Summer Youth Track & Field Athletes Heading to Nationals

Northern Illinois University recently hosted an exhilarating Regional Championship track and field meet qualifier for the AAU National Junior Olympics, where Trace Davies, son of Jeremy Davies and Ronni Turner, qualified for the AAU Junior Olympics in two events.

Trace, in his first regional competition, delivered a great performance in the eight-year-old and under division.  He secured fifth place in the shot put with a personal best throw of 16 feet 5 1/4 inches. He further demonstrated his versatility by placing fifth in the turbo javelin with a throw of 37 feet 7 inches.

Bryce Turner, cousin of Trace and son of Brock and Ashley Turner, also qualified for nationals in the 800-meter race placing fourth with a personal best time of 3:07.76 in the eight-year-old and under division of middle-distance running. He also achieved 1:23.27 in the 400-meter dash, placing eighth and threw the shot put 14 feet 3 3/4 inches to finish sixth.

Grandmother, Cindy (Grewell) Smith, along with her children Brock and Ronni competed and placed at the national level of AAU Youth Track & Field making Bryce and Trace third-generation family track athletes to compete at the AAU Track & Field National level of competition.

The boys will next compete at the AAU National Track and Field Junior Olympics during the week of July 29 through August 3 in Greensboro, North Carolina.