Call them the “Lucky 13” if you’d like, but it took more than just good fortune for the H-Town Rollerz to punch their ticket to the AAU Junior Olympic Games.
Competing at the AAU Region 3 Qualifier at Morgan State University last weekend, the Rollerz had a field day, with 13 athletes qualifying for nationals in 24 events. The Hagerstown-based track club was led by wins from Jurnee Simms and Anna Ramanan.
“It was four days of non-stop competition and outstanding effort,” Rollerz coach Michael Simms told his team on Facebook. “Congratulations to every Roller who stepped onto the track, runway, or field. All weekend long I saw belief, confidence, dedication, and pure HEART.
“That’s what defines a true athlete.”
Jurnee Simms had a strong weekend in the girls 11-year-old division, as she conquered the 400 in 1:01.64, while also qualifying for the national meet in the 200 (4th in 27.51) and 100 (5th in 13.81). Ramanan, a competitor in the girls 17-18 division, won the 2,000 steeplechase in 8:13.71 and finished runner-up in the 3,000 in 11:22.12.
Four other Rollerz girls met the Top 6 requirement to advance: Khloe Melton (9 years old, 5th in 100, 14.88), Mahaylee Smith (11, 5th in javelin, 37-0), Saharah Hassane (15-16, 3rd in shot put, 30-10; 6th in discus, 91-6), and Cate Hensley (17-18, 3rd in 1,500, 5:53.70; 5th in 800, 2:39.78).
H-Town’s boys group saw two 8U athletes, Jaxon Baugher and Dru Kennedy, each qualify for nationals in three events. Baugher took second in the 100 (14.80), fourth in the 200 (29.64), and fifth in the 400 (1:11.13), while Kennedy nailed down runner-up finishes in the 200 (29.47) and 400 (1:09.14), and took 4th in the 100 (15.10).
Other qualifiers for the Rollerz boys included Chase Blackwell (10 years old, 4th in high jump, 3-6), Delontay Lloyd Smith (10, 3rd in shot put, 25-4; 5th in javelin, 65-11), Ashton Ruble (13, 3rd in 3,000, 10:26.77), Kareem Walton (15-16, 2nd in high jump, 6-0; 5th in 100, 11.45), and Brysen Tomlinson (15-16, 5th in 110 hurdles, 17.0).
The AAU Junior Olympic Games will be held in Des Moines, Iowa, from July 27-Aug. 8.
Below is an event-by-event look at how the Rollerz performed at regionals last weekend:
AAU Track & Field Region 3 Qualifier
Thursday-Sunday, June 25-28, at Morgan State University
LocalNews1.org Finishers
Boys
8U
100: 2. Jaxon Baugher (H-Town Rollerz) 14.80, 4. Dru Kennedy (H-Town) 15.10, 24. Lennon Williams (H-Town) 16.63
200: 2. Dru Kennedy (H-Town) 29.47, 4. Jaxon Baugher (H-Town) 29.64, 25. Lennon Williams (H-Town) 33.81
400: 2. Dru Kennedy (H-Town) 1:09.14, 5. Jaxon Baugher (H-Town) 1:11.13, 24. Lennon Williams (H-Town) 1:25.25
Long jump: 15. Miles Orlebar (H-Town) 8-2
9 Years Old
100: 8. Javion Simms (H-Town) 14.75, 17. Kai Jackson (H-Town) 15.86
200: 4. Javion Simms (H-Town) 29.89, 17. Kai Jackson (H-Town) 31.66
400: 2. Javion Simms (H-Town) 1:05.36, 7. Kai Jackson (H-Town) 1:13.54
Long jump: 10. Michael Haries (H-Town) 6-2
Javelin: 8. Carter Orlebar (H-Town) 34-7
10 Years Old
400: 21. Chase Blackwell (H-Town) 1:16.20
800: 17. Chase Blackwell (H-Town) 2:58.15
High jump: 4. Chase Blackwell (H-Town) 3-6
Shot put: 3. Delontay Lloyd Smith (H-Town) 25-4
Javelin: 5. Delontay Lloyd Smith (H-Town) 65-11, 11. Ezekiel Fourquet (H-Town) 42-11
11 Years Old
100: 17. Trenton Orlebar (H-Town) 15.07, 18. Hendrix Williams (H-Town) 15.47
200: 14. Trenton Orlebar (H-Town) 29.15, 20. Hendrix Williams (H-Town) 32.30
400: 14. Trenton Orlebar (H-Town) 1:07.97
12 Years Old
100: 12. Damani Bolden (H-Town) 14.01, 16. Tayvion Benjamin (H-Town) 14.22
200: 13. Damani Bolden (H-Town) 27.87, 20. A’mari Freeman (H-Town) 29.20
400: 14. Tayvion Benjamin (H-Town) 1:06.39, 17. A’mari Freeman (H-Town) 1:07.64, 19. Damani Bolden (H-Town) 1:09.35
Long jump: 7. Kingston Fuller (H-Town) 14-3
13 Years Old
800: 17. Reid Boswell (H-Town) 2:33.67
3,000: 3. Ashton Ruble (H-Town) 10:26.77
14 Years Old
Long jump: 9. Mason Johnson (H-Town) 16-11
15-16 Years Old
100: 5. Kareem Walton (H-Town) 11.45
200: 10. Kareem Walton (H-Town) 23.11
1,500: 8. James McDonald (H-Town) 4:54.08, 9. Coen Hensley (H-Town) 4:59.92
110 Hurdles: 5. Brysen Tomlinson (H-Town) 17.0
High jump: 2. Kareem Walton (H-Town) 6-0
Long jump: 9. Cole Iseminger (H-Town) 17-11, 21. Brysen Tomlinson (H-Town) 13-5
Girls
9 Years Old
100: 5. Khloe Melton (H-Town) 14.88, 23. Nova Johnson (H-Town) 17.66
200: 8. Khloe Melton (H-Town) 31.34
400: 14. Khloe Melton (H-Town) 1:14.39
Long jump: 9. Nova Johnson (H-Town) 8-4.75
10 Years Old
Javelin: 8. Bristol Tomlinson (H-Town) 32-0, 9. Kyla Johnson (H-Town) 31-2
11 Years Old
100: 5. Jurnee Simms (H-Town) 13.81
200: 4. Jurnee Simms (H-Town) 27.51
400: 1. Jurnee Simms (H-Town) 1:01.64
Javelin: 5. Mahaylee Smith (H-Town) 37-0
14 Years Old
100: 21. Nana Afia Ampong Osei (H-Town) 13.87
400: 17. Nana Afia Ampong Osei (H-Town) 1:10.01
Long jump: 13. Nana Afia Ampong Osei (H-Town) 13-9.5
15-16 Years Old
Long jump: 18. Saharah Hassane (H-Town) 13-2.75
Shot put: 3. Saharah Hassane (H-Town) 30-10
Discus: 6. Saharah Hassane (H-Town) 91-6
17-18 Years Old
800: 5. Cate Hensley (H-Town) 2:39.78
1,500: 3. Cate Hensley (H-Town) 5:53.70
3,000: 2. Annapoorna Ramanan (H-Town) 11:22.12
2,000 steeplechase: 1. Annapoorna Ramanan (H-Town) 8:13.71
