The Athletics East Running Club team had seven of its members travel to the USATF National Junior Olympic Championships on Dec. 14 on the Yahara Hills Golf Course track in Madison, Wisconsin. In the photo are, from left to right, starting in the back row, Jordyn Murphy, Emily Johnson, Braeden Blakeney, and Omar Quintana-Roque. In the front row are, from left, Samuel Alvarez, Friedrich Stelzer, and Juan Diego Contreras. Of the seven AE participants, Juan Diego Contreras, Braeden Blakeney and Friedrich Stelzer earned All-American status due to their top finishes and helped vault the boys to fifth place in the 15-to-18-year-old standings.
The Athletics East Running Club team had seven of its members travel to the USATF National Junior Olympic Championships on Dec. 14 on the Yahara Hills Golf Course track in Madison, Wisconsin. In the photo are, from left to right, starting in the back row, Jordyn Murphy, Emily Johnson, Braeden Blakeney, and Omar Quintana-Roque. In the front row are, from left, Samuel Alvarez, Friedrich Stelzer, and Juan Diego Contreras. Of the seven AE participants, Juan Diego Contreras, Braeden Blakeney and Friedrich Stelzer earned All-American status due to their top finishes and helped vault the boys to fifth place in the 15-to-18-year-old standings.
Under cold and bitter conditions of 22 degrees, nine degrees with the wind chill, seven Athletics East Running Club members took center stage against the best runners in the nation at the USATF National Junior Olympic Championships on Dec. 14 on the Yahara Hills Golf Course track in Madison, Wisconsin.
“The conditions were scary,” AE Admin Angela Hanson said. “Runners were crossing the finish line and going into shock. The ground was so frozen it was like running on rock with frozen puddles as icy hazards. Still, the kids went out and ran tough and made Athletics East and the Gorge proud on the national stage. I was in awe.”
Of the seven AE participants, Juan Diego Contreras, Braeden Blakeney and Friedrich Stelzer earned All-American status due to their top finishes and helped vault the boys to fifth place in the 15-to-18-year-old standings.
This was the second consecutive year that both Contreras and Stelzer received All-American awards.
Contreras (The Dalles, Freshman) had the best output of his teammates, as he placed sixth with his personal-record final time of 15 minutes and 55 seconds.
Braeden Blakeney (Hood River, Senior) timed out in 16:34 to secure ninth place, and Stelzer (Dufur, Senior) wound up 18th in the field after his 16:57.
Omar Quintana-Roque (Hood River, Senior) put in a time of 17:47 to net 26th place, and Samuel Alvarez (The Dalles, Senior) had an 18:04, which placed him 32nd.
“Competing at nationals again was an incredible experience,” Stelzer said. “I got to meet top athletes from all around the country and make memories I will never forget. There’s something powerful about standing on the starting line, knowing you’re there with some of the top athletes from around the country and you have to represent your state and club well. I’m going to miss competing against all these amazing athletes next year.”
Competing in the 15-to-18-year-old girls classification was Emily Johnson and Jordyn Murphy, with Murphy (Pendleton, Junior) crossing the finish line in 21:33 to score 33rd place, while Johnson (The Dalles, Junior) registered a 38th-place final rally of 21:52.
“This year’s race was definitely far more difficult than last year,” Johnson said. “While there wasn’t snow and mud anywhere, it was so cold, and my body felt that more than anything. Even though it was hard, it was a lot of fun and I’m happy I was able to improve as much as I did, especially with the people surrounding me.”
At nationals last year in Reno, Nev., the boys finished 13th out of 19 teams.
Contreras and Stelzer became just the second and third All-American cross country champions after their top-25 finishes, and Taylor Fox nearly found his way onto the All-American list with his 40th place output, while facing 245 other runners.
Nick Caracciolo, David Wring, Spencer Coburn, Gavin Cates, Johnson, Caitie Wring, and Liz Tapia were also on last year’s nationals-qualifying squad.
Johnson notched a final rally of 24:35 for the girls’ best output, Stelzer placed 14th with a time of 18 minutes and 19 seconds, and Contreras picked ended his run at 14:35 to score 20th place.
In his first foray onto the national circuit, Blakeney said that he was nervous because there were so many kids in front of him and he knew he should’ve been near the front of the pack.
“I saw Justin Peck (Sun City, from Yakima) in front of me and we moved our way through the race climbing to 16th place,” Blakeney said. “After the 3k mark, all I knew was that I needed to keep going. I was hoping my teammates would show up next to me and we could move together, but like regionals, I was on my own. The opportunity that USATF gave us was a great one. I am also thankful for my teammates who invited me to do Junior Olympics.”
Athletics East is comprised of kids in the smaller rural areas of eastern Oregon and some parts of Washington and was started in the late 1980s by Greg Gustafson, then was reorganized by Heather Fitz-Gustafson and Russ Nichols in 2015.
The long-term goal of the program is to use this platform and exposure as a vehicle to give Eastern Oregon runners a chance to continue racing against tough competition during the offseason, with a plan to build elite youth track and field and cross country teams.
In the past, there had been issues trying find a team to run with, so by combining all the kids from the Greater Columbia River Gorge, they have a bigger group to compete with the best athletes and programs from across the Pacific Northwest.
“Each of our AE athletes showed amazing dedication to their sport,” coach Nichols said. “To perform with such focus after a long, extended season and challenging conditions, speaks to their toughness and love of distance running.”
To make the trip possible, several community members made donations and raised enough funds to help offset the roughly $1,300 it cost for each athlete.
Hanson and the team were grateful that so many people supported their cause.
“Athletics East would like to thank everyone who donated, including The Dalles Lions, The Dalles Disposal, Mimi McDonell and her Reindeer Run, and all the other individuals who gave for our athletes,” Hanson said.
Track season is around the corner, and if anyone is interested in becoming part of Athletics East they can log on to Facebook under Athletics East Running Club or @athleticseastrunningclub on Instagram or contact Hanson at angela.dietz.hanson@gmail.com.
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