"Best of the Valley" 14 Valley Athletes receive the Inagural Award from Central Valley Track n Field. All of them Competing at the Run for the Dream Indoor Track Championships!
Run for the Dream on-line registration hosted by COACH-O
Click on the following link for online registration… http://coachoregistration.com/cgi-bin/login.pl?cd=ca_run4dreamRun For the Dream Newsletter
RUN FOR THE DREAM PROJECT The 2011 Run for the Dream project finished its schedule for this year last Friday with a Meeting of Champions Conference at the Clovis Chamber of Commerce Building. Outstanding athletes from the RFD Summer Series were honored, along with parents, teachers, and coaches who provided leadership as speakers, officials and support staff at clinics, assemblies, and the four meets in Hanford and Lemoore. Our thanks to the speakers: Marianne Van Meter, former Iowa 800 meter runner, Wall Street executive and friend of Dr. Oz, MD; Merrit Van Meter, ranked Number One in High School last year; Doug Maddox, Board of Directors at Cal Poly; Thom Sembritzki, former CIF President, and Taylor Mastin, Fresno State Sports Medicine, who spoke to the honored athletes. Thanks also to Angie Tazio, who helped organize the event…to Producers Dairy for providing the souvenirs and refreshments…to Channel 24 and Hmong TV for covering the event…and to Paloma Dominquez for stepping up when our Community Action Team Nutritionist Annie Malathong signed with MTV…and a big thanks to the Fresno Bee, the Hanford Sentinel, and Track and Field News. The goal of this year’s program was to keep the legacy of Dutch Warmerdam alive in Hanford, and the Legacy of Tommie Smith alive in Lemoore. In both towns, Community Action Teams stepped up… Hanford with two really good tracks and a brand new one at Sierra Pacific High School. Dutch would be pleased with his alma mater at Hanford. How about the new track at Lemoore High School…a great and super clean facility…When Tommie Smith, Larance Jones and all the other Lemoore greats drive across the overpass, they must feel very good looking down on such a fine facility. …The turnout for the meets was the best for any summer meets – going back to the summer meets at Fresno State… Just ask Larry and Chris Lung, who still had five pages of entrants for Long Jump to go when the meet was almost over…and Roxanne Sellick, Paloma Dominguez and Taylor Franzman who organized 122 50-meter sprinters…or Lemoore Board Member Dr. Lupe Solis and former Jumper Frank Potter, who thought that half the high jumpers on the West Coast must have shown up. …The Valley Coyotes, under the leadership of former Huron athlete Ricardo Gonzales, won the RDF Team title. Speaking of Huron, did you notice that the middle school has a new red all-weather track?…and that the Firebaugh High School bought a new Pole Vault pit and standards. The coaching staff and four young 8th graders went through the First Step Stick Vault Program this summer in Hanford. Dunlap School, under the leadership of teacher Susan Johnson, was featured in Track and Field News, Track Coach Journal. To those of you who came to Hanford and Lemoore, and those who were honored Friday at Clovis: Thank You so much for your contribution to the sport, and for keeping the hometowns of Dutch and Tommie aware of their great contribution to the sport. Thanks for helping plant new seeds. I would like to leave you with this thought: In 1946, Dutch Warmerdam left a bamboo pole at Hardwick Elementary School (rural Hanford)… It was 1954 when J. Flint Hanner and Erwn Ginsburg came to Laton High School and gave a talk… In the early 60s Bud Winter dropped by Lemoore High School. Again, thank you for keeping the legacy of two of Track’s all-time GREAT athletes alive in their hometowns. It is great to sit in Superior Dairy and talk to people of Hanford and Lemoore about Dutch and Tommie. Thank you for helping plant a seed…As it is written in the Old Testament: “Give careful thought…Is there any seed left in the barn?” If there is, it will soon be forgotten, and there will be no fruit at the market place for people to see and enjoy. Bob Fraley, Run for the Dream Project Director-
Best Athletes of the Valley
Idalis Rubalcava
8th Grade Pentathlete from Pioneer Middle school in Hanford. Currently ranked top 10 in the nation in the Pentathlon. Idalis was the 5th best overall athlete in the Run for the Dream Track Series.
Josh Guzman
8th grader at Pioneer Middle School, Josh placed 2nd at the kings County and Seqouia League XC Championships. He has won several overall 5k and 2mile XC races throughout the valley and placed 5th at the USATF Valley Championships.
Anaïs González
8th grader at Pioneer Middle School. Kings County XC Champion 2009 & 2010, 3rd Place Overall Female at Santa Monica 5k, 2nd Place at Ca State Games in Mile & 800. 2nd place at AAU National Qualifier, USATF XC Valley Champions Team.
Erica Guzman
Erica Guzman is a 3rd grader at Pioneer Elementary School. She took 1st place in the 1500 at the USATF Sub-Bantam Championships in Sacramento, 8 year olds. She placed 1st at the Kings County XC Championships 6th grade Div.
Trevor Fraley Groom
Trevor Fraley is an 8th grader from Kastner Jr. High in Clovis. He is a gifted Pole Vaulter, High Jumper, and Hurdler. At the national Pole Vault Convention in February he took 4th place in his division.
Jojo Zorn
Jojo runs both Cross Country and Track. She placed 2nd overall female runner at Mt. Sac in October and First place at the USATF Valley Championships and the AAU National Qualifier.
Daniel Richardson
Daniel is now a 7th grader at Freedom Middle School in Bakersfield. Daniel was the National Champion in the discus in 2009 and set the National Record in 2010! He was 2nd at Nationals in the Pentathlon.
Kasey Knevelvaard
An 8th grader at Caruthers elementary, Kasey recently ran a 5k in 17:10! Kasey placed 2nd at the USATF XC Championships this Fall and 12th at the USATF National Qualifier in Folsom.
Alexis González
A 2nd grader from Simas Elementary, Alexis is the youngest member of the group. Alexis placed 2nd at the USATF Sub-Bantam championships in the 1500 and 800. She also placed 2nd at the Kings County XC championships 6th grade Div.
Erik Rodrigues
An 8th Grader from Pioneer Middle School in Hanford, Erik was featured on ESPN as one of the most promising High Jumpers in California. Eric is also a great Long Jumper and triple jumper.
