Several track and field athletes from the St. Louis area got a jump on the spring season by participating in a pair of Amateur Athletic Union National Indoor meets in recent week.
Athletes from the Blues Track Club competed in the AAU Northern Indoor Nationals in Merrillville, Ind., then ventured to Knoxville, Tenn. the following weekend to run the AAU Southern Indoor Nationals.
McCluer South-Berkeley High freshman Alishia Usery served notice that she will be an athlete to watch this year with several sparkling performances at both meets. Usery swept the 55-, 200- and 400-meter dash titles and both meets, giving her six individual gold medals. She also set several meet records in the process in the girls intermediate (15-16) division.
Senior Lauren Fisher of Hazelwood Central also had a good showing. Fisher won the 200 and 400 in Indiana while finishing second in the 55-meter dash. Fisher also anchored the Blues’ 4×400-meter relay team to a first-place finish. She was joined on the team by LaJada Baldwin (Central VPA), Kierra Handley (Pattonville) and Coreen Ellis (Hazelwood Central). Baldwin also won the 55-meter dash.
Locals attend NAIA Nationals
The St. Louis area will be well-represented as the local track and field college powers begin competition in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Indoor National Championships in Johnson City, Tenn. The NAIA Nationals will begin on Thursday and will conclude on Sunday.
Local schools Missouri Baptist, Lindenwood and McKendree will be sending some talented athletes to the national meet in hopes of bringing home a championship. Veteran coach Vince Bingham of Missouri Baptist has assembled an excellent group of women with 13 of them qualifying for the nationals.
Among the area athletes from Missouri Baptist headed to Tennessee are Ashley Harris (Riverview Gardens) in the triple jump, Dichell Kelly-White (Jennings) in the sprints, Dana Miller (East St. Louis) in the 55-meter hurdles and Jackie Fleddermann (Oakville) in the high jump. The Lady Spartans also have a host of prime-time athletes from Jamaica, who will challenge for national titles.
Lindenwood’s men won a NAIA Indoor title in 2000 and the outdoor national title in 2004, so the Lions have enjoyed some recent track success. The top area athletes for the Lions are sophomore Mike Rogers (Berkeley), who will compete in the 55- and 200-meter dashes. Freshman Myron Blockton (Jennings) will compete in the 600-meter run while junior Elijah Simpson (Wentzville Holt) will compete in the triple jump.
McKendree’s top local athlete is middle-distance runner Romaine Walls (Hazelwood Central), who will compete in the 600 and 800.
