By CONSTANCIO MARTINEZ, JR.
Special to the PRESS
On Thursday, June 26, the local summer track team, Coastal Heat, competed at the AAU Track & Field Region 19 Qualifier held at Southwest Legacy HS in San Antonio, TX.
The 3-day track and field meet featured around 100 track teams and hundreds of athletes from throughout the state of Texas.
On the first day of competition, the team got off to a great start as Jayda Howard won gold in the (11 Yrs Old) Discus event with a throw of 65’-3”. She then won bronze in the Shot Put (25’-6.75”) and Javelin (67’-1”) events.
She will be advancing to the AAU Junior Olympics in all three events.
Youngster, D’Anthony Howard competed in the (8 & Under) Turbo Javelin and came in 12th place. He also competed in the Shot-Put event and finished in 6th place, falling short of advancing to the Junior Olympic by just two inches.
Competing in the (15-16) 1500 Meters run, Jordan Badillo came in 24th place with a time of 4:50.86 hours, setting a new personal record. His summer track season has come to an end, and he will continue to prepare for the upcoming school cross-country season.
Escarlet Urrutia won silver in the (17-18) Shot Put event with a distance of 36’2.75”, setting a new personal record. She also won bronze in the (17-18) Discus event with a throw of 115’-9”, also a new personal best. She will be advancing to the NJO in both events.
“Best of luck to our kids representing our community and congratulations on a great season”, said track coach Johvonne Hernandez Howard via social media. She was also thankful for the love and support the community showed the Coastal Heat summer track team
The 59th AAU Junior Olympic games will be in Houston, TX, on July 22 – August 2, 2025. According to the host website, it will feature “roughly 15,000 youth participants from around the country competing in 12+ sports and includes an action-packed Celebration of Athletes.”
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