South Texas Walking Club

2002 AAU Jr. Olympic Games Knoxville, TN South Texas Walking Club www.eteams.com/stwc Veterans pull it off Six years ago, Delisa Guadarrama, Adrian Jaime, and Chris Diaz began a quest. Their quest was to be the best race walkers that they could be. August 4th, 2002 showed why they have been working so hard for so many years. The first event of the day though, was the 3,000m Youth Girls race walk. Ruby Perez, of Weslaco, Texas, began the day in fine fashion by getting 5th place in her first year of racing the 3km. Competing in the 13 and 14 year old age division, Ruby was one of the youngest competing because she just turned 13 last week. All year she has been walking with the "big" girls and doing a fine job, and today was no exception. On the start line, Ruby looked around and saw that everyone was a bit taller than her, but she hung tough today walking a time of 19:07.29 (19 minutes, 7.29 seconds). Dana Vered of Paramus, NJ won the race in a time of 16:01.87. In the 3,000 meter Intermediate Boys race walk, (15-16 year olds) the South Texas Walking Club was well represented getting both the Silver and Bronze Medals. Chris Diaz, of McAllen, TX, walked one of the smartest and most consistant races of his life. He began the race well behind the leader, JC Koziel of South Carolina, but walking times of 1:55, 1:57, 2:00, 2:00, 2:02, 1:52, he was able to finally catch up and they were shoulder to shoulder with one lap to go. JC had a bit more left in his legs when the bell rang and Chris was able to hang on for the Silver. Adrian Jaime meanwhile walked a break through race to place third. He was 6th after the first lap, but his strong will and determination, and the screams of his girlfriend Sydney, pushed him along to pass all but the first two in his quest for a medal. Adrian took a page from his younger brothers Andres' book walking his last lap in 2:02 to take the Bronze and a 35 second improvement on his best time finishing with a time of 16:48.99. In the 3,000m Intermediate girls race walk, Becky Pichardo placed 4th in a time of 19:06.72. She was the most consistant walker of the day, with everyone of her lap splits being within two seconds of eachother. She followed her race plan perfectly, and she had impecable technique, breaking her best time ever by 17 seconds. In the last race of the day for the club, Delisa Guadarama had one goal in mind the whole way - to walk for the Gold. She did exactly that finally winning the Gold Medal at the AAU Jr. Olympics Games in her last year of eligiblity. She started off in third place, but quickly moved up to second and stayed there, to the delight of her coaches, for a few more laps when she put on giant surge after the mile mark. Breaking through the tape in a time of 18:36, her joy could be seen by everyone in the stadium, as she grinned from ear to ear. 3000m Girls Youth race walk (13 and 14 year olds) 1. Dana Vered Paramus, NJ 16:01.87 2. Chelsea Clark Lower Gwynedd, PA 17:36.78 3. Amanda Johnson Morganfield, KY 17:56.66 4. Amanda Huff Morganfield, KY 18:11.92 5. Ruby Perez STWC 19:07.29 26 finishers 3000m Boys Youth race walk 1. Ryan Ashley Virginia 18:07.84 2. Jeremy Evans Florida 18:07.86 3. Austin Wright Laredo, Texas 18:33.07 4. Orlando Contreras Laredo, Texas 18:33.63 14 finshers 4 DQ'ed 3,000, Girls Intermediate Race walk (15 and 16 year olds) 1. Ashleigh Piscotta North Carolina 17:45.24 2. Kelli Johnson Morganfield, KY 18:20.16 3. Nicole Pleakis Mauldin, SC 18:46.60 4. Becky Pichardo STWC 19:06.72 (17 second PR) 11 finshers 3,000m Boys Intermediate Race walk 1. JC Koziel Rock Hill, SC 14:34.89 (New AAU Jr. Olympic Record) 2. Chris Diaz STWC 14:51.91 3. Adrian Jaime STWC 16:48.99 (PR by 35 seconds) 4. Steven Kranz Spartenburg, SC 17:14 8 finishers 3,000m Youth boys and girls were not available but should be available on the website for the AAU at www.aausports.org. OVERALL: The South Texas Walking Club brought home.... 2 - gold medals 5 - Silver Medals 5 - Bronze Medals 4 - 4th place medals 3 - 5th place medals

