Blog Posts

And the Winner is . . . . "HOUSTON"

12/13/2012

Coach William Valerie, the president of Track Houston, Club Head Coach Keith Combs and Coach Joe Felder attended the USATF Annual Meeting in Daytona Beach, FL during the last week of November. They were members of the Houston Bid Committee to bring the USA Track and Field National Junior Olympic to the Houston area in the summer of 2014. When creating the proposal our coaches offered key facts from a coach and team perspective. These facts enhanced the bid that would become the foundation of the proposal.

Leading the charge was Janis Schmees, the Executive Director of the Harris County-Sports Authority. With her leadership the Houston Bid Committee showcased the City of Houston and amenities of Turner Stadium. Coach Valerie gave his presentation on how Turner Stadium would be beneficial to coaches, clubs and athletes and noted that this facility is the best he has seen in his 18 years of coaching. With that presentation and one given by Felicia Love, the USATF Gulf Association Youth Chair and the President of the association Porter Robinson, Houston won overwhelmingly.

During his presentation, Troy Kite, Humble ISD Facilities Director, gave an overview of Turner Stadium located in Humble, TX a suburb of Houston. He noted that it was second to none in offered amenities. The stadium had a $20 million renovation in 2010 with over 10,000 seats that included awning covering. The state of the art facility boasts a 50' x 18' display screen which is one of the largest in the country. The jumbo screen will be used to display event returns and live video of on-going races.

The facility will offer air conditioned awards area and press box with wireless internet. A tent city area will be designated outside the stadium and an adjacent warm-up area that includes a practice track would be perfect for athletes event preparation. I believe this is the only facility in USATF Junior Olympic history to have a practice track onsite. This stadium has a fast track and surely many records will be broken for the Junior Olympic National Championships. All events will be onsite therefore there will be no need for athletes to travel to a different location unlike past national events. This is another example why Houston was selected.

The Houston Bid Committee did a wonderful job securing this national event for 2014 and our hats go off to them.

Track Houston Cross Country Program Excels in Year 3

12/3/2012

Coach Kenya Artis with Cross Country Athletes

In Track Houston's third year of its cross country program, it made big strides increasing athletes participation and their accomplishments. Head Coach Kenya Artis and Coach Ken Gandy trained 27 athletes this year with the goal of making it enjoyable while encouraging the athletes to do their best.

Thirteen of those athletes competed in the USATF Regional 12 Cross Country meet held in Rockwall, TX. This meet is the qualifying meet for the National Cross Country Junior Olympic.

From the Regional meet, top honors goes to Camila Vicens who won the 3K in the bantam girls division and the Midget Boys who won the team title with 5 boys from the club competing in that division.

Riley Lindhorst, Camila Vicens, Rachel Whipple, Cole Lindhorst and Aye Devany were some of the Track Houston athletes who qualified for the USATF National Cross Country Junior Olympic and will travel to Albuquerque, NM on December 7th to compete at the highest level. Good Luck to all of the athletes.

Coach Artis stated "What a journey it has been. A lot of sweat and of course some tears. But I am truly thankful for the opportunity to coach and have all of your support. Thanks for letting me do this."

There are lots of coaches out there but to be dedicated, hardworking and doing it for the love of the kids are attributes of Coach Artis, a Track Houston coach doing it the Track Houston way.

Coach Terrance Bean Inducted into Alma Mater’s Hall Of Fame

10/30/2012

Track Houston’s own Coach Terrance Bean was inducted into the Northwestern State University Graduate N Club Hall of Fame on October 27, 2012. The three-time All-American was honored for his contributions to the NSU’s track and field program winning several championships and honors during his tenure. Congratulations Coach Bean from your Track Houston family.

Excerpt from NSU news article:

[ . . . Bean was the third-place finisher at the 1996 NCAA Indoor Championships, clearing a career best 7-4 ½. He also captured All-America honors outdoors that year with a 7-3 ¾ jump for ninth place, and repeated as an Indoor All-American in 1997 as a senior with a fifth-place 7-3 ¾ mark.

The Houston native won four Southland Conference high jump crowns: 1994 and 1995 indoors, and 1995 and 1996 outdoors. Bean reached six consecutive NCAA Championships indoors and outdoors. . . ]

Coach Bean was also a finalist in the 1996 Olympic Trials in Atlanta, GA.

