Foursome Jr. Olympics All-Americans

Des Moines, Iowa- The foursome of girls from local high schools named Hamteam have been named All-Americans for an eighth place finish at the Jr. Olympic Games Track and Field Meet held in Des Moines, Iowa. The four girls and their schools were India Smith (Sparkman), Aajiah Jackson (James Clemens), Shataeya Ligon (James Clemens) and Liyah Nelson (Madison Academy). Hamteam posted a 48.53-second time in the 4X100 relay.

For Nelson, who attended the national event with high hopes in the individual races of the 100 and 200-meter races, felt disappointed earlier in the week as she nursed a left quad injury suffered two weeks earlier in Knoxville at the Regional Meet and took it easy not to further injure herself in her two events just to make sure she did not hurt her relay team’s chances at earning All-American honors. She posted a time of 12.30 in the 100 and a time of 26.20 in the 200.

“I sacrificed my individual races by not pushing myself and did not make the finals in either race knowing my actions would help our relay team,” said Nelson, a sophomore at Madison Academy where she won both the 100 meter (12.13) and 200-meter (25.24) races at the Alabama High School Athletic Association State Track Meet in Class 4A as a freshman. “I prayed nothing would happen to me so I could help our relay.”

Ligon, who took third place in the 100-meter hurdles event at last year’s AHSAA State Track Meet, said the relay team had actually been practicing since last summer and not only perfecting their techniques in strides and handing off the baton, but building the chemistry among the foursome that is needed for a good race.

“It was fun going to such a high-level of competition event like the Jr. Olympics, and for me personally, the race was very satisfying as I’ve had to overcome a few obstacles such as injuries to my knee and hamstring,” said Ligon, a junior at James Clemens. “It’s difficult to get to this high level of competitive races. I think we could have done better as we just missed on setting our best time in the race.”

The Jr. Olympics event was held at Drake Stadium on the campus of Drake University. The state-of-the-art stadium, which underwent a $15-million renovation in 2005 and features a new Mondo-surfaced track, is the home for many of the University’s sports teams. Seating capacity is 14,557 and Nelson said once she walked into the facility she was in awe of her surroundings.

“It was a big stadium and hundreds of athletes were everywhere,” said Nelson. “What I like about track is the fact it’s very easy to meet new friends among the competitors as it’s easy to begin a conversation. I attended the event with my family and it was sort of like a family vacation for us.”

Nelson’s brother, Jaylen, also participated in the event in the boy’s 4X400, but his team did not qualify for the finals.