The St. Louis area was well represented at last week’s Amateur Athletic Union Junior Olympics in New Orleans.
Area track and field athletes brought home 13 national championships, several All-American medals and a few national records from the Crescent City.
One of the top individual performers at the Junior Olympics was Cardinal Ritter College Prep sophomore Charles Jones. Running for the St. Louis Express Track Club, Jones won three national championship medals in the boys intermediate division. Jones won the 800-meter run in an impressive time of 1 minute 52.76 seconds. Jones finished five seconds ahead of his nearest competitor. Jones also won the 1,500-meter run in a time of 4:07.75 and anchored the Express’ 4×800-meter relay to a national title in a time of 8:13.00. Jones was joined on the relay team by Shawn Conway, Stephen Hickman and Marcus Davis.
Former Ladue High star Samantha Levin of the Gateway City Track Club closed out her prep career in grand style by winning the 800-meter run in the Young Women’s division with a national record time of 2:07.06. John Burroughs junior Ezekiel Elliott (St. Louis Express) won the national championship in the 400-meter hurdles in the boys intermediate division.
Ashley Gaston of East St. Louis won the national title in the Young Women’s discus with a winning throw of 149 feet 3 inches. Gaston was an AAU national champion in the shot put last summer.
Brandon Miller of the St. Louis Express was a two-time national champion in the boys Sub-Bantam division. Miller won the 800 and set a new national record with a time of 2:25.43. Miller also won the 1,500 in a time of 4:58.95. Hannah Pierson of the Kirkwood Track Club won the national title in 3,000-meter run in the Girls Youth division.
Jamerson Williams of the Herbert Hoover Boys and Girls Club also brought home two national championship medals in the boys Bantam division. Williams won the 400-meter dash and joined Hasani Gardnerbarr, Isaiah Williams and Larry Williams on the first-place 4×400-meter relay team. Zuri Reid of the Ultimate Speed Academy won the 1,500 in the girls bantam division while Corey Hunn of the St. Louis Storm won the shot put in the boys Primary division.
Here is a list of all of the medalist from the St. Louis area from the AAU Junior Olympics:
Young Women: Tianna Valentine (Blues Track Club), third in 200 and sixth in 100;Blues Track Club, seventh in 4×400-meter relay; Blues Track Club, fourth in 4×100; Ashley Gaston (East St. Louis) third in shot put; Tierra Snow (East St. Louis) eighth in shot put; Markita Rush (East St. Louis) seventh in 400-meter hurdles;
Young Men: Michael Hester (STL Express), sixth in 400; Nicholas Stewart (STL Express) second in 3,000 and fourth in 1,500; Drew Mueller (STL Express) fourth in 3,000;
Girls Intermediate: Ashley Henderson (St. Louis Storm), fifth in 200 and fourth in 100; Whitney Adams (unattached), sixth in 400; Courtney Rogers (St. Charles Cyclones) sixth in 3,000; Ashley Gaston (East St. Louis) eighth in javelin; Claudette Day (East St. Louis Dashers) fifth in 100-meter high hurdles; Kristen Dowell (Cahokia TC) seventh in triple jump;
Boys Intermediate: Marvis Harvey (St. Louis Stingers), fourth in javelin; St. Louis Express, fourth in 4×400; Michael Wells (STL PAL), fourth in 200 and sixth in 100; Ezekiel Elliott (STL Express) second in 110-meter high hurdles; Devin Herndon (East St. Louis Dashers) sixth in 110-meter high hurdles; Marcus Davis (STL Express) seventh in 800;
Girls Youth: Hannah Pierson (Kirkwood TC) second in 1,500; Herbert Hoover, fifth in 4×800; Jaanna Williams (Herbert Hoover) fourth in 800; Alexis Kelly (St. Louis Storm) second in 3,000 race walk;
Boys Youth: Robert Brown (Herbert Hoover) seventh in shot put; Richard James (Webster Rockets) sixth in high jump; Breon Murray (Gateway City) sixth in 100-meter hurdles and sixth in 200-meter hurdles; Jerrick Powell (St. Louis Storm) sixth in triple jump and third in outdoor pentathlon;
Girls Sub-Youth: Andrea Kuehnlein (Gateway City), eighth in 400, sixth in high jump and second in outdoor pentathlon; Carolyn Ross (STL PAL) sixth in triple jump;
Girls Midget: Jazzmine Poole (East St. Louis), sixth in shot put; Zionn Pearson (Blues Track Club) fourth in long jump and seventh in outdoor pentathlon; Nia Montgomery (STL Express) seventh in long jump;
Girls Sub-Midget: Shaila Jones (Herbert Hoover) eighth in 80-meter hurdles; Jamie Tabron (STL PAL) eighth in shot put and third in discus;
Boys Sub-Midget: Jalen Head (U City Xplosion) fifth in shot put;
Girls Bantam: Alona Williams (Herbert Hoover), seventh in 100; Zuri Reid (Ultimate Speed) second in 800; Nia Lyles (U City Xplosion) second in shot put; Teryn Battle (U City Xplosion) fourth in shot put;
Boys Bantam: St. Louis Express, fifth in 4×400; Herbert Hoover, fourth in 4×100; Joshua Wallace (Blues TC) fourth in triathlon;
Boys Sub-Bantam: Keshon Campbell (STL Express) eighth in 400;
Girls Primary: Eve Shelton (Blues Track Club), sixth in 200 and fifth in 400;
Boys Primary: Kameron Barnes (Webster Rockets) second in shot put;Â
