the Arizona Association USATF State Championship meet at Mesa Community College with many PRs, state titles and breakthroughs.

8U Division

Antonoio Arana focused on making it into the finals once again in the mini-javelin, succeeded and managed to nab 8th place overall with a strong attempt at 6.93 meters. Antonio also ran a blistering personal best in the 100 meters, where he is now flirting with the sub-18-second barrier as he has now a new fastest time of 18.03. Although Rajah Morris took a page out of Auggie Grimm’s playbook of whisking in and out of the competition without being detected by Coach Allison, he did hustle down the straightaway as he produced a new PR in the 100 meters with a time of 20.76 seconds.

9-10 Division

Emerson Rhodes had quite a weekend. Emerson set three PRs for herself, including one new club record. Emerson ran a blistering 16.85 time in the 100, a swift 36.86 in the 200 and flew through the air like the Greek Goddess Nike with a mark of 3.33 meters, which got her into a very competitive long jump finals group. Max Columbus couldn’t find his track mojo last weekend, but gave his best effort nonetheless. Max ran a 1:19.81 in the 400 m, a 2:59.23 in the 800 m and threw 15.42 meters in the javelin. Isa Allison took the top place in the girls’ javelin with a strong throw of 20.75 meters. Isa also ran her best 100 meters ever with a new PR and club record of 16.30 seconds. Isa also jumped 3.01 m in the long jump. Simon Reynolds attained two 8th place finishes in the middle distance events last weeeknd. Simon ran a 2:54.60 in the 800 m and a 5:53.95 in the 1500 m, both times were just a hair away from Simon’s personal bests and sets him up well for a good chance to grab that 4th place spot in the State JO meet in three weeks. Italia Eason got a bit hampered by the heat as she couldn’t find her best marks or times over the weekend, but put in a great effort anyway. Italia jumped 2.99 m, ran 17.86 (100 m) and 42.07 (200 m). Auggie Grimm slipped in and out of the meet as seamless as a London fog, but left his mark by running a new PR in the 100 m (15.18) and also running a strong 200 m as well (33.06). isaiah Crowder had a terrific day throwing the javelin. He had a huge PR of 20.74 meters and took 7th place overall in a very deep field. Isaiah also ran 16.46 in the 100 meters and 34.53 seconds in the 200 meters.

11-12 Division

Our largest age group, 11-12, saw nearly everyone attain a new PR over the weekend. Alex Columbus who showed great sportsmanship after his 800 with a fellow competitor, ran a new PR of 2:52.17 and also got closer to that sub-30-second barrier in the 200 m with a new PR of 30.35. Ava Clegg is becoming discus dynamite as she threw yet another PR, club record and finished 4th with a distance of 16.01 meters…do I smell 20 meters around the corner? Ava also placed 4th in the shot put with a mark of 6.27 m. Lucy Arana is on the comeback trail and it showed over the weekend, as she put in two very strong and gutsy performances. Lucy ran 2:49.96 (800) and 5:46.21 (1500), which are not her best times of the year but are trending now in the right direction after a bit of a medical set back over the past two to three weeks. Gael Pacheco another one of our up-and-coming 800-meter-studs ran a big PR as he crossed the line in 2:48.03 – his first time going under 2:50 in this event. Gael also ran 1:13.70 in the open 400 meter race. Maddox Moses is slowly but surely getting is speed back, as he managed to edge out Gael in the 800 m with a 2:47.50 (best time of this season) and also ran the 1500 meters in 5:54.33 to complete a very solid weekend on the up slope. Braden Lolli didn’t want to slow down in the 1500 meters, but he did apply the brakes ever-so-slightly to save some energy for his 800 m on Sunday. Braden managed an easy win in the 1500 m (5:10.19) and ran a very impressive 800 m in 2:26.65, which got him 2nd overall, a PR and a new club record. Micah Newkirk tried to take advantage of the fact that Braden wasn’t going to go full bore in the 1500 meters, but while he couldn’t catch Braden he did manage a commanding second place finish with a new PR by nearly 10 seconds (5:17.11). Micah also PR’d in the 800 m, where he took 5th overall and ran a quick clock of 2:34.74. Jake Blair is really showing his stuff in the 800 meters this year as he ran a wonderful personal best of 2:40.52 and also showed he’s finding his way back in the javelin as he placed 4th with a launch of 29.66 meters. Seth Henry’s looked comfortable out there in the 400 m, where he almost made it to the finals with a new PR of 1:08.36. Seth also ran 28.78 in the 200 meters for an extremely nice weekend effort.