2002 AAU Jr. Olympics - Day 1 Knoxville, TN South Texas Walking Club www.eteams.com/stwc BIG THINGS COME IN SMALL PACKAGES When most people think of racewalking they thing of big tall people strolling along the road, but this morning 9 year old Claudia Ortiz from Mission broke the mold. She also broke the AAU 9-year old (sub-bantam) Jr. Olympic national record, with a time of 9:08.7 ( 9 minutes, 8.7 seconds) getting the Gold Medal in the 1500m walk. Her two teammates did not let her stay alone, because they brought in the 3rd and 4th place medals. Krystal Mireles of Alamo and Laura Zepeda of Weslaco walked great races with times of 10:06 and 10:11. Laura's time of 10:11 was a :59 second improvement on her personal best time of the year. In the Bantam division (10 year olds), Maria Villareal of Pharr won the Silver Medal in a time of 8:48 for the 1500m race walk, getting her best time by 24 seconds. Brooke Shannon of Mission walked the second fastest time of her 5 month old career to get 4th, with a time of 9:17, and Sarah Garcia of Edinburg placed 5th with a time of 9:22, which was her fastest time ever by 13 seconds. In the Boys Bantam division, Marcos Kellar of Pharr was the lone entrant for the South Texas Walking Club as he broke his PR (Personal Record) with a fabulous time of 9:48 to win the Bronze Medal. It was his best time by 41 seconds, and he had flawless technique doing it. In the Girls sub-Midget division (11 year olds), Jeanette Avitia of Pharr gutted it out to win the Bronze in a time of 8:54 for the 1500m race walk. Jeanette battled the whole way showing her best technique of the year. Samantha Olivarez, from Edinburg, who has been sick for the past week, walked a very smart race and outkicked 3 other girls in the last 100 meters to place fourth in a time of 9:09. Karla Mireles, whose nervous stomach had little left in it before the start, placed 9th in a time of 9:43, just missing a medal. In the Boys sub-Midget division, Andres Jaime ran out of track in his quest for gold, as he walked the fastest last lap of the day. Andres started off slow but quickly made up ground as he got stronger and stronger throughout the race. He finished with a time of 8:24 in the 1500m race walk to get the Silver Medal. In the Girls Midget division (12 year olds), Corina Ortiz of Mission walked a smart race to get the Silver Medal in a time of 8:31. It was her third fastest time ever, and she looked made it look easy to be the second best in the United States. In the last 1500m race walk of the day, the Boys Midget division was not a sleeper, as the Vergaras twins, in only their first year with the South Texas Walking Club, battled each other the whole way. Ricardo eventually beat brother Roberto, both of whom are from Edinburg, for the Silver with a time of 7:28.33 to 7:29.57. Roberto, who has never beated his brother, was ahead the whole way until the last 50 meters when Ricardo put it into overdrive and outkicked his twin. Tomorrow the "big" kids of the South Texas Walking Club will be competing in the 3,000m race walk beginning at 10am at the University of Tennesee - Knoxville. Complete results: 1500m race walk Sub-Bantam (9 year olds) - girls 1. Claudia Ortiz STWC 9:08.56 (New AAU National Record) 2. Nicole Woelper El Paso, TX 9:18.39 3. Krystal Mirless STWC 10:06.06 4. Laura Zepeda