More than 28,000 runners took to the streets of Houston on Sunday, January 15 as the 2012 Chevron Houston Marathon top off perhaps the biggest weekend of road racing ever seen in this country. In the marathon’s 40th year, Track Houston teamed up with Chevron Houston to be one of its premier volunteer member groups. Coaches, administrators, parents and athletes made up the 73 Track Houston volunteers who contributed to the success of the marathon’s day of events.

The Track Houston Fundraiser Committee would like to thank the volunteers for their time and talents as Track Houston strives to be a positive impact in our community, while helping to instill great values in our impressionable youth. As always, we appreciate the support of our volunteers and look forward to participating in this event next year.

Track Houston had several athletes participate in the Carl Lewis High School Indoor Track and Field meet at the University of Houston on January 14, 2012. The participants in this meet traveled from as far as Colorado and Illinois to compete against some of the nation’s top high school athletes on the indoor track. Track Houston athletes faired well at this meet and concluded it by winning the  “Team of Meet” award with athletes winning the Bronze medal or better in 7 events.

One of the top athletes of the meet was Track Houston’s Ahmed Aliwho is currently ranked 2nd in the country in the 200m dash with his personal best of 21.35 seconds and ranked 6th in the 60m dash with a time of 6.87 seconds. His stellar performance at the Carl Lewis Indoor meet earned him the award titled “Athlete of Meet”. Ahmed has scholarship offers from Texas A&M, Baylor, TCU and the University of Houston among others and he looks forward to ending his high school career with a couple of state championships.

Results of Track Houston athletes at the Carl Lewis High School Indoor Track and Field meet:

Ahmed Ali – Gold, Boys 200m dash, 22.02 (placed first out of 119)

Ahmed Ali, O’Shea Wilson, James Arnett, Xavier Moss – Gold, Boys 4x200m, 1:31.74

Ahmed Ali – Silver, Boys 60m dash, 6.87 (placed second out of 127)

Jasmine Jack – Silver, Girls High Jump, 5’-4”

Samiyah Samuels – Silver, Girls Long Jump, 17’-9”

O’Shea Wilson – Bronze, Boys Triple Jump, 44’-2.75”

Kelsey Roy – Bronze, Girls 60m Hurdles, 8.91

The Oklahoma State University star cornerback Brodrick Brown, has earned First-Team All-Big 12 honors voted on by the Big 12 coaches and by the Associated Press. Other honors are the Second-Team All-American by Sports Illustrated, and Third-Team All-American by the Associated Press. Brodrick is the son of Coach Thatford Brown who is very proud of his son’s accomplishments on the field and in the class room. See Brodricks compete list of honors below.

Brodrick’s name became well known in college football media when he made one of the most spectacular plays of the year that captivated every sports media outlet in the country. In the 2010 game against the Sooners, Brodrick leaped in front of the OU sideline to re-direct the OU’s quarterback pass to his own team mate resulting in an interception. Brodrick knew that if he caught the ball going out of bounds nothing would be gained from it but his quick thinking earned him accolades throughout the sports community. It was named as the defensive play of the year by ESPN.com’s Pat Forde and ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit.

No. 19 Brodrick Brown’s Highlight

Running track, cross country running, playing soccer and basketball and being awarded medals and trophies for his outstanding performances in those sporting events may seem like it’s more than enough for Track Houston’s Joshua Brooks, but the 9 year old has embarked on a different venture using his athletic talents to help others.

Joshua was one of 300 runners to participate in the sold-out Operation Jack Marathon on December 26, 2011, which serves to benefit autism-related charities. The event was created by the parents of Jack, a boy with autism and held in Manhattan Beach, California.

Joshua ran in the half marathon (13.1 miles), and finished in 1 hour 37 minutes with a pace of 7:27 per mile. This event was quite challenging for Joshua and he wanted to stop several times but he knew he had to finish what he started.

The lesson Joshua learned is that not everything you do must end with an award or trophy but helping others is rewarding in itself.

Click on the image to see Joshua Brook’s interview with a Los Angeles news station.

Track Houston’s Cross Country program is in its infancy compared to the track and field program but headed by Coach Kenya Artis, it is on the fast track to becoming an elite program. It was a drastic change from the summer heat of 104 degrees plus, to cool fall mornings of 40 to 60 degrees temperatures, nevertheless our athletes competed strongly against local competition throughout the season.

