USATF (USA Track and Field) Junior Olympic Nationals wraps up it’s competition today in Sacramento, California.

Six local athletes from the track club Track and Field United competed in the elite competition.

Sunday morning, 16 year old Clyde King, Jr. achieved one of his biggest goals this season – earning the honors of USATF Junior Olympics All-American.

King competed in the 400 meter dash in the 15-16 year old age group where he finished in 4th place with a time of 49.63.

In the first preliminary race, King won his heat advancing with a relaxed 50.01 and in the semi-final race to advance to the finals King ran a 49.06 – a lifetime best performance.

“It’s fantastic beacuse its my first time (making the finals) and it made me want to shed a tear – it made me very emotional,” said King.

Now that the season is over, King says he’s eager to start training for next season and “improve for next year and do the same thing again.”

Honorable mention for advancing and competing in the USATF Junior Olympic Nationals include:

• Morgan Little, 11, Long Jump, 100m, 200m, Fort Riley, KS
• Ninti Little, 16, Long Jump, 100m, Fort Riley, KS
• Aaron Modrow, 15, 1500m, Chapman, KS
• Skyler Mitchell, 11, 3000m, Fort Riley, KS
• Tiara Smith, 15, 400m, Fort Riley, KS

King is amongst over 15 All-American honors for his track club over the years at USATF, AAU, and National High School Federation meets.

If you are interested in joining Track and Field United, a youth club with athletes ranging in age from 5 to 18, please email tracknfieldunited@gmail.com for more information. You can also find them on Facebook at Track and Field United.

The summer track season has come to an end, but cross country and indoor track will begin soon.