Strong Day For Californians At AAU Junior Olympics

AAU Junior Olympics Games
Jeffrey Parenti



This post was updated to confirm Sadie Engelhardt's 1500m record and add that race clip (above).

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The third day was the charm for California athletes at the AAU Junior Olympic Games as as national age group records were under assault from a pair of 1500-meter runners on Friday on the track at Satellite Beach, Florida.

Victor Jaimez-Solorio, a 9-year-old from Apple Valley running for the Pacific Coast Shockwaves, set a national record in the boys 1500m two days after winning the 800-meter run in near-record time, and Sadie Engelhardt, a rising eighth-grader from Ventura, broke a 33-year-old national record in the girls 14-year-old division, two days after narrowly missing the 3K mark.


WATCH VICTOR JAIMEZ-SOLORIO'S 800m RACE


Jaimez-Solorio, who set the 8-Under national record at this distance last summer, covered the four laps on Friday in 4:42.97 to shatter the previous mark of 4:57.47 set in 2001 by Ramses Dukes (Detroit, MI). Jaimez-Solorio's time was also faster than the 10-year-old record of 4:46.94.

On Wednesday, Jaimez-Solorio sped to victory in the 800m in 2:21.09, just off the 2016 mark of 2:19.43.



Engelhardt's effort on Friday had her hitting the tape at 4:34.18, setting a national standard held since 1986 by Melissa Benner (Norristown, PA), a hand-timed 4:34.1.

On Wednesday, Engelhardt was unchallenged in a solo wire-to-wire 3000-meter victory in 10:05.34, just over the age group mark of 10:02.40 set by London Culbreath in 2016. (Above: Check out her interview after that race.)



Through the first three days of the AAU Junior Olympic Games, California has eight individual event titles from six athletes.

Other Golden State age group champions through three of four days of the competition at Satellite Beach:

  • Jasmine Wilson of Lakewood, won the 200m for 8-under girls in 30.65 (-1.3 meters-per-second wind) on Friday. (Watch Jasmine's race.)
  • Chiara Bonomi of Los Gatos won the 3000m for 13-year-old girls in 10:30.57 on Wednesday and followed with a runner-up finish in the 1500m in 4:55.25 on Friday. (Check out this interview with Bonomi after her 3K victory.)
  • Brooklyn Ross of San Bernardino won the 200-meter dash for 11-year-old boys in 26.31 (0.2) on Friday. (Watch Brooklyn's race.)
  • Taye Newman of Artesia won the 1500-meter run for 13-year-old boys in 4:36.82 on Friday following a fifth-place finish in the 3K in 10:54.21 on Wednesday. (Watch an interview with Taye.)

Five other Californians joined Bonomi as runners-up:

  • Ava Takeuchi of Roseville in the 800m for 8-under girls in 2:53.69 on Wednesday.
  • Kristen Theobald of Baldwin Park in the 1500m for 9-year-old girls in 5:53.42 on Friday.
  • Keylee Baker of Orange in the 6-pound shot put for 11-year-old girls with a mark of 26 feet, 1.50 inches on Wednesday.
  • Tiffany Sax of Calabasas who was second to Engelhardt in the 3000m for 14-year-old girls in 10:41.64 on Wednesday and was third to Engelhardt in the 1500m in 4:52.94 on Friday.
  • Kai Graves-Blanks of Rancho Cucamonga in the 110-meter hurdles for 15-16 year old boys in 22.05 (0.3) on Friday. (Watch Kai's race.)

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