Youth Track & Field:
SJTC athletes qualify for AAU Jr. Olympics National Track & Field Championships

Friday, July 10, 1998

Press Release

The South Jersey Track Club (SJTC) in only its first year of existence has 6 athletes who qualified for AAU Jr. Olympics National Track and Field Championships in Norfolk, VA. This is exceptional for a first year club, which only consist of about 25 athletes. According to team president Michael Murray, "I was very surprised at how well our team did at the big meets, the kids trained really hard, and it is good to see the hard work pay off. Now we have got to figure out a way to finance the trip for all of our athletes". There were several clubs in South Jersey who had athletes qualify for the AAUs, this is a testament to the depth of track and field talent that exist in South Jersey. In fact, some of the best clubs in Philadelphia have South Jersey athletes competing for them. With high profile programs like Willingboro and now the new South Jersey Track Club, there really is no incentive for our kids to leave the area.

The (SJTC) athletes who will be competing in the AAU Nationals are Thomas Mosley who competes in the 12 year old (Midget) age group, he qualified in the Shot Put after only his first year of competing in the event. Kayla Belton competes in the 7 year old (Primary) age group, and qualified in the Shot Put. Kayla broke the long standing regional AAU record. Michael "Scooby" Murray competes in the 9 year old (Sub-bantam) age group, and qualified in the Triathlon, 400 Meter Dash and 800 Meter Run and the Long Jump. Scooby was also the top finisher in the 8 - 9 age group at Eastern Regional Jr. Goodwill Games track and field competition held recently at Temple University. Vaughn Edwards competes in the 7 year old (Primary) age group, and qualified in the 800 Meter Run. At the qualifier, Vaughn ran the second fastest time in the 800 meters ever run by a New Jersey resident. Multi-talented older brother Miles Edwards, competes in the 10 year old (Bantam) age group, and qualified in the Triathlon, High Jump and Shop Put. Stephanie Maxwell competed in the 17 - 18 year old (Young Women) age group, and qualified in the highly competitive 1500 Meter Run. Stephanie is also an All-South Jersey softball player for Buena High School.

The boys 17 - 18 (Young Men) age group 400 Meter Relay team of Richard Hubbard of Eastern H.S., Turhan Williams of Triton H.S., Terrence McSweeney, formerly of Overbrook H.S., Marc Macurio of Sterling H.S., and Nana Gillette-Spio of Overbrook H.S., finished second in the Mid-Atlantic AAU meet, they finished 5th at the AAU Regional meet, and missed qualifying for the Nationals by only 1/100th of a second. These athletes were the top sprinters in South Jersey. Terrence McSweeney who is also a coach for the club, is a freshman at New Hampshire University, but because he is actually younger than some high school seniors, he was allowed to compete. Each one of these athletes was either a state, county or sectional champion in the 100 meter dash, but they only had a couple of opportunities to practice together as a unit, and in spite of their individual speed, there simply was enough time to obtain the precise relay baton passing necessary to compete at the AAU level.

The girls 13 - 14 (Youth) age group 1600 Meter Relay consisting of Dyanna Poland, Brandy Garlic, Tennile Payne and Carmen Collins also did very well, finishing 5th in the AAU Mid-Atlantic meet. Coach Murray stated that, "this group of girls worked really hard all season long, and it was disappointing to see them come so close and not make it. If they came from any other area of the country, they probably would have finished first, unfortunately three of the national's top girls age group programs, United Stars, Mallery and Cambria all reside in the Mid-Atlantic region. Most of these girls will be starting 9th grade in September, and they are going to really help out the track programs at the high school they will be attending".

If you have a kid interested in running or would like to make a donation to the team, you can contact Mike Murray at (856) 875-1107.