Track Houston had 11 athletes to compete in the USATF Gulf Championship meet that qualified for the state Region 12 meet in Marble Falls, TX. At this meet Coach Artis and Coach Keith Evans accompanied 8 athletes of which all of them placed in the top 15 medal qualifying positions. Our athletes had a great experience and ran their best times of the season. In the Sub Bantam Girls race our 2 runners missed out on the team award by 1 point but all of our athletes qualified for the USATF National Junior Olympic Cross Country that will be held in Myrtle Beach, SC on December 9-10, 2011.

USATF National Junior Olympic Cross Country Qualifiers

Sub Bantam Girls: Alex Age, Autumn Brent
Bantam Boys: Joshua Brooks, Joel Gassiott
Midget Boys: Jules Perrodin, Solomon Brent
Youth Boys: Kenneth Lange, Terrance Lange

Note: Athletes Kassandra Luna, Kayla Luna and Tate McMillan also qualified for Region 12 competition but were not able to attend.

Track Houston was invited to appear on HOT TV on August 11 to showcase some of their national medal winners. The athletes were interviewed by Charles Brown where they displayed many of their national medals from USA Track & Field and AAU national track meets. Coach William Valerie, the president of Track Houston, introduced some of the athletes and noted their winning events.  He also explained some of the organizational structure and how interested athletes can join the club.  Track Houston enjoyed their time at the studio and would like to thank HOT TV for their invitation.

HOT stands for “Houston’s Own Talent” and their sole purpose is to bring attention to all talent in Houston as well as those visiting.

Coach William Valerie knew he had a very good Intermediate Girls team ages 15-16, but he didn’t know to what extent.  At the AAU National Junior Olympic Games in New Orleans LA, his relay teams showed that there was no limit to their determination as they won the 4×100 meter and the 4×400 meter relay races. The 4×400 meter relay team of Rushell Harvey, Alaysha Johnson, Zarriea Willis and Mahasin Ahmad won in a time of 3:45.05 which was their best time of the year. In the 4×100 meter relay race, the team of Tarameshia Gordon, Rushell Harvey, Alaysha Johnson and Zarriea Willis was in a battle to the end, but it was heart and determination that prevailed with their first place win.

One week earlier the Intermediate Girls won the 4×100 meter and 4×400 meter relay races at the USATF National Junior Olympics in Wichita, KS. No other track club has won these 2 relays in both AAU and USATF National Junior Olympics in the same year in one division. In conclusion to a great season, the Track Houston Intermediate Girls 4×100 and 4×400 meter relay teams are ranked No. 1 in the country. Several of these girls will be returning to the Intermediate Girls division next year, so stay tuned for even better results in 2012.

Talk in the preseason was that the Track Houston Sub Bantam Girls division would be okay this year. Well that was quite an understatement. These girls ages 6-8 dominated their age division at the local, state and national level where they won many gold medals and set several new records.

The Sub Bantam Girls head coach Kenya Artis said that her girls and coaching staff worked very hard this year and set their goals to make their first ever appearance in the National Junior Olympics. Starting this year, USATF included the Sub Bantam division (ages 6-8) in their national track meet.

Their road to the Junior Olympics kicked off at the USATF Gulf Association Championships where the girls placed 1st in 6 out of 7 running events which included the 100M, 200M, 400M, 1500M, 4x100M and 4x400M. The SBG set a new record in the 4×400 meter relay and another one was set by Zorah Fontenot in the 1500 meter run in a time of 6:14.32.

