News Article By: Oakhill gazette

Mario Morero Justin Romero Dimitri Davis Daniel Martinez

South Austin trackers preparing for regional meet and beyond

The summer is heating up as competition dates are steadily approaching for
the South Austin Steel Track Club. During the upcoming weeks the track club
will be preparing for the Texas Amateur Athletic Federation state meet and
beyond.

“The team is determined to send as many people as possible to Virginia for
the National Junior Olympics,” Coach Gerald Smith said. The Junior Olympics
will be held in late July; meanwhile, members of the South Austin Steel
track club are working past the dog days of summer in order to prepare for
this intense competition.


Participants in the competition are not only working diligently but they are
also enjoying the recognition received from their hard-work and team
strength. Last weekend, 24 kids went to San Antonio. Not only did all
members put their best effort forward but 21 members of South Austin Steel
qualified for the Amateur Athletic Union state meet.

At the AAU state competition, Steel members were lead by former Junior
Olympians Patricia Patterson, Joe Sutton and Daniel Martinez. Newcomer Avery
Ellis-Byerly began it all by winning the 400 meters and qualifying in the
100 and 200 meters. In the young boys 4x 800 relay (Dimitri Davis, Mario
Morero, Justin Romero and Daniel Martinez) treated the crowd to an
electrifying 4x800 race and ran one of the fastest youth times in the
country this year.

Patricia Patterson returned to her captivating ways and won the 400 meters
and qualified in the 800 and long jump. Daniel Martinez also continued with
his triumphant gains and won the 800 and 1500 meters. Joe “Beastmaster” /Sutton

qualified in the 800 and 1500. The team of Joe Sutton, Gerald Smith,
Byrun Perkins and Jeremy Romero qualified in the 4x400 relay. The other
 qualifiers are Liana Charles in the 400 meters and long jump. Megan Vasquez,
Jeff Loera, Collin Smith, Lorena Gonzalez, Bianca Guerrero, Kyle Marrero,
Alexis Johnson and Melinda Perez all qualified as well.

News Article By: Oakhill gazette

South Austin Steel continues to roll to nationals

This past weekend, the youth 4 x 800 relay team continued to dominate the track scene at the Reg IX meet in San Antonio. The combination of Mario Moreno, Dimitri Davis, Justin Romero and Daniel Martinez dissolved 20 seconds off of their previous time. This led the powerful fusion to qualify first in the 4 x 800 meter relay.
These athletes go on to perform with an increased amount of strength which pilots their improved skills. Overall, their performance shines brightly and the team is ranked fifth nationally this week.
“We took 20 kids to the regional meet and ten of them qualified for nationals,” Coach Smith said. “As a coach, you hope to see this type of success but this team’s performance level is simply outstanding.”
This year, a tremendous percentage of athletes will attend the national meet in Virginia. Three other athletes just missed qualifying, but their efforts did not go unnoticed.
Daniel Martinez began the qualifying meet on Thursday by placing second in the 800 meters. During Friday’s activities, Joe Sutton followed suit in the 1500 to join the national qualifiers.
Friday would prove to be an exciting day with an awesome total of two fifth place finishers and two relay teams qualifying. The youth boys made it look effortless and motivated the other relay teams towards success.
Former Junior Olympian Lorena Gonzalez headed off the young women’s 4X 800 relay team. Before the competition began, Gonzalez made an amazing prediction.
“We are going to qualify,” Gonzalez said. Ten minutes later, the prediction became fact. The team of Lorena Gonzalez, Melinda Perez, Megan Vasquez and Bianca Guerrero qualified for the nationals.
The following day of the track meet, Saturday, did not prove to be any less exciting. Patricia Patterson and Avery Ellis-Byerly were endeavoring to make the trip to nationals. Patterson ran the quickest race of her life and became a national qualifier to the Junior Olympics by finishing in the top four. Ellis-Byerly, still a newcomer, proved she was a tough contender by battling in the best run of her season and finishing sixth in the state.