Four Aftershock Distance Club runners qualified for the regional Junior Olympics championships by medaling Saturday, June 14, at Mesa Community College.
Allyson Arellano, 15, followed up her gold medals at the USA Track and Field championships June 1 at Mesa by running the 1,500 meters in just over five minutes, 12 seconds and the 3,000 meters in under 10:47 to take second among all 15- to 16-year-old girls at the state Junior Olympics.
Penny Fenn, 16, took silver with a new personal record in the 2,000-meter steeplechase to also qualify for the Junior Olympics regional track championships in Colorado Springs, along with Joshua Reilly, 13, who PR’d in the 3,000 meters to finish third among all 13- and 14-year-old boys. Chris D’Angelo, 15, ran the 1,500 in just under 4:26 and the 3,000 slightly past 9:29 to take silver.
“I think all of them are collegiate athletes in the making,” Aftershock head coach Micah Swenson said. “Josh is actually a tri-athlete: His run was the really weak portion, but he’s just shown so much growth, especially in distance, that it’s a strength now.
“Chris can kind of play the middle distances — his bread-and-butter will be the 3,000-and-up in college. Allyson will run the 3,000, 5,000 and 10k, and Penny’s big thing will probably be the
steeplechase, which she’s run at the 3,000 three times.”
Jalen Ebert finished fourth among all 13- to 14-year-olds in the 800 meters, but since the club begins its 24-week cross country training schedule Monday, June 30, none of the five Aftershock qualifiers will be traveling to the Air Force Academy in Colorado to compete for the national Junior Olympics track championships.
For the full story, please see the Wednesday, June 18, issue of the Cottonwood Journal Extra.
