Lewis Sisters Qualify for Junior Olympics

Ari Lewis, a member of varsity girls track team, qualified last month for the USATF National Junior Olympics Track & Field Championships to be held July 26-31 in Wichita, Kansas.

Windward Middle School track team member, Evan Lewis, Ari's younger sister, also qualified last weekend at the USA Track and Field Junior Association Regionals in San Diego.

Ari qualified in the 400 meters and Evan qualified as part of a 4x800 relay. Their club team, Quiet Fire, boasts the top-rated team in the country at that level, the top-rated youth 800 runner (Amber Gore) and the second-ranked 4x400 team in the country. 

Ari ran a personal-best 59.36 seconds in the 400 meter Intermediate Division prelims at Cerritos College on June 12, placing second behind Megan George (57.69). In the 200 meters she clocked 26.65 seconds, the third-fastest time.  

Evan's 4x800 Quiet Fire relay team ran 10:13.68 in the Youth Finals. Her personal-best in the 800 is 2:32.22 and her best in the 1,500 is 5:14.70.

The 45th USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships will take place at Cessna Stadium on the campus of Wichita State University. The competition is the most visible youth athletic development program in the world.

Many of today's Olympic stars began their track careers competing in the USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships. Entry for the event is based on athlete performances at preliminary, Association, and Regional levels of the 2011 USATF Junior Olympic Program.

Competition takes place in six two-year age divisions, with athletes generally falling between the ages of 8 and 18.

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