Congratulations 2009 National Jr. Olympics Cross Country Championships Qualifiers
Congratulations to Priscilla! She placed first and won the trophy in midget group for earning the most points from all the cross-country meets this year!
Congratulations are also in order to Tyler Cleveland, Garret Foshay, and Priscilla who qualified at the Pacific Association Jr. Olympic Regional 16 Youth Cross Country Championships held at Rancho San Rafael Park, Reno, Nevada on November 29, 2009. Finishing in the top 20, they advanced to the National Jr. Olympic Youth Cross Country Championships in Reno, Nevada on December 12, 2009.
What an eventful qualifiers meet at Reno on November 29, 2009!! There were so many athletes trying their best to qualify to the National Jr. Olympics. It was a tough race with many talented and fast athletes!!
Priscilla: She has always amazed me with her commitment and desire to perform her best. The love she has for running has inspired many of her teammates in cross-country. When her mom asked her what she was thinking during the race, she told her she was thinking of her teammates who were also trying to qualify for the nationals, she herself was trying not to fall too far behind others and hoping her teammates were close in range with her. There were no steep hills at the Rancho San Rafael Park course but a steady 500 meters of incline from the start of the race made it challenging for many athletes. As Priscilla has described it, she felt like her lungs had been crushed and made it very difficult to breath at 4,500 feet elevation. Priscilla, Tyler and Garret have to run that incline one more time in less than two weeks.
Every one is working very hard for the tough competition ahead; we are all focusing and continuing to give 110% at practice! Keep it up!
Congratulation to Alexandria Geremew, Antigone Pirritano, Camille Johnson, Erica Esparza, Havana Coleman, Kurtis Lee, Mikaela Williams, Monique Esparza, and Priscilla Lee who ran cross-country this season! Many of these young athletes are first time cross-country runners and did extremely well. I am so proud of all my Umoja athletes.
