Seitz and Powers Win National Junior Olympic Titles In Kentucky; 18 Others Earn All-American Honors

Results 

On Saturday (9-Dec), 209 athletes representing 17 clubs from USATF Indiana competed at the USATF National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships in Louisville, Kentucky.  The competition was held at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park, the site of numerous NCAA championships, including the 2012, 2015, and 2017 Division 1 championships. Near-perfect weather conditions graced the park for much of the day Saturday, but lightning and heavy rain came in just ahead of the 15-18 Boys start, delaying the race until Sunday morning. 

A total of 3054 athletes and 273 teams from across the country competed in the championships.

Races were contested in six age divisions (8 & under, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, 15-16, 17-18) for boys and girls.  The top 25 finishers in each age division earned all-American status and the top 3 teams were awarded championship recognition. 
 
Thirty (30) athletes from Indiana earned all-American honors and the Soca Speed 15-18 girls team finished third; all earning trips to the awards podium during the post-event ceremonies.

SEITZ AND POWERS ADD "NATIONAL CHAMPION" TO THEIR RESUMES

 
During the full day of competition, twelve athletes were crowned as national champions with two of them hailing from Indiana.  Winning national titles were Calvin Seitz (#teamorange Distance RC) in the 13-14 Boys division and Margaret Powers (Soca Speed Track Club - pictured above) in the 17-18 Girls division.

Seitz, a freshman at Jasper High School finished ninth at the Indiana high school championships in October, and came to Louisville as one of the top returners in the 13-14 division. At last year's championship in Texas, he finished 21st and was the fourth-highest returner this year. He easily navigated the Indiana and Region 7 qualifiers winning both and came to Louisville as one of the favorites. He did not disappoint as he took the lead at the mile mark and then steadily separated himself from the field hitting the finish line in 12:03 on the 4 km course. His margin of victory was 14 seconds over Miro Parr-Coffin of Idaho.

Powers, a senior at Hamilton Southeastern High School who has announced she will matriculate to Loyola University next year, ran 18:28 to capture the 17-18 title. Her Soca Speed TC teammate Jessica Hegedus finished a close second running 18:39. 

The 1-2 finish by Powers and Hegedus helped the Soca Speed TC to a third-place team finish and a visit to the awards ceremony. The other scorers for the team were Scout Newman (6th 15-16), Cordelia Hoover (7th 15-16), and Addison Stanley (37th 15-16).

TOP 10 FINISHES ABOUND

 
Additional top 10 finishes were turned in by Jaxon Sager (#teamorange Distance RC - pictured above), Samuel Yarnelle (Soca Speed Track Club), Sara Maple (Three Rivers Racing), Emily Garten (unattached), Emerson Schoenrock (Fishers Fire), Jackson Klinger (Unattached), and Trey Smith (#teamorange Distance RC).

Sager, the Hoosier Grand Prix, Indiana, and Region 7 champion in 2023, finished fourth in the 11-12 division running 10:06 on the 3 km course.

Yarnelle finished fourth in the weather-delayed 17-18 division running 16:51 over 5 km. Also earning all-American honors in the 17-18 division were Maxton Kline (11th, #teamorange Distance RC), Aden Pierce (16th, Unattached), Carson Sigman (17th, Unattached), and Aiden Waugh (19th, Soca Speed Track Club)

Maple finished fifth in the 15-16 girls division running 18:49 on the 5 km course. Joining her on the 15-16 podium were Scout Newman (6th, Soca Speed Track Club), Isabel Garcia (9th; Unattached), Maddie Graber (10th, #teamorange Distance RC), and Haile Schiffeneder (20th, Unattached).

In the 17-18 division, Garten finished fifth trailing the 1-2 finish by Powers and Hegedus.  Her time was 19:31. Other all-American finishes in the 17-18 division were Cordelia Hoover (7th, Soca Speed TC), Vivienne Siefker (11th, South Central Indiana RC), Kendra Shipman (21st; unattached), and Kathryn DeaKyne (23rd; Eagle Creek Endurance Project)

Schoenrock finished seventh in the 7-8 Girls race running 7:50 on the 2 km course. She won the Indiana title last month and then finished third at the Region 7 championships. Presley Tragesser finished 14th stopping the clock at 8:05 to earn her first all-American honor. Schoenrock and Tragesser battled each other throughout the year with Tragesser winning the Hoosier Grand Prix and Schoenrock beating Tragesser two times during the Junior Olympic tournament.

In the 15-16 division, Klinger and Smith finished eighth and nineth,  respectively and were joined by three other Hoosiers on the awards podium - Elijah Balbach (13th, Brownsburg Distance RC), Brandon Haas (14th, Brownsburg Distance RC), and Corban McGaughey (15th, Soca Speed Track Club)

ALL-AMERICAN ROLL-CALL

Below is the complete roll-call of 2023 All-Americans from Colorado:

7-8 BOYS            

20. Jude Howenstine (Soca Speed Track Club)

7-8 GIRLS            

7.  Emerson Schoenrock (Fishers Fire)
14. Presley Tragesser (Unattached)

9-10 GIRLS            

16. Sterling Howard (Fishers Fire)

11-12 BOYS            

4.  Jaxon Seger (#teamorange Distance RC)

11-12 GIRLS            

19.  Aliyah Yorek (Unattached)

13-14 Boys            

1.  Calvin Seitz (#teamorange Distance RC)

13-14 GIRLS            

25.  Taylor Tragesser (Unattached)

15-16 BOYS            

8.  Jackson Klinger (Unattached)
9.  Trey Smith (#teamorange Distance RC)
13. Elijah Balbach (Brownsburg Distance RC)
14. Brandon Haas (Brownsburg Distance RC)
15. Corban McGaughey (Soca Speed Track Club)

15-16 GIRLS

5. Sarah Maple (Three Rivers Racing) 
6. Scout Newman (Soca Speed Track Club)
9. Isabel Garcia (unattached) 
10. Maddie Graber (#teamorange Distance RC)
20. Haile Schiffeneder (unattached) 
 

17-18 BOYS            

4.  Samuel Yarnelle (Soca Speed Track Club)
11. Maxton Kline (#teamorange Distance RC)
16. Aden Pierce (Unattached)
17. Carson Sigman (Unattached)
19. Aiden Waugh (Soca Speed Track Club)

17-18 Girls

1. Margaret Powers (Soca Speed Track Club)
2. Jessica Hegedus (Soca Speed Track Club)
5. Emily Garten (Unattached)
7. Cordelia Hoover (Soca Speed Track Club)
11. Vivienne Siefker (South Central Indiana RC)
21. Kendra Shipman (Unattached)
23. Kathryn DeaKyne (Eagle Creek Endurance Project)

Next year's championships will return to Louisville on December 14.
 

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Looking ahead to the 2024 indoor and outdoor seasons the USATF Youth Indoor Championships will be held in Louisville, KY (March 8-10), the USATF Youth Outdoor Championships will be held in New York (June 26-29), and the USATF National Junior Olympic Championships will be held in College Station, TX (July 22-28).

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