Members of CH youth track club compete in AAU Junior Olympics

Coach Alana Williams with Joe Kellers and Xavier Jackson, after the 800M race.

Fifteen members of Cleveland Heights Tigers Youth Track Club participated in the 2017 AAU (Amateur Athletics Union) Track and Field Junior Olympics, held July 29 through Aug. 5 in Detroit.

After qualifying at the district and regional finals in June and July, these top-finishing athletes moved on to the Junior Olympics to compete at the national level.

The Tigers took the field for shot put, hurdles, 400M, 800M, 1500M and 4x relays at Eastern Michigan University. Representing Cleveland Heights were Jordan Morman, Rondale Reid, Na'kyla Ford, Allana Fair, Simon Williams, Joe Kellers, Jebree Peterson, Xavier Jackson, Nick Vitantonio, David Tyus, Sir Thomas Hill-Bey, Asia'lee Fair, Ana Williams, Amaya Mattox and Kennedy Ferguson-Castro. While they took home no medals, they did set four personal records.

The co-ed team’s members range in age from 5-years-old to high-school age.  Those who qualified for this year’s Junior Olympics were boys and girls ages 9–14.

Coached by Alana Williams, Rondale Reid and Derrick Fair, the Cleveland Heights Tigers Youth Track Club begins training in March and competes in ATC (Allstar Training Club) and AAU track meets throughout the spring and summer.

The track club is a division of the Tigers Youth Sports Clubs organization, a 501(c)3 community organization, headed by Coach Michael Payne. 

Dee Srellek

Dee Srellek is a Forest Hill resident and the parent of a track athlete. She volunteers for the team, handling registration and administrative duties.

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Volume 10, Issue 9, Posted 10:19 AM, 08.15.2017