By CONSTANCIO MARTINEZ, JR.
Special to the PRESS
On July 25-Aug 2, three members of the local summer track group, “Coastal Heat,” competed
in their final summer Track & Field event of the season, the 59th AAU Junior Olympic Games.
Young Track & Field phenom, Jayda Howard, competed in all three throwing events in the 11 & under
division, and according to her T&F coach Johvonne Hernandez Howard, she was just “one of 3 or 4
girls” to do so.
In the Shot-Put event, Howard set a new personal record with a throw of 30’-4.25”. She finished in 7th
place out of 68 participants and earned All-American honors.
Competing in the Discus event, Howard had a throw of 68’-7”, setting another personal record. She
finished in 9th place out of 51 participants.
In the Javelin event, Howard had a throw of 61’-3” and finished in 19th place out of 62 participants.
Escarlett Urrutia competed in the (17-18 division) Shot Put event and had a throw of 34’-0”, finishing
in 36th place out of 67 participants. Her previous personal best was a throw of 36’-2.75”.
She also competed in the Discus event and had a throw of 87’-8”, finishing in 64th place out of 73
participants. Her personal best was a throw of 115’-9”.
“Escarlet competed to the best of her ability in her first Junior Olympics. She has set her goals for
next year and finished a long track season on a high note,” stated coach Howard.
Last but not least, sophomore track star, Elle Wall, had a great day competing in the Heptathlon
event. She finished with a score of 4007, placing her in 8th place among 43 participants. For those
unfamiliar with a Heptathlon event, it is a track and field contest made up of seven events. An athlete
competes in each event and is awarded points based on their order of finish for that specific event.
The points are totaled, and the athlete’s final placement is based on the total points accumulated by
the athlete.
Competing in the 100m Hurdles, Wall came in 16th place with a time of 16.78 seconds, setting a new
personal record.
In the 200 200-meter run, Wall finished in 12th place with a time of 27.05 seconds. Meanwhile, in
the 800 800-meter run, Wall finished in 9th place with a time of 2:36.67 minutes.
In the High Jump event, Wall finished in 11th place with a height of 4’-11”, while in the Long Jump she
finished in 8th place with a distance of 16’-9.75”.
In the Shot-Put event, Wall was tied for 7th place with a throw of 27’-9.25”. Meanwhile, Wall got her
best finish in the Javelin event, where she came in 4th place with a distance of 89’-2”, a new personal
record.
“Coastal Heat” had a good day at the Junior Olympics. They’ll be back bigger, stronger, and faster
than ever in the future, shining light on our Laguna Madre athletes.
According to their AAU website, “The event is considered the largest youth multi-sport event in the
United States. It consists of roughly 15,000 youth participants from around the country competing in
12+ sports.”
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