Submitted by Allie Sacci with Lake Tahoe School, 08/05/2024

During the week of July 22 to July 28th, twenty-one stellar athletes from the Lake Tahoe Track Club traveled to Texas A&M University in College Station, TX, to compete in the 2024 USATF National Junior Olympics. Qualification for this prestigious competition is not an easy feat – athletes must compete at association and regional qualifiers throughout the summer in CA and NV.

The Lake Tahoe Track Club (LTTC), based out of Incline Village, is composed of 50 athletes from all over the Tahoe Basin. Athletes from Incline High and Incline Middle School, Lake Tahoe School, Truckee High, North Tahoe High, South Tahoe High, Doral Academy, Eagle Valley, Douglas High and more come together to form this club that is focused on promoting the love of running and track & field while also competing at state and national level meets.

The standout performance of the meet for LTTC was Truckee HS athlete Kiefer Willcox. In a stunning performance, Kiefer was crowned the 15-16 boys 1500m USATF National champion with a time of 3:58.99. He was also the 3000m runner-up with a time of 8:55.26 and was 11th in the 800m with a time of 1:59.94. Coach Kris Nugent remarked, “Kiefer had an outstanding national meet. He has been training hard with his Truckee coaches since early in the year and he continued to excel with our club this summer. Kiefer is an amazing young man and is destined to perform at bigger and better meets next year as a junior. We are very proud of everything he accomplished.”

Finishing top 8 at the USATF Nationals earns athletes the honor of being crowned All-Americans. Including Kiefer Willcox, LTTC had 12 additional athletes honored as All-Americans at this meet, listed below: Luke Davis, Douglas HS, finished 6th in the 17-18 boys 3000m (9:10.17). Alexis Hallenberg, North Tahoe HS, finished 6th in the 17-18 girls 2000m steeplechase (7:53.30). Mara Litchfield, Tahoe Expedition Academy, finished 4th in the 11-12 girls 800m (2:22.73). Autumn Burks, Alder Creek Middle School, finished 8th in the 13-14 girls 2000m steeplechase (7:40.18). The 13-14 girls 4x800m team finished 5th (10:03.72). The team was comprised of Shelby Erikson (Lake Tahoe School), Avery Aldrich (Alder Creek), Addison Confer (Doral Academy), and Samantha Ingram (Eagle Valley). Autumn Burks (Alder Creek) was the alternate at JO’s but competed at the qualifying meets for this team. The 11-12 boys 4x800m team finished 7th (10:16.75). The team was comprised of Miles Cooper and James Pietzke (Lake Tahoe School), and Landon Confer and Bryce Parsons (Doral Academy). Other notable results at Nationals were: Oliver Pietzke, Lake Tahoe School, finished 13th in the 13-14 boys 800m (2:07.60). Lily Cooper, North Tahoe HS, finished 19th in the 15-16 girls 2000m steeplechase (8:48.29). Arya Saini, South Tahoe HS, finished 21st in the 15-16 girls long jump (5.26m) and 18th in the 100m hurdles (15.26). Brody Defranco, South Tahoe HS, 34th in the 15-16 boys 400m hurdles (1:01.90) and 17th in the 110m hurdles semi-final (15.61). Shelby Erikson, Lake Tahoe School, finished 16th in the 13-14 girls 800m (2:2218), 20th in the 1500m (5:05.57), and 28th in the 400m (59.90). Landon Confer, Doral Academy, was 11th in the 11-12 boys 3000m (10:35.81). Corbin Sontag, Doral Academy, was 35th in the 13-14 boys shot put (10.54m). Ty Hammond, Truckee HS, finished 12th in the 15-16 boys 400m hurdles (57.88) and 23rd in the 110m hurdles semi-final (16.20). Avery Aldrich, Alder Creek MS, finished 14th in the 13-14 girls 3000m (11:00.42) and 36th in the 800m (2:32.58). Bryce Parsons, Doral Academy, finished 33rd in the 13-14 boys 800m (3:21.94). Jacob Manning, South Tahoe HS, finished 9th in the 17-18 boys 1500m (4:10.34) and 44th in the 800m (2:04.76). Samantha Ingram, Eagle Valley MS, finished 12th in the 13-14 girls 3000m (10:56.27). LTTC also had three athletes head to Greensboro, NC, to represent the club at the AAU National JO’s the following week. Hayden Featherston finished 19th in the 15-16 boys decathlon with 4,063 points. Brooks Erikson finished 32nd in the 13-14 boys 1500m with a time of 4:48.72. Brooks and his teammate Owen Francl also raced in the 800m and finished 59th and 85th respectively. The Lake Tahoe Track Club enjoyed a fantastic summer in large part due to the phenomenal coaching staff. Coach Kris shared, “It’s an honor to work with this dedicated and professional coaching staff. Throughout the summer, we shared many amazing memories with our athletes; qualifying meets in incredibly hot conditions, weekends away in Northern California, fun training sessions, and success at national JO’s. I’m proud of all of our athletes for their hard work this summer. I’m already looking ahead to the indoor season and next summer” For more information on the Lake Tahoe Track Club, please visit their website at www.laketahoetrackclub.com.