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Area Athletes Compete at National Junior Olympics

Glenbard West and South standouts are representing the Zephyrs Track Club at this week's USA Track & Field National Junior Olympic Championships in Kansas.

Recent Glenbard West graduate Kathryn Pickett, Glenbard West seniors-to-be Kinn Badger and Caroline Maloney and Glenbard South freshman-to-be Kamaria Bush are the athletes from the Zephyrs Track Club competing at the USA Track & Field National Junior Olympic Championships through Sunday, July 31, in Wichita, KS.

The athletes are representing the Zephyrs in the Young (ages 17-18) or Youth (13-14) divisions. Entries that finish among the top eight in their age groups are honored as All-Americans.

Pickett, who lives in Glendale Heights, and Glen Ellyn residents Badger and Bush have competed before at nationals. This is the first trip for Maloney, a Wheaton resident.

Pickett is competing in the Young Women heptathlon and long jump. Maloney and Badger are part of the Zephyrs’ Young Women 1,600 relay lineups, and Badger also is competing in the 400 relay. Bush qualified in the Youth Girls triple jump.

This past high-school track season, Pickett, Badger and Maloney helped Glenbard West finish sixth as a team at the Class 3A state finals. Pickett was all-state in all four of her events with top-nine state finishes, giving her a program-best seven all-state medals, and Badger and Maloney earned three more all-state medals.

Pickett was second in long jump, third in the 100 high hurdles and fourth in the 300 low hurdles. The 400 relay with Pickett, Badger and Maloney was eighth, and the 800 relay and 1,600 relays with Badger and Maloney were seventh and ninth, respectively. Pickett will compete next season for Western Michigan University.

To reach nationals, athletes needed top-five finishes at the Region VII Championships for Illinois and Indiana entries July 9-10 at Plainfield Central High School after requiring top-eight finishes at the state meet June 24-25 at Plainfield Central.

The Zephyrs, a non-profit organization, has brought roughly 50 athletes to nationals from its two summer training sites of Hinsdale Central and Proviso East high schools. Volunteer coaches at the Hinsdale Central site are Hinsdale Central assistant girls track coaches Pat Wilson and James Conyers and Lyons Township girls track head coach Greg Frandsen.

In previous years, only top-three regional finishers qualified for nationals. As a result, this year’s nationals will include additional semifinal heats instead of just preliminaries and finals.

“It’s caused us to have some (lineup) problems. It’ll make it a little tough, but there’s nothing we can do about it,” Wilson said. “We’ll see what we can do and pray for the best."

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