After track practice, 9-year-old Sheree Oliver of Aurora said she jogs around her back yard and practices her track starts. She said the sport challenges her and gives her confidence in school.
This week, Sheree is one of several young athletes from Aurora competing in Iowa at one of the largest youth track and field championships in the U.S. – the Amateur Athletic Union Junior Olympic Games that runs through Aug. 8.
Sheree has qualified for the meet every year since joining the Aurora Sundowners Track Club, one of decades worth of nationally successful athletes produced by the team first founded in 1968 to give young Black athletes opportunities they were previously denied.
“I’m representing something bigger than me – my family, coaches and community,” Sheree said.
Thirteen athletes qualified from the Aurora Sundowners for the meet, and 71 qualified from the Aurora Flyers, according to coaches from both teams. The Flyers are a larger, more regional team founded by former Sundowners coach Thomas Boatright in 1988.
Among the young track athletes from Aurora competing at the event in Iowa are Jakoi Ruff, 12, and Amari Lewis, 13.
Jakoi and Amari have already placed in the top four in a few preliminary events at the national meet this week. Jakoi placed second in the 100-meter preliminary event and fourth in the 200-meter preliminary event, according to online meet results as of Tuesday night.
Amari placed second in the 200-meter finals this week. He placed third in the preliminary 200-meter hurdles, according to online meet results as of Tuesday night.
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Also competing in the national meet this week from the Sundowners Club are Joseph Hamed, 10; Samuel Hamed, 7; Dallas Hill, 8; Andrew Samago, 12; Braden VanLear, 14; Samantha Chavez, 13; Sonaia Davis, 15; Anita del Rosario, 13; Skylar Fagin, 14; Lacey Van Lear, 14; and Aria Watson, 10, according to Sundowners coach Troy Davis.
Additional meet results can be found on the AAU Junior Olympic Games website.
Despite the high number of qualifiers, Davis emphasized that qualifying for the national event is no easy task.
Qualifying means these athletes placed top 16 in their district and top six in the region, which includes athletes across central Illinois and Indiana. Plus, Davis said athletes only have from May, when they finish their school seasons, to pivot to these summer events.
“It takes a lot of work and preparation for them to be ready so quickly to face what they’re about to face here,” Davis said. “It’s great to see so many young athletes in the area have the drive to make it to this level.”
More than just medals, parents and coaches from both teams told The Beacon-News these squads have helped young athletes learn to overcome adversity, achieve more academically and create long-lasting friendships.
Jakoi Ruff said he felt nervous when he first started running track, which he started because he needed a place to go while his mother worked at the Hollywood Casino in Aurora. Jakoi quit after his first season, but he returned to try beating a rival runner.
Jakoi not only beat that runner, but he broke records and started winning events, which he said gave him confidence. He even made a new group of friends, with whom he said he likes playing track and field video games.
“I don’t really feel nervous anymore,” he said.
Davis said that as a former Sundowner, the team helped him build friendships across different schools in Aurora, as even rival athletes would come together and successfully compete on one team during the summer. He said the team also taught him how to carry himself and be courteous.
He said the national meets, beyond just the accolades, give young people the opportunity to travel and expose them to tougher competition. Often, these athletes have to work harder to face faster competition and tougher environments at these meets.
Overcoming these obstacles as a four-time qualifier for the AAU Junior Olympics gave him confidence throughout college and beyond, he said.
“If I can do it in athletics, I can do it in my education.” Davis said. “It teaches the kids how to overcome those tough times. It’s always going to take more to achieve more.”
Amari Lewis said that at age 13 he has already learned some of those same skills in the sport. He said he felt nervous and intimidated by the tough competition at national meets, but after some experience, he said he really likes traveling to different states and competing against different people.
He also said he likes learning new drills, stretches and other skills from his coaches and teammates.
“I feel like it taught me to push myself and push through because most of these kids, a lot of these kids are way faster than me,” he said.
Boatright, Amari’s coach, said he pushes him and all his athletes to believe in themselves to take on the competition. He first started coaching his daughter and a few nieces and nephews. Nearly 40 years later, he coaches over 130 athletes from Aurora, Kankakee, DeKalb, Waukegan, North Chicago, Chicago and more.
He said he believes in coaching and investing in any athlete, no matter where they are from.
“Part of life, it’s not all about winning, it’s about perseverance, you know, about making do with life,” he said. “People who made a difference got two arms and two legs just like they do. So it’s just imagining the hard work and desire you have to have to do well.”
Yet Boatright, and Amari’s mother, said some parents face financial barriers in the sport. Boatright said 10 athletes who qualified for the national meet were unable to go due to financial reasons.
“I feel like this year the numbers are down compared to what they normally are because everything is expensive now, so I think a lot of people are struggling financially to make it down there,” said Angelica Lewis, Amari’s mother. “It’s just like the increased price of everything right now with inflation.”
Amari Lewis and Jakoi Ruff said they both feel inspired by being part of teams with a long legacy of champions, and they said those alumni often visit practice and share advice.
After the national meet is over, they are both set to attend Herget Middle School in Aurora this fall, where they will compete on the same team for the first time.
Amari encouraged other athletes his age to give the sport a try, too.
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“Just go for it if you really want to do track,” Amari said. “When I first started I did not like doing laps, but I’m telling you if you really push through it and really keep going, you can see progress the more you do it. You can see the progress in yourself.”