Local Athletes Qualify for National Junior Olympics

By Misty Cryer

Five athletes with the Cavern City Aces recently qualified for the 2025 USATF National Junior Olympic Track and Field Championships to be held in Savannah, GA, on July 21-27.

Competing in the State Championship in Rio Rancho, Association results for athletes of the club qualified them to compete at Regionals in Mesa, AZ. At Regionals, the five qualified for Nationals.

Michael Sims, founder and coach of the Cavern City Aces, explained that to qualify to compete at the National Junior Olympics, the athletes had to place in the top eight in their age group at the regional meet. To qualify for Regionals, the athletes had to place in the top four at State.

Sims provided the following results for the athletes who qualified for the national competition: Bryan King placed sixth in 110 hurdles and fifth in 400 hurdles in the 17-18 age group; Judah Wittmayer placed seventh in both the open 800 and 1500 meters in the 17-18 age group; Michael James Deanda placed fourth in Javelin for the 15-16 age group; Olivia Long placed second in Racewalk, seventh in open 3000 meters, and eighth in 800 meters in the 15-16 age group; and Jacqueline Boyd placed third in Discus and sixth in Shotput in the 15-16 age group.

He shared the following Association results for the other athletes who qualified to compete at Regionals at the Rio Rancho meet: Rex Reynolds placed second in both the 1500 and 3000 for the 15-16 age group; Javion Scott placed fourth in the 1500 and 3000 for the 15-16 age group; Kaleb Vasquez placed third in the 3000 and fifth in 1500 for the 15-16 age group; Andrew Fuentes placed fifth in the 200 for the 15-16 age group; and MiliAna Deanda placed second at Association for the 9-10 age group in Javelin.

Nationals is the last summer meet, Sims said, adding, “90% of the runners are Cross Country athletes; after that meet, they’ll take some time off and get ready for the high school Cross-Country season this fall,” he said.

Other athletes, Sims said, will start preparing for fall or winter sports.

He said the athletes did well during the summer season, and they met his expectations. “I’m proud of them. I’m not surprised that they did what they did,” he said.

Even for the athletes who did not qualify, Sims said, “A lot of them ran lifetime bests in time at their events. That shows that they are still improving, they are still growing; there’s still a lot of potential that they have for later on their running career both in club and high school,” he said.

He encourages athletes to get involved in future seasons for both the club and school programs. He said the Cross-Country season is next for athletes in the school programs. For the club, he said, “In the fall, I’m looking at having a club cross-country season for elementary and open masters’ athletes.”

In winter, there is an indoor track season for club athletes. It allows athletes to race and get experience before the outside season, Sims said. He said the indoor meets are mostly offered by individual colleges rather than USATF, so it is a bit different.

For more information about the Cavern City Aces running club and the opportunities it offers to local athletes, visit the club’s Facebook page or reach out to Sims at 575-361-6494.