CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — South Texas Speed Track Club in Corpus Christi has made tremendous strides over the past four years. Their next goal is to send an athlete to the AAU Junior Olympics, and they have athletes in the rankings to qualify.
"My goal is to go to the Junior Olympics," said 7-year-old Bryelle Williams.
Williams is one of 203 kids in the South Texas Speed Track Club. She began running when she was 3-years-old. Williams competes in the 100, 200 and now 400 meters.
"When I first did the 400 that's when my dad got proud of me," Williams said.
"I was there to hug her," said her father and South Texas Speed Track Club coach Bryson Williams. "She wanted to cry because it hurt, but I just told her that's the pain of the 400. Now she walks off like a champ. She went from a 1:32 to a 1:22. She's sitting at sixth right now, but I think she's going to go like 1:18 or 1:19. I'm excited and she's going to go out there and compete."
Bryson and Bryelle's mom Gabby created the track club, and they're excited to take 20 athletes to the Region Qualifier. Her teammate 8-year-old Riley McHugh runs the 100 and 200, but her favorite is long jump.
"I like to go compete and try to win and cheer on my other teammates," McHugh said.
Both young ladies aspire to be like 16-year-old London junior Youniq Le who competes in the sprints and jumping events. Her personal best in triple jump is 36 feet 4 inches.
"I definitely made most of my PR's with this track club," Le said. "Coach Bryson pushes me a lot because he knows what I can do, so he's always definitely one of the people that help me the most."
11-year-old Jayceon Gonzalez found his passion going the distance. He runs the 3,000, 1,500 and 800.
"Running it's just fun, and running that long sometimes I just listen to music," Gonzelez said.
The top 5 athletes in each event will qualify for the AAU Junior Olympics.
"All of the kids have been working hard," Bryson Williams said. "We've been working hard since October. They're really excited. I'm really excited, and hopefully we do great out there."
The AAU Region 19 Qualifier runs this Thursday through Saturday at Southwest Legacy Stadium near San Antonio. It's their chance to land a spot to the AAU Junior Olympics in Houston.