13-14 Division

Khaleb Henry had a tremendous foul in the discus, which would have gotten him close to 29 meters, but he still threw well with a new PR, club record and 5th place mark of 27.54 meters. Khaleb also took an 8th place ribbon in the shot put with a mark of 8.38 m. Robert Vloemans had a very good day. While he didn’t PR in any of his events, he was a whisper away from personal bests in each of them. In the 200 m Robert ran 29,72, in the discus he threw 22.19 m and in the shot put he got it 7.23 meters out there if the dirt. Charlie Allison in the events you were confident he’d do well in Charlie had a rough day. Charlie due to a myriad of issues only managed a 4.12 m long jump and 8.98 m triple jump – both way under his best efforts. But in Charlie’s first attempt at the 200 meter hurdles he seemed like a fish to water as he ran a blistering 28.53 race to take 3rd place overall. Matty Braun after a few weeks of being under the weather had a good weekend at State. Matty made finals in the long jump for 8th place with his best jump ever of 4.25 meters. Matty also PR’d in the 200 m with a time of 28.14 and lastly he ran 14.06 in the 100 m to round out the meet. Macy Baerman PR’d in the 100 m with a time of 16.14, yet again showing some speed improvement as the season progresses. Macy jumped a solid 3.53 m in the long jump and nearly PR’d in the 200 m with her time of 33.16. Sebastian Arana threw strong and consistent in the javelin on Sunday as he had a huge PR of 27.38 m, which got him a 6th place ribbon. Sebastian was a little off his game in the shot put with a 7.82 m mark, but looks ready for State J.O. in a few weeks.

15-16 Division

Maddy Shoemaker is back with us after her high school season and she came out looking strong and poised. She ran two PRs and club records – 2:34.26 in 800 m, where she placed 4th and 5:19.99 in the 1500 m, where she took 2nd. Maddy will be trying to qualify for the Region J.O. meet in three weeks as she moves up to the 3000-meter distance. Who is Leopold Bond? That’s what many of our younger kids were asking as they saw Leo speed around the track in the 100 m (1st – 11.54) and 200 m (1st – 23.13), as well as place first in the triple jump (11.36 m) and second in the long jump (5.89 m). All of those were club records by the way. So who is he? One of Coach Todd’s high school athletes from Tempe…Glad to have him with us.

17-18 Division

Kenya Coburn is also back with us after her high school season at Tempe and she looked strong. Kenya jumped 4.82 m in the long jump (3rd), 12.76 in the 100 m (1st), 16.02 seconds in the 100 m hurdles (3rd) and leaped 10.37 m in the triple jump (2nd).

The Flyers will continue their season at the Arizona State Junior Olympic Meet on June 16-17 in three weeks at Mesa Community College.

Go Flyers!

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!

March 6, 2018March 6, 2018

Flyers Throw Team Improves on Saturday

Lolli, Allisons and Columbus Win

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

8U Division

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

9-10 Division

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

11-12 Division

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

13-14 Division

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

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

Go Flyers!

January 31, 2018

Good Start for Flyers on Home Track

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

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

9-10 Division

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

11-12 Division

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

13-14 Division

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

15-16 Division

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

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

Go Flyers!

August 11, 2017August 11, 2017

Three Young Flyers Make Their Mark in Kansas

isa first place at junior olympics 2017 javelin

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

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

8 & Under Division

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

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

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

11-12 Division

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

Proud of All Our Flyers

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

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!

April 17, 2016April 17, 2016

Nice Weather Brings Records and Smiles to Westwood

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