by Becky Klein

After two days of competition, the racewalks at the Junior Olympics are over, but the Pacific Assocation shows they are one of the powerhouses in the country.  9 athletes competed this past two days and each one took home one of the top 8 slots.  All these athletes did extremely well under the hot and humid conditions they are experiencing in Omaha, NE.
 
Leading the pack, top Youth Boy, Tyler Sorensen from Pleasanton Heat, sets a JO Meet and National record with a 13:42.07 with his gold medal win.  The previous record was a 14:08.52. Tyler has had great success this year and is emerging as one of the best junior racewalkers in the country.  As part of that powerful family duo, Nicolette Sorensen also took home gold in the youth girl group with a 16:09.25.  As Nicolette gets a little older, we shall also see her emerge on top in the junior ranks.  
 
Continuing a family tradition with the Palacio's, bantam girl Caitlin Palacio blew out the field with her gold medal win with a time of 8:01.73 at the 1500m distance.  The nearest competition was over a minute behind her.  Her older sister, Chelsea Palacio took 5th place as an intermediate girl in a tough field of competition with a 17:35.53 at the 3,000m distance.  
 
Another outstanding family duo, Lila Haba, youth girl and Umoja TC member, first timer to the Junior Olympics in the 3000m racewalk; walked a PR to the silver medal position with a time of 17:08.58.  Also getting a silver medal was her younger brother, bantam boy Adam Haba with his PR time of 10:31.27.  Their performances brought great pride to the Haba family and to the Umoja TC.  
 
Continuing the tradition of being an outstanding club of racewalkers, Umoja TC had midget boy, Daimon Todd earned a bronze medal with his time of 8:23.77.  This has been a challenging year for Daimon, he has been recovering from a serious injury he sustained in a skateboarding accident earlier this year.  Congratulations to Daimon for the courage to get back to the winner's circle again.  
 
Umoja TC member, Kylie Cleveland also worked hard in that challenging field of youth girls and can hold her head up high for earning a 4th place win with a 18:01.32.  
 
To wrap up this group of walkers, Jaydeep Bhatia, Team Olympians earned himself a place on the winner's platform with a silver medal in the young men's 3,000m.  I expect we will see JD as an up and comer among our junior ranks as he continues to show great improvement.  
 
We will continue to work hard to make the PA Youth Racewalk Program competitive in the country. If you are interested in bringing racewalk to your club, contact youth racewalk chair, Becky Klein at [email protected].

#  #  #