Region 19, Converse, TX
Day One June 29th:
National Race Walk Champion Amberly Melendez Sets PR
Amberly Melendez of the South Texas Walking Club broke her personal record in the 3K racewalk with a time of 14:50.80 at the AAU Region meet in Converse, Texas on Wednesday afternoon. The defending AAU Junior Olympic champion set the AAU Junior Olympic Games record in 14:50 last year, which crushed the prior record of 15:11. Today's effort puts her in good position to defend her national title in July.
Melendez will attend Cardinal Stritch University in Wisconsin this fall and compete in the NAIA.
Melendez talks below about her new record.
Watch Melendez break her PR:
South Texas Walking Club head coach A.C. Jaime reflects on the performance:
Day Two June 30th:
Isaac Murdock was the winner of the 17-18 year old Boys the Dec 1500 and the overall Decathlon.
The winning age 15-18 Girls 4x800 came back with their final two legs to win with an unofficial time of 10:04
Ebony Wolridge won the 15-16 year old Girls Discus with a throw of 130 feet
Day Three July 1st:
Helen Roddy dominated the her 3k heat today running 11:03.
Josh Branch had a big kick today to run a 1:56 in the Boys age 17-18 800m
Danny Madrid takes the boys 15-16 boys 3000M in 9:18 with a huge kick!
Day Four July 2nd:
Anthony Benites and James Canyon had quite the battle down the final 100m as they were the top two finishers in the 17-18 year old Boys 1500m. Benites was able get Canyon at the line and the two talk about their epic race down below:
Out of all the exciting 4x400 for the final day, this one takes the cake as the most impressive. The Speed City Elite Track Club's age 12 4x400 ran a 4:21 in the scorching heat and they made it look easy. Well, it turns out the quartet hold PRs of 58/59, 60, 61, 63! That's a 4:02/4:03 4x400 FOR 12-YEAR OLD GIRLS! Everyone needs to watch out for this team as they talk about their expectations for Houston below:
John Maas took the 400 final in an impressive 47 flat. However, he believes that he can do even better at the Junior Olympics. If his training goes well over next month, the rising senior Maas could very well going into this senior year of high school with a sub-47 PR in the 400m. Watch his interview below:
More from AAU Region 19: