Sparkman track star qualifies for AAU Junior Olympic Games
HARVEST – With his sights set on attending college within weeks, Joe Quez Keith has a major event he has prepped for that has occupied his entire summer athletic efforts. His dedicated work through the Parker Track Club of North Alabama has provided him with one step closer to his goal of winning a national championship in track and field.
The 2025 graduate of Sparkman High and signee to an athletic scholarship to Alabama A&M, Keith qualified for the A.A.U. Junior Olympics Nationals scheduled for July 28-Aug. 4 in Houston, Texas. His enormous talents as a sprinter has paved the way for him to qualify for the upcoming Texas event in three events, all of which he won in the recent Regional 6 championships in Knoxville, Tenn. The fleet-footed Keith took first place in the 100, 200 and 400-meter races and easily made his qualifying presence.
“My times in all three races stack up very well with other sprinters in the U.S. and I ex- pect my strongest competition to come from athletes in both Texas and North Carolina,” said Keith, upon his arrival back to his home in Harvest. “I race with the Parker Track Cub, which is operated by my uncle, Zek Parker, and others in the club also made the trip to Knoxville and we have an additional Regional Meet in Jacksonville, Fla., but no matter how I do at that meet, I have already qualified for the Nationals later this month.”
Keith not only qualified for the Houston meet, but he dominated the races in the Region 6 Meet. In the 100-meter, he tied a personal best time of 10.69 seconds; 200meter, he posted a time of 21.58; in the 400meter, which is currently ranked No. 14 in the U.S., he won that outing with a time of 48.28.
The 18-year old Keith described each of his races: 100meter- “I got out of the blocks quick and established my form and felt good as I came into the meet with the fastest time.” 200meter- “This was probably my best event as I went out fast and came around the curve pumping my arms and legs with good form.” 400meter- “My first 200 meters were not so good, but the last 200 were terrific. I came around a curve as I began walking down each runner in front of me as I was dead last. I just felt I wasn’t mentally awake for this race. I finally woke up and sprinted to the finish.”
In all, Keith is a seven-time Alabama High School Athletic Association State Champion winning in both outdoors and indoors competitions. “I know that’s hard to do as winning just one state title is not easy. I believe I’m blessed and I feel I’ve earned my medals through hard work. I couldn’t do this without the help of my coaches, teammates and my family. I couldn’t do this alone.”
Keith is no stranger to national competitions like the ones he has and will attend this summer. As a nine-year old performing in the State Games Nationals in Grand Rapids, Mich., he took two gold medals winning both the 100 and 200 meter races. At age 12, he beat both the No. 2 and No. 5 nationally ranked sprinters. In 2024, he attended the National Junior Olympics in Greensboro, N.C. and placed 22nd in the 200 and 14th in the 400 races. As his life has raced by, he has always held onto his dream of one day running in the Olympics. “I would many times pretend I was in the Olympics and win the gold medal as I used to watch the games on TV and the races would motivate me. My dreams have always been the Olympics, an education and having a good job.”
The 5-foot-10, 155-pound athlete has setup his showdown with the nationals, but, more importantly, a faceoff with himself and his mental toughness to face any competitor who lines up beside him. At the Regional 6 meet, Keith said, “I dreamed it; I did it; I accomplished it.”
