A pair of talented athletes from the St. Louis metro area are currently representing the USA in international competition and doing quite well for themselves.
Former Cahokia High track and field star Ja’Mari Ward added another championship to his already impressive resume as a top-flight jumper. Ward won the men’s long jump at the Pan America Junior Championships in Lima, Peru. A sophomore at the University of Missouri, Ward won the competition with a jump of 25 feet 5 ¾ inches.
Ward is coming off an outstanding first college campaign at Mizzou, where he was the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year after winning the league title in the long jump.
It was Ward’s second competition as a member of the USA Track and Field team. Last summer, Ward finished sixth in the long jump at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Poland. Ward has been a spectacular performer in all of the jumps since his freshman year at Cahokia High.
Former Parkway North girls basketball star Alecia “Sug” Sutton is a member of the USA Women’s team that is competing in the FIBA U19 World Cup in Venice, Italy. In her first game, Sutton had a team-high 19 points along with four rebounds and three assists to lead the USA to a 95-58 victory over Mali.
Sutton is heading into her sophomore year at the University of Texas, where she averaged 14 minutes a game as a freshman for the Longhorns, who finished 25-9 and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Sutton had 10 points and three assists to help the Longhorns to a victory over North Carolina State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
A former McDonald’s All-American at Parkway North, Sutton did a great job of bouncing back from a knee injury that she suffered midway through her senior year at Parkway North.
Area track athletes compete in Junior Olympics
Several of the area’s top summer track clubs will be headed to Michigan to compete in the Amateur Athletic Union Junior Olympics. The event will run from July 28-August 4 at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, MI. The USA Track and Field National Junior Olympics will be held this week in Lawrence, KS. Area athletes will be competing in age groups from primary (8 years and under) to the 17-18 age division. Athletes from the St. Louis metro area have annually performed at a high level at these national meets. Expect more gold medals and impressive performances to come in the upcoming national competition.
Football practice begins next week
Don’t look now, but we are on the verge of another season of high school sports. Official practice for high school football will begin on Monday, July 31 around the area. The season will begin in the third week of August. It promises to be another exciting year of high school football.
