Ram athletes competing at Junior Olympics

MESA, Arizona — While competing at the USA Track & Field Regional Championships in Arizona, Rio Rancho High School’s Aaliyna Gallegos and Chloe Deaton qualified for the USATF Junior Olympics National Championships, which are being held July 22-27 in Savannah, Georgia.

During the summer, both athletes compete for the New Mexico Jags Youth Track Club.

“All together, regionals was great. M relay team took first and we all worked great together. Everything came together, and we know how strong of a group we are. My long jump could have been better, but I’m putting in work to show improvement by nationals,” Gallegos said.

Gallegos was a part of the team that took first place in the 4x100-meter relay race, second place in the 4x100-meter mixed relay race, third place in the 100-meter hurdles, and eighth place in the long jump.

“Regionals was my first out-of-state meet competing hurdles, and I was nervous to run, but I cleared all the hurdles. Once I won my heat in the prelims, I was feeling confident and was able to finish third and qualify for nationals. Being able to qualify my first year of trying hurdles was a huge accomplishment for me,” Gallegos said.

Deaton was part of the team that took first place in the 4x100-meter relay race, fifth place in the long jump and seventh place in the 100-meter hurdles.

“Going to regionals was exciting and fun, but when our relay team placed first, I was so proud of how hard we worked all season. We pushed each other and stayed focused, and it really paid off. Then, after my first long jump, I saw that I would qualify for nationals in that too. I was surprised and felt really strong and proud of myself,” Deaton said.

“I’ve grown a lot this year, put in a lot of practice and gotten stronger. It is cool to see my effort pay off,” Deaton said.

The USATF Junior Olympics are being held inside at Savannah State University’s Ted Wright Stadium, and anyone can watch all the action by using the website USATF.tv.

“I’m looking forward to the next level of competition,” Gallegos said.