2007 Indoor National Meet
Results
All I can say is wow! The NEK athletes never cease to amaze
me when it
comes to delivering outstanding performances at just the right time. The
AAU Indoor Nationals produced an astonishing 33 medals (roughly 10 lbs.
worth) by all 19 athletes that participated. If this were a team scored
event, we would have scored 175 points. We earned medals in the 55 dash,
55 hurdles, 400, 800, 1500, 3000, 1500rw, 3000rw, 4x400 relay, High Jump,
Long Jump, Triple Jump, & Multis. In fact, there
were only 3 events that
we didn't medal in, and we didn't enter anyone in two of those.
The medal rush began on Friday night. The first Individual Championship
came from 7-year old Luke Jaramillo in the Bantam Boys 1500rw. The next
medals were earned in the Midget Girls 1500rw, it was
the first of five
different events that we would place more than one medalist on the awards
stand. Keara Lenard came
into the race as the defending National Champion,
she was able to retain her crown in a very competitive race. Her teammate,
and classmate Rachel Taylor earned her first All-American honors,
finishing fifth.Tamarah Ables,
competing in her first ever 3000rw looked
like she enjoyed the move up in distance, in winning her first National
Championship. Tyler Mundy and Josh Christensen, both competing in their
first ever Pentathlon competition, both earned All-American honors. Mundy
placed third despite being a 10-year old in the 11-12 Boys division.
Christensen, who is also in the bottom of the Young Mens
(17-18) age
division was able to finish fifth in a very tightly contested
competition.
Saturday saw the Sprint and Hurdle prelims being contested, along with the
finals in the 800 and 3000 meter distances, and assorted field events. The
Intermediate Girls 3000 saw the next pair of medalist for the team; with
Kylie Graves finishing third, and Caroline Hale close
behind in fifth. In
the next race on the track Anthony Capra finished sixth in the
Intermediate Boys 3000, his older brother Quentin added a second place
finish in the Young Mens 3000. The 800 meter race was
not as lucrative for
the team, but Austin Coverdale did squeeze out a
sixth place finish in the
Intermediate Boys division. The Field events saw several club members grab
All-American honors. Jesse Bahner grabbed the Gold in
the Intermediate
Boys High Jump by an incredible 6 inches. In the Young Mens
High Jump;
Josh Rathbun and Quentin Capra finished third and
fourth respectively. The
Long Jump produced a trifecta of medalist with Jesse Bahner (Intermediate
Boys), Jareb Stallbaumer
(Young Mens), and Sierra Barron (Intermediate
Girls), all finishing Fourth.
Sunday was finals day, and had many NEK athletes participating. Austin
Coverdale won the clubs next National Championship,
placing First in the
Intermediate Boys 55 Hurdles. Kirsten Reichardt made
her way to the award
stand by finishing fourth in the Young Womens 55
Hurdles, in her first
ever Hurdle competition.The 55 Dash saw Jodi Mundy
sprint to a 4th place
finish in the Intermediate Girls division. Mundy was also a finalist in
the 400 meters; where she was nearly able to win the Championship
finishing a close second. In the Intermediate Girls 1500
provided another 1-2 punch finishing in fourth and sixth. Those two teamed
with Mundy and Ashlyn Parker for a fitting Gold in
the 4x400, wrapping up
an unbelievable weekend on the track. The only Field event contested on
Sunday was the Triple Jump, and the club went out with a bang. Jareb
Stallbaumer and Sierra Barron both added there names
to the ever growing
list of NEK National Champions, Jesse Bahner and Ashlyn Parker added third
place finishes, and Josh Rathbun finished fifth.
It is difficult for me to explain how proud I am of each one of these
kids, not only for their accomplishments on the track, but for what kind
of persons they are off of it. Throughout the weekend they exhibited great
sportsmanship, and positive attitudes. Just 2 1/2 years ago I sat in the
stands at
Youth Boys 100 Hurdles. He was the first ever national medalist for our
club. I remember thinking at the time that it might be the last time that
I would coach an All-American, here we are 30 months later and that number
is now 52, including 13 National Champions. If I live to be a 100 I don't
know if I'll ever coach a group of young people that will get on a roll
the way that we did this weekend, ... or maybe I will.
Here's looking
forward to the Outdoor Season.
Lance