West Milford. Jr. Highlander Track Club athletes are headed to Nationals
| 01 Jul 2021 | 09:58
The Jr. Highlander Track Club came away from the meet with 33 athletes earning the chance to compete at Nationals; 23 of those athletes came away with Gold, Silver or Bronze medals. Provided photos.
The Highlanders have traditionally seen high success in field events.
Jr. Highlander athletes ages 7-14 competed at the AAU Track & Field Regional Qualifier over three days June 25-27.
Athletes from across the Northeast came to Jersey City to compete across a myriad of Track and Field events. The top six athletes in each event earned the chance to compete at the AAU National Jr. Olympics in Houston, Texas, during the first week of August.
The Highlanders came away from the meet with 33 athletes earning the chance to compete at Nationals; 23 of those athletes came away with Gold, Silver or Bronze medals.
The Highlanders have traditionally seen high success in field events, but also saw many athletes place in highly competitive track events as well as the Triathalon.
The program is in its 3rd year of competing since first forming in 2018. The program has grown in size- more than doubling the amount of athletes since the first year- and along the way has seen increased success and become a top Club in Northern New Jersey. The club’s board and members credit the dedication of the athletes and its volunteer coaches for that success.
“Our coaching staff this year is larger than ever, with specialty coaches for individual events,” said Head Coach Matthew Romeo. “Our coaches showed up day in and day out- with or without their own kids- and brought out the best in the athletes.”
The program will spend the next few weeks helping athletes prepare for the National level competition.
Once they return, it will be time to turn attention to it’s cross country program which takes place in the fall season.