Sports

Local tracksters advance in regional track meets

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Local track teams CP Classic and Texas Thunder, along with individual competitor Justin Shaffer, will be looking to compete at various state and national stages toward the end of summer for the TAAF Games of Texas, the AAU Junior Olympics and the USA Track and Field Junior Olympics.

CP Classic qualified athletes for both the Games of Texas, which get underway this weekend here in Central Texas, and for the AAU Junior Olympics in Hampton Roads, Va.

CP Classic will be running in 16 events for the Games of Texas after several strong qualifying runs from the team and three gold medal wins at the Region 9A qualifiers in San Antonio.

Ashley Isham won twice in the girls' intermediate 1,600 meters (5-minutes, 47.seconds) and the 3,200 meters (12:48.5) to give her regional gold in back to back years. Also getting gold medals at TAAF regionals was Courtney Darby in the girls' pee wee 400 meters (1:30.3), Maria Chronis in the girls' youth 800 meters (2:49.0) and Chase Isham in the boys' pee wee 800 meters (2:58.8).

Also qualifying for the Games of Texas at regionals for CP Classic was: Nikki Chronis in the girls' junior 800 meters (third, 2:46.7); Brandon Keys in the boys' midget 800 meters (second, 2:43.0); David Opheim in the boys' intermediate 800 meters (third, 2:21.9); Austen Smith in the boys' midget 800 meters (third, 2:45.7); Andrew Stefani in the boys' bantam 800 meters (second, 2:50.3) and 1,600 meters (second, 6:35.9); Taylor Dayton in the boys' intermediate 1,600 (third, 5:18.9) and 3,200 meters (third, 12:25.0) and Jordan Pfaff in the boys' junior 1,600 (third, 5:52.0) and 3,200 meters (second, 13:53.2)

CP Classic also had four runners claim places at the AAU Junior Olympics at the Region XI championships in San Antonio, with Ashley Isham again leading the way with wins in the 1,500 and 3,000 meter runs.

Isham won both events at regionals for the third straight year with gold medals in the girls' intermediate 1,500 (4:52.16) and 3,000 (10:43.30). Susie Kemper also grabbed a silver medal in the girls' midget 1,500 (5:35.07) to also advance, with Stefani also moving on in the boys' sub-bantam 1,500 (5:29.76).

While the bulk of the advancing athletes came from CP Classic, Texas Thunder sprinter Crystal Onwukaife will move on to the AAU Junior Olympics in the shot put and 100-meter dash events.

Running the girls' primary age group, Onwukaife picked up a gold medal in the shot put with a toss of 20-feet, one-inch. She earned a bronze medal in the 100 with a time of 16.26 and placed placed sixth in the 200 with a time of 34.34.

Wrapping up the strong summer track performances was Shaffer, who won the javelin and discus throws at the USA Track and Field Championships in Houston, moving to the USA Junior Olympics in Baltimore, Md.

Shaffer got golds in the javelin (152-10) and discus (150-1) at regionals while taking a silver medal in the shot put.

He also won golds at the USA Track and Field Youth National Championships in Greensboro, N.C., for the javelin, discus and shot put events.

Contact Robert Thomas at 259-4449.

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Published 7/26/06

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