In the USATF Region 12 contest (Texas state meet), Dynasty McClennon won the 100M with Daja Maxeyplacing 2nd. Dynasty also broke the 200M record with a time of 30.45. The previous record stood for 7 years. The Track Houston SBG winning streak continued as Jalen Elrod and Maryah Hampton placed 1st and 2nd in the 400 meter race. In the 1500 meters run Zorah Fontenot show her poise and stamina as she easily won her distance race and set a new Region 12 record with a time of 6:14.72. The relay races completed the Sub Bantam Girls roll through the regional finals with a win in the 4×100 meter relay and a win and a new record in the 4×400 meter

Their road to Kansas wasn’t paved with yellow bricks but with blue ribbons that would lead the Sub Bantam Girls to Wichita, KS where they could compete among the nations best at the USATF National Junior Olympics. The first national medal for the Sub Bantam Girls came when Dynasty McClennon was in a battle to the finish line with another athlete in the 200M race but after a few seconds “1 McClennon” displayed on the timing system board for a first place finish. In the 400M race it appeared that Jalen Elrod was out of the race running in 4th place but with 100 meters to go she shifted into another gear to pull off a spectacular win. The 4×100 meter relay team of Jalen Elrod, Daja Maxey, Maryah Hampton and Adaora Nwokeji won gold in a time of 1:01.01. The girls had two 4×400 meter relay teams to medal in the final. The team of Jalen Elrod, Daja Maxey, Maryah Hampton and Dynasty McClennon ran away from the field to win gold and their second team of Zorah Fontenot, Adaora Nwokeji, Karlee Singletary and Kaylan Johnson earned the 4th place medal. The other medal finalist are Dynasty McClennon; silver in the 100M, Daja Maxey; 4th place medal in the 100M and Zorah Fontenot; 4th placed in the  1500M run.

This year the SBG coaches decided to enter the girls in the AAU National Junior Oympic Games. In this venue the girls 4×100 meter relay team of Daja Maxey, Maryah Hampton, Adaora Nwokeji and Dynasty McClennon broke the national record in the prelims with a time of 1:01.27. That same team in the finals won gold and broke their own record set the day before in a blazing time of 59.96.

Coach Kenya Artis, Candy McClennon, Martrice Wafer and Keith Wright did a great job training and encouraging these young ladies. Appreciation goes to the parents, because without their strong support many of these accomplishments would not be possible.

“We’re not in Kansas anymore Toto”, but wow, what a performance our athletes put on while they were there amassing a Track Houston record total of 171 medals from the 2011 USATF National Junior Olympics in Wichita, KS. This meet proved to be very challenging in heat of 104 degrees plus, but it did not deter our athletes from accomplishing their tasks.

Their accomplishments included 10 first place awards and 53 others from 2nd to 8th place.

Starting this year, USATF included the Sub Bantam division (ages 6-8) in their national competitions and our Sub Bantam Girls took every opportunity to show why they belong on the national stage. In the 200 meters Dynasty McClennon took gold with a time of 29.48 and silver in the 100 meters with a time 14.55. To not be out-staged by her team mate, Jalen Elrod made a dramatic come from behind win in the 400 meters to claim her own national gold medal. The Sub Bantam girls also won the 4×100 and 4×400 meter relays.

In the Sub Bantam Boys division, the 4×400 meter relay team won gold in an unusual fashion where a team of 4 athletes ran in the prelims and another one in the finals. The coaches strategy and total team effort worked well for the Sub Bantam Boys in securing first place in the 4×400 meter relay race.

In his second year of high jumping, Caleb Cavanaugh of the Bantam Boys division won this event with a jump of 4’9″ to clear the bar. Observing the height of his mother and father, Caleb will be participating in this event for a long time and certainly bringing home more gold.

In the Midget Boys 4×100 meter relay race, Track Houston was the only team to run under 50 seconds in the prelims and finals to win gold with a time of 49.60.

In a repeat performance the Intermediate Girls won the 4×100 meter relay for a second year in a row. This year the girls added the 4×400 meter relay win to their collection of gold medals and is ranked No. 1 in the country in both relays.

The Intermediate Boys capped off the evening with the 4th Track Houston 4×400 meter relay win. This race was almost in parallel to the way the Intermediate Boys won this race last year but with 3 different athletes proving that they could do the job as well.

Excerpt from www.yourhoustonnews.com

[. . . . Track Houston proved to be the relay kings in Wichita earning the bronze medal or better in 16 relay races, seven of which were national champions. The club won twice in the Sub-Bantam (ages 6-8) Girls division with Jalen Elrod, Maryah Hampton, Daja Maxey and Adaora Nwokeji running a 1:01.01 to win the 400-meter title and Dynasty McClennon stepping in on the mile relay championship (5:05.18). . . .]