STWC 10:11.04 (59 second PR) 5. Andream McCollum KS 10:11.88 6. Isis Dennis Wash. DC 10:43.06 22 finishers 1500m walk Sub-Bantam Boys (9 year olds): 1.Ian Geer Ohio 8:30 2. Brandon Downs Florida 9:42 3. Takeem Andrews Georgia 10:08 4. Jonathon Dziewior Elgin, IL 11:37 7 finshers 1500m walk Bantam Girls (10 year olds) 1. Irais Villa Elgin, IL 8:39.01 2. Maria Villarreal STWC 8:48.27 (24 second PR) 3. Danielle Plunkett Ambler, PA 9:07.78 4. Brooke Shannon STWC 9:17.13 (2nd fastest time) 5. Sarah Garcia STWC 9:22.83 (13 second PR) 6. Caroline Johnson Kentucky 10:01 16 finishers 1500m walk Bantam Boys 1. Correy Abbate Houston, TX 9:34.02 2. Patrick Wiley Georgia 9:45.23 3. Marcos Kellar STWC 9:48.04 (41 second PR) 4. William Mix South Dakota 10:00.11 5. Kyle Hutchinson California 10:22.76 11 finshers 1500m Sub Midget girls (11 year olds) 1. Alesha Cain Massachusetts 8:42 2. Stephanie Martinez Elgin, IL 8:45 3. Jeanette Avitia STWC 8:54 4. Samantha Olivarez STWC 9:09.66 5. Emily Tiller South Carolina 9:09.98 6. Kaitlin Rella New Jersey 9:10.05 7. Rachel Apostoles Virginia 9:19 8. Kayla Harrod Kansas 9:30 9. Karla Mireles STWC 9:43 12 finishers 1500 meter Sub-Midget Boys 1. Nicholas Parker Elgin, IL 8:17.82 2. Andres Jaime STWC 8:24.62 3. Chris Stuart New Jersey 8:30.09 4. Rob Bradley VA 9:22 5. William Smith North Carolina 9:50 18 finshers 1500m Midget Girls 1. Allison Snochowski New Jersey 7:33 2. Corina Ortiz STWC 8:31 3. Nicole Klein New Jersey 8:40 4. Mercedes Mancha Elgin, IL 8:48 5. Kodie McCollum Kansas 9:13 22 finshers 1500 meter Midget Boys 1. Eric Lawson Crystal Lake, IL 7:16.20 2. Ricardo Vergara STWC 7:28.33 (2nd best time) 3. Roberto Vergara STWC 7:29.57 (9 second PR) 4. Paco Villa Elgin, IL 8:18.50 5. Abraham Villarreal STWC 8:19.86 (2 second PR) 6. Gamaliel DeLaTorre Elgin, IL 8:22.26 14 finshers OVERALL MEDALS: 1 - Gold 4 - Silver 4 - Bronze 2 - 4th place 3 - 5th place

Complete results are below, and a description of each race will follow soon. PR for Ricardo!! National Junior Olympic Championships - Day 1 7/23-29/2002 - Burke High School - Omaha, NE 1500 Meter Race Walk Bantam Girls =============================================================== National: N 7:30.80 7/18/1993 Elizabeth Paxton, Cypress, CA Name Year Team Finals =============================================================== 1 Irais Villa Elgin Sharks 8:37.71 2 Ariel Callis RSTC 8:38.44 3 Damonysha Smith Las Vegas, NV 9:14.68 4 Nylasia Packer N Las Vegas, CA 9:23.43 5 Kelsey Woodbury Morrill, ME 9:23.93 6 Brooke Shannon STWC 9:25.71 *** Her 3rd fastest time ever! 7 Julia Hernandez Diamond Bar, CA 9:26.75 8 Soroya Hudson Novas 9:36.36 9 Iris Cliff Lawrence 10:00.79 10 Aadrian McCollum Elk County 10:14.44 11 Jennifer Misenhimer Desert Blaze 10:21.16 12 Megan Bolleman Njst 10:23.36 13 Kelsey Cador POCT 10:27.99 14 Kelli King NE Sstars 10:30.69 15 Allison Turner Bellefontaine, OH 10:43.41 16 Brandi Allen St. Louis, MO 10:47.69 17 Hannah Kisley Fuquay Varina, NC 11:10.85 18 Emily Dallager Eagan, MN 11:34.53 -- Kasey Cador POCT DNF -- Madeline Muraida Abq Ath Trac DQ -- Gabby Ware Bellevue, NE DQ -- Alaura Larrett Newberg, OR DQ -- Ashley Morales Richland, IA DQ 1500 Meter Race Walk Midget Girls =============================================================== National: N 6:53.70 7/26/1990 Danielle Safran, Brentwood, NY Name Year Team Finals =============================================================== 1 Alexandra Bishop Brea, CA 7:34.56 2 Susan Muraida Abq Ath Trac 7:37.18 3 Allison Snochowski New Balance 7:37.30 4 Caroline Muraida Abq Ath Trac 7:40.20 5 Victoria Dell'Aquila Njst 8:01.13 6 Samantha Olivarez STWC 8:23.53 **2nd fastest ever for Sam!! 7 Shannon Myers