Area track stars earn AAU Junior Olympic Games medals
July 31st, 2008
Originally published in The Southfield Eccentric on July 31, 2008
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By Mike Rosenbaum
DETROIT — The AAU Junior Olympic Games continued this week, with several area residents earning track and field medals in competition held at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti.
On Thursday, Brittany Mann of Beverly Hills won the girls youth (14 years old) discus throw with a toss measuring 119-feet, 1-inch.
Four Southfield residents earned medals for top-eight finishes Thursday. Ross Williams was third in the boys sub-youth (13 years old) 100-meter hurdles, with a time of 14.88 seconds. Dartis Willis placed third in the boys intermediate (15-16 years old) high jump with a leap of 6-4. Quenee Dale was sixth in the girls midget (12 years old) 80-meter hurdles (13.35) while Torin Wile placed eighth in the boys youth 1500 meters (4:32.24).
Other top-20 area finishers included Christine Labaza of Rochester Hills, who was 16th in the girls intermediate shot put (33-1.5) and Jordan Moore-Willis of Southfield, who tied for 18th in the girls midget high jump (4-2).
On Wednesday, Southfield’s John Penington won his third medal of the week by placing fifth in the sub-midget (11 years old) 800, with a time of 2:22.16. One other area competitor, West Bloomfield’s Tayler Peruski, won a medal Wednesday. Peruski, who attends Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, reached the final and finished eighth in the young men’s (17-18 years old) 800-meter run (1:58.88).
Other Southfield residents who scored top-20 finishes Wednesday included: Dartis Willis, who was 13th in the intermediate long jump (21-3); Nigel Agboh, who attends Brother Rice, was 12th in the young men’s shot put (49-4.5); Shawntene Johnson, who was 19th in the intermediate girls discus (94-7); and Briana Ratchford, who tied for 14th in the youth high jump (4-10).
Other area top-20 finishers Wednesday included West Bloomfield’s Cullen Prena, who was 14th in the sub-youth shot put (34-11.5) and Labaza, who was 11th in the intermediate discus (97-10).
The AAU Junior Olympic Games continues through Saturday.
