10 Year Old Record Broken at 24^th Annual Los Angeles Jets Invitational

VAN NUYS, CA (May 24, 2008) – The 24^th Annual Los Angeles Jets Invitational Track and Field Meet was held on Saturday and Sunday, May 24 and 25 at Birmingham  High School in Van Nuys, CA. The event served as a superb showcase for many of Northern and Southern California's, Arizona’s, and northwest Nevada's finest youth talent, over 3,000 athletes.

Keenan Smith, age 11, shattered the meet record for the Midget Boys (ages 11 and 12) division in the 6 lb shot put on Saturday, breaking the record with a mark of 13.47m or 44 feet and 2.5 inches that bettered the previous record of 12.95m set in 1998.

Smith is a member of the Umoja Track Club, based in Santa Clara, CA, and guided by Head Coach Brunet Lux.  Lux was excited by Smith’s performance.  "He was the top shot putter in the Pacific Association as a first year Bantam," Lux said. The coach continued about Keenan’s potential both in the shot put pit and on the track. "Keenan was late coming out for track this season.  He has a lot of upside both in the shot put and the sprints.  Keenan is an all-around outstanding athlete and a fine young man."

The Umoja Track Club, a non-profit organization, was established in 2000 to provide a supervised after school program of training and competition in Track and Field for children ages 6 to 18.  The Umoja Track Club has been a Pacific Association member of the USA Track and Field Association (USATF) for eight years.  It is the goal of the Umoja Track Club to provide a meaningful learning and character-building environment to promote self-esteem, personal commitment, responsibility, and respect for others.  Furthermore, the Umoja Track Club has a strong commitment to getting kids more physically active; to getting kids involved in the teamwork of sport; and to having real, positive and measurable impact.  For more information about the Umoja Track Club, visit our Web site at www.umojatrackclub.com.