Sports

Local athletes star at AAU Junior Olympic Championships

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Several young athletes had banner days at the AAU Junior Olympic Track and Field National Championships held on Aug. 6 in New Orleans, including a national championship for Logan Shaffer and medals for CP Classic runner Ashley Isham.

Shaffer, competing individually, won the national title in the youth boys division for the javelin with a throw of 135 feet, three inches. He also picked up medals for fourth place finish in the shot put (41-3) and a sixth place effort in the discus (132-9).

Isham, who had already starred at the TAAF Games of Texas with gold medal wins in the 1,600- and 3,200-meter events, continued her strong racing by finishing third in the 1,500 (four-minutes, 49.46 seconds) and fourth in the 3,000 (10:45.02) in the midget girls division.

The only other runner from CP Classic running at the Junior Olympics was Gaby Aguilar in the midget girls division, with Aguilar coming in 26th in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 15:15.09.

Another local athlete who ran at the national meet was David Moritz from the City of Cedar Park Track Club.

Moritz was the team's lone qualifier and came in ninth in the long jump with a leap of 12-5.

Leander Texas Flash also capped their summer track season at the Junior Olympics as Tai Gadison and Angela Gash competed for the club.

Gadison competed in two events for Texas Flash, finishing 16th in the 80 hurdles (13.63) and 11th in the high jump (4-8) in the midget boys division.

Gadison also had two top three finishes at the Games of Texas, coming in second in the 80 hurdles and placing third in the high jump. His efforts at the TAAF championships were among his best of the season.

Gash was involved in the girls intermediate long jump where she placed 17th with a leap of 16-10 1/4.

At the Games of Texas, Gash was fourth overall, with her leap at the AAU meet beating her effort at the TAAF meet.

This is the third straight year that CP Classic, City of Cedar Park and Leander Texas Flash have qualified athletes for the TAAF and AAU final meets.

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Published 9/2/05

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