A number of Aurora-area athletes placed in the top 10 in events at one of the largest youth track and field championships in the U.S. last week – the Amateur Athletic Union Junior Olympic Games.
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Athletes from the Aurora Sundowners Track Club and Aurora Flyers, clubs first founded to give young Black athletes opportunities they were previously denied, went up against over 11,000 total track and field athletes from across the nation at the meet that ran from Aug. 3 to 8 in Iowa.
Jakoi Ruff, 12, of the Aurora Sundowners Track Club, placed third in his age group’s 100-meter dash after winning the semifinal round. He also placed 10th in his age group’s 200-meter sprint during the semifinal round.
Jakoi said he felt inspired to run fast in the 100-meter event after falling just short of making it to the finals in the 200-meter race.
“I knew I had one more chance in the 100-meter,” he said. “It pushed me to go harder.”
Amari Lewis, 13, of the Aurora Flyers, placed second in the 200-meter hurdles event, fourth in the 100-meter hurdles event and sixth in the 200-meter run.
Amari said he learned a lot from his experience at the national meet, particularly that hard work, discipline and consistency “really do pay off,” he said.
He also learned to stay focused, believe in himself and not give up, even when a race doesn’t go as planned, he said.
Going into the meet, he said, he knew he was in reach of earning a spot on the podium and bringing home medals, which he said drove him to give his best effort in every event.
“Competing at this level showed him that all the hours of practice, training and pushing himself when things got difficult were worth it,” said Angelica Lewis, Amari’s mother.
The city has honored Jakoi and Amari multiple times for their success on the local, state and national level, said Jon Zaghloul, director of communications for the city of Aurora.
“They are extremely talented individuals who continue to demonstrate they have a very bright future,” Zaghloul said. “Their continued efforts to succeed on a national level certainly make the city proud.”
Yet Amari and Jakoi were not alone at the recent competition, as nearly a dozen of their teammates joined them in qualifying and then placing at the national level.
Harper Hutton, 12, of Aurora Flyers, placed second in the girls pentathlon high jump, fourth in the pentathlon 80-meter hurdles and pentathlon long jump and fifth in the girls pentathlon shot put.
Brisline Lankah, of the Aurora Flyers, placed second in the girls 400-meter hurdles for her age group.
Alexandria Richmond, of the Aurora Flyers, placed third in the 15- to 16-year-old girls triple jump.
Noah Howard, 13, of the Aurora Flyers, placed second in the boys pentathlon 100-meter hurdles, second in the boys pentathlon 1,500-meter run and fourth in the boys pentathlon long jump.
Corinne Williams, of Aurora Flyers, placed sixth in the girls 15- to 16-year-old heptathlon 100-meter hurdles, seventh in the girls heptathlon long jump, ninth in the girls heptathlon high jump and 10th in the girls 100- meter hurdles.
Chloe Crim, 13, of the Aurora Flyers, placed seventh in the girls 800-meter run and eighth in the girls 1,500- meter run.
Several athletes also placed in preliminary rounds, such as Victoria Sanuade, 14, of the Aurora Flyers, who placed ninth in her age group’s 400-meter run. Noah Howard, 13, of the Aurora Flyers, placed 10th in the preliminary round of the boys 100-meter hurdles.
The Aurora Sundowners Track Club was first founded in 1968 by Wilbert Walters as a drama club for Black girls. Walters shifted the club into a track team after his daughter, a standout cheerleader at Franklin Middle School, was denied a spot on the West Aurora High School team, according to Walters.
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Walters visited the team just before they left for the national meet, which Jakoi Ruff said inspired him at the time.
The Flyers are a larger, more regional team founded by former Sundowners coach Thomas Boatright in 1988.
The Flyers hold practice at the Plainfield East High School track while the Sundowners hold practice at the West Aurora High School track at 1201 W. New York St. in Aurora.
Amari Lewis and Jakoi Ruff have both said they feel encouraged by being part of teams with a long legacy of champions, and they said those alumni often visit practice and share advice.
The track star duo is set to compete together for the first time this fall as they’re both set to attend and run for Herget Middle School in Aurora.
“I’m looking forward to running and getting better with Amari,” said Jakoi.