Two Edna athletes have earned their way on the AAU Jr. Olympic team. Eight Grader Paisley Longoria and fifth grader Kynlee Revis will compete in the events which begin July 22.
Houston is hosting the Jr. Olympic games, which are the largest youth multi-sport events in the United States. The games will host around 15,000 youths from all over the U.S.
Although Edna students are competing in the event, it is not an UIL event.
“It is an Edna Youth track club ranging from eight to 18 years old” Edna Cross Country and track coach Ashley Myers said. “We started it up because people had interest in it, and to try to get kids out and to compete to prepare them for that State and Regional level of high school track and field. So, we will have more success come through Edna.”
Alan Revis, father of Kynlee, has coached kids in preparation for the AAU Jr. Olympics for many years.
“We’ve been doing AAU track and field for the last eight years,” Revis explained. “My older son started out doing it and then Kynlee started competing four years ago. I’ve coached other kids in Edna as well.
Kynlee has had her dad with her through the preparation, but sometimes, she has had to figure things out on the fly, on her own, “At the regional meet, I’m on the runway with her and she will come to me and we will discuss what she needs to improve before the next event,” Revis explained. “After the warmups, I had to leave. She made all the adjustments and knew what she needed to fix. I couldn’t be there to help her work b ut she made all the adjustments and knew what she needed to fix and she went from throwing 30 something feet to 50 something feet she did it on her own.”
“Throwing” is referring to the turbo javelin, not something offered in local school. The turbo javelin is plastic with a rubber tip that marks where it lands.
Kynlee will be throwing the javelin on August 2 but she will also be throwing the shot put on July 29.
“I like shot put better because I feel like I do it better,” Kynlee explained. ‘I’m excited. When I’m in a new place I will be nervous, and before my first throw I am nervous, but when I see the competition I think ‘Okay I’m ready to go.”
Longoria will be competing in the running events but running in AAU is nothing new for her.
“We started in AAU in Palacios because we saw it as an opportunity and I found a love for it so I continued to do it,” she explained. “Then I moved schools to Edna and we started it up over here. I do distance running. The. 800 and 1,500 but 800 is my favorite. I’ve loved running all my life.”
AAU holds their district meet, where 16 girls advance to Regionals and from there, eight move on to the Jr. Olympics.
This year the Jr. Olympic games are in Houston, but every year they move to a new location, or a new state, so the local athletes are taking advantage of the close proximity.