Terrance has been part of Track Houston for almost 7 years and his 4 children and wife are all members of the club.

The Home Team Wins 9 Gold Medals at AAU Junior Olympic

8/7/2012

Houstonians didn’t have to go far to compete against the nations best. In fact, some Track Houston athletes were in walking distance of the stadium. This year AAU brought their national Junior Olympic Games and 17,000 athletes to the Houston area for a week of heated competition in 100 degrees temperature. Over 11,000 of those athletes competed in track and field events hosted at Turner Stadium in Humble, TX.

Track Houston had 205 athletes to qualify for the AAU Junior Olympic and had athletes entered in almost all events offered. The diversity of our athletes’ skills is attributed to the dedication, knowledge and training from our volunteer coaching staff.

That training paid off as our athletes displayed their skills on another national stage in front of family, friends, teachers and neighbors who were not disappointed. They won 9 gold medals 7 silver and 7 bronze medals. The award presentation also awarded medals to 4th through 8th place which brings the total to 105 medals won by Track Houston athletes.

2012 AAU Junior Olympic National Qualifiers

One of those gold medals was awarded to Dynasty McClennon of the Sub Bantam Girls division. She won the 400 meter run with a time of 1:06.22 in a thrilling finish where only the finish line photo could decide the winner. She also won Silver in the 200m with a time of 27.85 in a crowed field of 81 competitors. Alone with first place, Dynasty broke the previous national record of 27.98. Another silver medal was earned by Dynasty and her 4x400m relay team of Jalen Elrod, Daja Maxey and Peyton Vancourt.

Camila Vicens won her third national gold medal in the Bantam Girls 1500m race walk at the AAU Junior Olympic and the other 2 were won at USATF Junior Olympic and USATF Youth Outdoor. Camila also set a new record at the USATF Gulf association meet with a time of 8:57.70 and another one at USATF Region 12 in a time of 8:30.68.

In the Bantam Boys division, Ian Gilmore won 1st out of 82 competitors in the 400 meters run with a time of 1:00.35. It was his personal best time of the season and one second faster than second place. Ian also won the Bronze medal in the 800m. Being a member of the 4x100m relay team, Ian and his teammates Joel Delva, Bryson Stubblefield and Kentrell Singleton won gold with a time of 52.19 seconds. With that outstanding time the boys propelled themselves to the No. 1 ranked 4x100m relay team in the country in their division.

Dwan Seaton has been throwing the javelin since he was a Bantam but a national Junior Olympic title has always eluded him, until now. Dwan won gold this year in the javelin throw in the Intermediate Boys division with a distance of 149 feet.

Winning the 300m hurdles and placing second in the 100m hurdles at the Texas High School State Championships (UIL) made Alaysha Johnson one of the top hurdlers in the state this year. Winning the 100 and 400 meters hurdles at the AAU National Junior Olympic made her the top hurdler in the country for the Intermediate Girls division. This is a great accomplishment for someone who has only been participating in hurdle events for 2 years but I’m sure many more good years await her in these 2 events. Alaysha also participated in the 4x400m relay with teammates Zarriea Willis, Taylor Bennett and Farrin Davis. They won the silver medal and broke the previous record alone with the first place team.

Young Men/Women Divisions displaying 4x100m Gold Medals

Well, records are made to be broken or so they say. Anytime the Young Men division’s 4x100m relay team stepped on the track, that was a possibility. It became a reality at the AAU Junior Olympic when the 4x100m relay team of O’Shea Wilson, Jermaine Authorlee, Ahmed Ali and Kyle Fulks set a new AAU national record running 40 seconds flat beating the old record of 40.24. One month earlier the same relay team set the USA Track and Field national record with a time of 39.56 seconds. The young men 2012 season has been a great one for this relay team, winning 2 national championships and setting a AAU and USATF national record. This act will be a hard one for any relay team to follow.

In the Young Women division, the 4x100m relay team set the stage for the Young Men’s team by winning their own gold. The team of Bria Carter, Bealoved Brown, Akeyla Mitchell and Dominique Taylor won first place in a time of 45.99 seconds.

Excerpt from YourHoustonNews.com:

[ . . . The top area club in relays was Track Houston which won three AAU titles and 12 medals of bronze or better. The stellar team of O’Shea Wilson, Ahmed Ali, Jermaine Authorlee, Kyle Fulks, Jacob Onyechi and Lawrence Johnson broke national record in the Young Men 400-meter relay, running 40 seconds flat.