Newberg, OR 8:28.25 8 Stephanie Martinez Elgin Sharks 8:35.73 9 Sarah Stark Millersville, MD 8:47.59 10 Mauri Wood RSTC 8:55.52 11 Nicole Klein Njst 8:57.27 12 Kodie McCollum Elk County 9:17.00 13 Rebecca Smith Yellow Springs, OH 9:19.49 14 Rachel Stark Millersville, MD 9:21.09 15 KC Keegan-Twombly Lafayette, CA 9:21.95 16 Nicole Lajevenesse Reno, NV 9:43.59 17 Shelby Powell Ft Washington, MD 9:48.25 18 Kayla Harrod Elk County 9:55.12 19 Bre'ahn Williams N Las Vegas, NV 10:14.84 20 Kaila Turner N Las Vegas, CA 10:17.40 21 Mallory Davies Novas 10:27.46 22 Kara Steele New Haven, CT 10:32.63 23 Briana Lucas MHTC 10:40.28 24 Danielle Cador POCT 11:20.06 25 Carolyn-Nga Bentley Unattached 11:45.50 26 Denise Auld Portland, OR 12:59.36 1500 Meter Race Walk Bantam Boys =============================================================== National: N 7:13.01 7/2/1992 Tristan Ruoss, Fayetteville, AR Name Year Team Finals =============================================================== 1 Andrew Adams Spartanburg 7:46.10 2 Trevor Barron Bethel Park, PA 8:11.04 3 Ian Geer Dayton, OH 8:47.19 4 Jonathan Dziewior Elgin Sharks 8:59.78 5 Corey Abbate NFTC 9:10.67 6 Robert Parise Moon Twp, PA 9:10.84 7 Alex Fagen West Des Moines, IA 9:18.01 8 Davion Gray Las Vegas, NV 9:37.27 9 Actavionne Buckley TKDS 10:16.49 10 Andres Portillo Desert Blaze 10:26.02 11 Michael Nemeth Rosslyn Farms, PA 10:29.42 12 Devin Goyette East Poland, ME 11:19.75 13 Derante Carter Las Vegas, NC 11:56.00 14 Robert Dreier Tucson, AZ 12:17.04 15 Ryan Porter Tucson, AZ 12:17.21 16 Matthew Lakey Marshalltown, IA 13:38.80 -- Matthew Forgues Wiscasset, ME DQ -- Karrington Ford AWBN DQ 1500 Meter Race Walk Midget Boys =============================================================== National: N 6:44.10 6/29/1994 Tristan Ruoss, Fayetteville, AR Name Year Team Finals =============================================================== 1 Eric Lawson Elgin Sharks 7:18.29 2 Kyle Regul Elgin Sharks 7:26.40 3 Ricardo Vergara STWC 7:26.81 **PR** 4 Roberto Vergara STWC 7:39.85 **2nd fastest time ever for Roberto!! 5 Alika Okamitsu Diablo Valle 7:57.37 6 Andy Peters Yellow Springs, OH 7:59.32 7 Chasen Golucke Striders 8:00.43 8 Andres Jaime STWC 8:06.68 ** 2nd fastest time of his young career - Great job!** 9 Christopher Stuart Njst 8:11.82 10 Paco Villa Elgin Sharks 8:45.74 11 Kenny Watka Bethel Park, PA 8:47.37 12 Alexander Seegrist UT, UT 9:07.66 13 Javon Martin Spirit 10:02.21 14 Ike Adams Spartanburg 10:07.01 15 Guillaume Jefferson Chandler, AZ 10:17.28 16 Drew Thomas Striders 10:17.31 17 Domenick Booker-Pomata Pasadena, CA 10:51.58 18 Caleb Champman GKDT 11:15.60 -- Tony Mosher Colfax, IA DQ -- Spencer Holm Utica DQ -- Marty Holman MHTC DQ

What a battle for 1st and 2nd in the girls race!!! Ruby and Corina racing down to the wire in a virtual photo finish! Ricardo gets Roberto by 4 seconds this week, in what is really heating up to be a great battle between these twins. 1500 Meter Girls : 1st Ruby Perez 12yr 9:18:31 2nd Corina Ortiz 11yr 9:18:84 3rd Karla Mireles 10yr 9:40 4th Claudia Ortiz 9yr 9:44 5th Samantha Olivarez 10yr 9:47 6th Jeanette Avitia 11yr 9:59 1500 Metere Boys 1st Ricardo Vergara 11yr 8:32 2nd Roberto Vergara 11yr 8:36 3rd Adraham Villarreal 11yr 9:27 4th Ricardo Ramiez 10yr 9:50 5th Jose Victoriano 12yr 10:31 6th Mario Velasquez 9yr 10:37 5K Females 1st Delisa Guadarama 16yr 33:24 2nd Elia Saldivar 40yr 33:42 3rd Jane Studsrud 55yr 40:08 4th Evan Nuss 50yr 40:39 5th Karen Nosch 60yr 41:31 6th Ruth Long 50yr 41:40 5K Males 1st Rich Studsrud 60yr 34:10 2nd Jose Cavazos 55yr 36:26 3rd Bill Jones 65yr 36:54:01 4th Eddie Vigil 40yr 36:54:03 5th Albert Martinez 35yr 37:05 6th A.C. Jaime 65yr 37:50