Revolution Express impresses at Junior Olympics

Numerous local athletes participated and held their own in last week's USATF Hershey National Junior Olympics Track and Field Championships at Sacramento State University. Specifically, 22 athletes representing Revolution Express Track Club, which is based in Placer County, competed on all age levels amid a national field of peers over the week-long Junior Olympic event. RETC Administrator Maura Kent applauded the collective performance from everyone on the club. "Exceptional," she said while describing the efforts of RETC's athletes. "Some of them were upset that they didn't do better, but we kept reminding them that they're competing against the best in the nation." RETC's week kicked off last Monday with a bang as Dax Doyle (11-12-year-old group) of Rocklin Academy Gateway Elementary set the pace. His eighth-place finish in the boys race walk (12 minutes, 9.06 seconds) earned All-American honors. Also on Monday, Spring View Middle School's Paige Wilcox narrowly missed out on All-American status by a mere 12 points in the 13-14 girls pentathlon. Wilcox earned a ninth-place overall finish after placing 15th in the 100-meter hurdles (16.70), 10th in both the shot put (8.78 meters) and high jump (1.45m), 12th in the long jump (4.59m) and as the runner-up in the 800 with a personal record of 2:28.60. Aniya Martin of Robert C. Cooley Middle School began her quest for All-American status Wednesday. Competing in four of the seven days, Martin closed the competition Sunday with an eighth-place finish in the girls 11-12 100 finals, cementing All-American honors with a club record 12.95. Martin also reached the semis of the 200 and barely missed being a multi-All-American with a ninth-place finish in the high jump (1.35m). RETC's third All-American winner was Alexa Camacho of Roseville High School. Primarily a sprinter for the Tigers' track team last spring, Camacho showed her versatility in the field, becoming an All-American in the 15-16 girls triple jump (8th place, 10.94m). She also placed 24th overall in the long jump (4.89m). "She came in as a sprinter, but she'd always wanted to be a jumper," said Kent of Camacho. "She was also the fastest sprinter at Roseville, so her coaches were using her for the points on sprints. She came here to focus on the long jump and triple jump and she became an All-American. How amazing is that?" Setting RETC records at Sac State last week were Madison Sandle, also of Roseville High, who ran a 58.80 in the 17-18 girls 400 preliminaries, Aliyah Jackson of Rocklin High who tossed the javelin 29.65 meters in the 15-16 field, and Ava Takeuchi of Sunset Ranch Elementary who placed 17th in the 7-8 1,500 at 6:15.46. Takeuchi also placed 29th overall in the long jump at 2.81 meters. Although failing to qualify past the prelims, the 17-18 boys 4x100 relay team of Joey Souto (Whitney), Chase Williams, James Edwards and Joey Brown (all of Lincoln High) broke an 11-year-old club record with a 42.81. The 17-18 girls 4x100 team of Sandle, Madi Pettit (St. Francis), Valetta Melton (Foothill) and Rachel Jackson (Rocklin) ran a 53.04 in the prelims. Rounding out the rest of the 11-12 age groups were Chris Effiong of Holy Trinity Catholic School, who reached the semifinals of both the 100 and 200 sprints, Ryler Pettit of Crestmont Elementary, who tossed the discus 22.51 meters for 27th place, and Frazier Caldwell of Rocklin Academy, who competed in the high jump. For the 13-14-year-olds, Audrey Gordon of Placer Elementary placed 35th in the long jump (4.42m) and Ashley Glatt of Spring View Middle tossed the discus 22.90 meters for 32nd place. In the 15-16 field, Rocklin's Jaxon Morrell qualified for the semifinals of both the 100 and 200 and Isaac Kessler of Antelope Crossing Middle School was 41st (5.48m) in the long jump and ninth in the high jump (1.80m), missing out on All-American status by one place. Marcus Gelpi of Dixon High placed 12th in the 17-18 boys high jump at 1.95 meters. "We were very impressed with a lot of the results," said Kent.