Bealoved Brown, Bria Carter, Erica Davis, Akeyla Mitchell and Dominique Taylor ran a 45.99 to claim the Young Women 400-meter relay for Track Houston. The club’s sprint relay team of Joel Delva, Ian Gilmore, Kentrell Singleton and Bryson Stubblefield won the Bantam boys national title in 52.19.

Also starring for Track Houston was the relay group of O’Shae Clark, Dominique Lang, Robert Lewis, Oscar De Leon, ‘Nikalos Harrell, Shamon Ehiemua, Broderick Jones, Kenneth Lange and Jacobe Finley who combined for two silver medals and a bronze in the Youth boys division . . . ]

2012 USATF National Junior Olympic Highlights

8/3/2012

A visit to Washington DC to see the White House and historical monuments capped off a week of tense competition endured by our athletes. Several Track Houston athletes participated in the 2012 USATF National Junior Olympic in Baltimore MD where they won 4 Gold, 2 Silver and 5 Bronze medals. Altogether, Track Houston athletes accumulated 60 medals for places first through eighth.

Camila Vicens was new to track this year and did not know what to expect but after several track meets her site coach Marcus Davis suggested she try the race walk event. He gathered the necessary information and began her training. Camila grasped the training and never looked back. In her first year of participating in track, she won her second national gold medal in the bantam girls division 1500m race walk at the USATF Junior Olympics. She won her first gold medal at the USATF Youth Outdoor Nationals in Arlington, TX in late June. Great job Camila and coaches.

The Track Houston Youth Boys came away from Baltimore with Gold in 2 events, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze. The 4x800m relay team of O’Shae Clark, Kenneth Lang, Oscar DeLeon and Robert Lewis won their gold in a time of 8:33.11. Gold was also won in the 4×400 meter relay team of Dominique Lang, Robert Lewis, O’Shae Clark and Oscar DeLeon with a time of 3:27.81. The youth boys currently rank No. 2 in the country in the 4x400m and No. 3 in the 4x800m. O’Shae Clark came away with Silver in the 800m and stepped in on the 4x100m relay with teammates Broderick Jones, Shamon Ehiemua, Dominique Lang to win Bronze. The boys made a great showing at the Junior Olympics and with training and support from Coaches Daryl Sanford, Keith Evans and Terrance Lange, Track Houston has one of the nations top youth boys division.

The Young Men division 4x100m relay team of Kyle Fulks, Ahmed Ali, Jermaine Authorlee and O’Shea Wilson won Gold at the USATF National Junior Olympic in Baltimore, MD. Three weeks earlier at the USATF Region 12 meet in Lubbock, TX, that same team set a new USA Track and Field national record with a blazing time of 39.56. The previous record of 39.73 had stood for 14 years and was set by a previous generation of Track Houston young men. The 2012 Young Men 4x100m relay team is now part of history and those 4 names will be inked in the record books.

Congratulations to the Newest Members of the “Elite 39″ Club

7/10/2012

O’Shea Wilson, Jermaine Authorlee, Ahmed Ali and Kyle Fulks

The Track Houston Young Men division 4x100m relay team of O’Shea Wilson, Jermaine Authorlee, Ahmed Ali and Kyle Fulks broke the USA Track and Field national record with a time of 39.56 seconds. The previous record of 39.73 was set in 1998 by the Track Houston team of Ryan Beard, Ben Gay, Joey Harris and Terrance Williams who now have passed the baton on to the next Track Houston generation of record holders.

Running under 40 seconds is not something you see a 4x100m relay team do all the time but when our Young Men division did it at the USATF Region 12 meet in Lubbock Texas, it was a feeling of excitement and a since of accomplishment. Once they realized their time had broken the national record, it was a surreal experience knowing that you are the best 4x100m relay team in the country of all times.

The record was set on July 7, 2012 which gives the team time to improve baton exchanges and foot speed before running at the two national meets at the end of July. The Young Men’s team will participate in the USATF National Junior Olympic in Baltimore MD, and the AAU Junior Olympic Games held in Humble TX. Both events will feature a semifinal and final which gives the team 4 more chances to improve their time. These events will also feature other teams who are in the Elite 39 club and who are potential record breakers but I’ll put my money on “Big Red”. No matter what happens, this will be a summer to remember in junior track and field.

