The Whitesboro Summer Track Program will continue its winning tradition of sending athletes to the State Games of Texas in College Station next weekend.
Last week the program saw 17 athletes compete in the regional meet held in Midlothian, Texas. Of those 17 athletes, nine advanced to the State competition.
The program started the summer with over 60 young athletes aged 6-16. As the summer progressed, the athletes moved from four day a week practices at Bearcat Stadium to four day a week practices followed by local track meets on Saturdays throughout the DFW area.
The meets were held under the under the regulation of the Texas Amateur Athletic Federation (TAAF), and athletes participated in track and field events ranging from distance running and hurdles to high jump and shot put.
The competition is different from UIL school competitions in that athletes are separated by age rather than grade or school. This allows these young athletes to compete against other athletes similar in age, allowing for success in competition that might not come from Junior and High School track meets. This success goes on to foster a love for the sport and motivate young athletes to continue to pursue track and field competition.
The Whitesboro Summer Track Program, as it has been called for decades, is now a 501(c)(3) nonprofit group started several years ago to ensure the longevity of the program.
The Whitesboro Area Youth Summer Sports (WAYSS) organization focuses on growing the summer track program and helping young athletes appreciate competition through peer mentoring, goal setting, athletic achievement and building a sense of community.
Head Coach Mikayla Morris is in her first year of heading up the program after taking over from Amy Velten, who continues to help behind the scenes. She has worked hard to keep the program full and recruit coaches and parents to aid in a successful summer.
This year, Assistant Coaches Clay Cohorn and Clay Gamble and parents Jake Anderson and Chelsea Cohorn volunteered a lot of time to make the program successful. The mixture of former participants, coaches and parents made the year enjoyable for all and ensured the young athletes had plenty of guidance and teaching as the summer progressed.
The athletes are excited to participate at the State level, and, if they finish in the top spots, can compete at the National level next summer.
The athletes who qualified for State are Olivia Anderson, Cataleya Bird, Charlotte Cobb, Caden Cox, Hayes Cross, Caslyn Gamble, Clyne Gamble, Collins Gamble and Sielar Hair.
Collins Gamble is headed to the Nationals competition next weekend for her top finish last year at State. She will be competing in high jump.
Stay tuned to see how these young Whitesboro athletes do at the State and National competition later this summer.