A Record 7 Team National Championships Awarded

7/5/2012

Track Houston won a record 7 team national awards at the USA Youth Outdoor Track and Field Championships held in Arlington Texas. No other club in the history of the youth national meet has won as many team championships as Track Houston did this year. This event was the second largest Youth Outdoor National meet hosted by USA Track and Field with over 2500 athletes from across the country participating.

USA Youth Outdoor is an annual national event that Track Houston often attends to give athletes another opportunity to compete against other top national competition. In addition to the 7 team championships, Track Houston athletes also won first place in 16 events.

A special recognition goes to the Bantam Girls division who won their team championship with only 6 girls.

Track Houston National Team Champions: Bantam Girls, Bantam Boys, Midget Boys, Youth Girls, Youth Boys, Intermediate Girls, Intermediate Boys

Third Place Team Finalist: Sub Bantam Boys, Young Women

Athletes Compete in the AAU Area 19 National Qualifier Meet

6/25/2012

As many as 70 track clubs and more than 2600 athletes participating in the AAU Area 19 National Qualifier Championships which includes Houston and the entire Southeast Texas area. Track Houston alone accounted for more than 10% of the total number of athletes who participated. At this venue athletes were vying for a chance to compete in the National AAU Junior Olympic held in the first week of August.

Although this regional competition was fierce, 205 Track Houston athletes qualified to compete in the AAU National Junior Olympic Games. A well deserved congratulations is extended to the athletes and their coaches and with the highlight of the season almost upon us, Track Houston athletes will be prepared to compete to their utmost abilities.

Alaysha Johnson Selected as Girls Athlete of the Year

6/15/2012

The Houston Chronicle selected sophomore Alaysha Johnson as the 2012 All-Greater Houston Track and Field Girls Athlete of the Year. She was surprised and honored to be selected for such a distinguished award.

In her second year of competing in hurdle events, Alaysha won the 2012 Texas State High School title in the 300m hurdles with a time of 41.83 seconds which ranked her 10th in the country. She also placed second in the 100m hurdles which was the 13th fastest time in the nation.

In an interview with Angel Verdejo of the Houston Chronicle, Alaysha explained that she wanted to run hurdles like her big brother Crayton but didn’t realize it would be so technical. The first time she ran the hurdles she fell and bruised herself but it was Crayton who encouraged her to keep trying. Little did Alaysha know that she would become one of the best hurdlers in the country, and only a sophomore.

In the Houston Chronicle’s article Alaysha explained how she felt after winning the state title.

[. . . It was amazing - it was - and it was surprising. You want to say that you expect to win, but everybody expects to win. It doesn't hit you until like the day after and you just think, 'I won state.' It was such a great experience . . .]

Alaysha has been a member of the Track Houston family since she was 7 years old and became interested in hurdle events 2 years ago. She looks forward to competing for the state title again but her immediate attention is to compete for the national title at the Junior Olympics this year. She has a special talent and one to look forward to in the future. Remember her name, Alaysha (Laylay) Johnson.

Track Houston Alum Shahira Ehiemua named Conference Freshman of the Year

6/9/2012

Being a freshmen in college can seem scary to some especially when the college is in another city or state, but when Shahira Ehiemua took her first visit to the University of Texas at San Antonio, she felt right at home. In her first year, she accomplished something no other athlete had done in the UTSA program history. She was named the 2012 Southland Conference Outdoor Freshmen of the Year.

Excerpt from UTSA Roadrunners

[. . . Ehiemua led all freshmen with her team-leading 16.5 points at last weekend's Southland Outdoor Championships in San Marcos. The Missouri City native ran the lead leg of UTSA's championship 400-meter relay that clocked the second-fastest time in conference history (44.81) and it marked the second time the quartet set a school record this spring. She went on to place second in the 100m (11.71) and third in the deuce (23.91). Ehiemua qualified for both finals with personal bests in the preliminary heats.

Her efforts helped lead the Roadrunners to second place in the team standings with 139.5 points and it was the program's best finish since it successfully defended its league title in 1997. Stephen F. Austin rallied in the meet’s final event, the 1,600m relay, to win its fourth consecutive championship and the Ladyjacks' two-and-a-half-point margin of victory was the closest since UTSA edged UT Arlington by one point in 1993 . . .]

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