If it’s summer, the Mach I Track Club is off and running to success once again.
The club advanced 13 members (eight males, five females) to the Amateur Athletic Union Southwest Regional Qualifiers Meet. They qualified with their performances at the AAU Southwest District Qualifiers Meet at the University of Texas at Arlington June 4-7.
The AAU Southwest Regional Qualifiers Meet will be held at the same site, Maverick Stadium, June 24-28. From there, the top six in each event will move on to the AAU Junior Olympics in Des Moines, Iowa July 27-Aug. 8.
“We had a strong showing and had a couple of PRs (personal records). These athletes put in a lot of work and it’s fun to see the results as they compete,” Mach I coach Lupe Torres said.
Over its history, Mach I has been consistently represented at both the AAU and USA Track and Field Junior Olympics. Specializing in distance running, they have regularly qualified participants, including three national champions last season, Josh Fink, Jenna Fink and Gannon Dolan.
Two of those champions are back and took giant first steps in defense of their titles. Jenna won three events at the district meet in the Girls 11-Year-Old division, while Josh won two and advanced in a third in the Boys 15-16 age group.
Josh has won three consecutive national championships in race walking, winning the 3000-meter distance last year. Jenna won her first title, capturing the 1500 race walk in 2025.
The other national champion from last year was Gannon Dolan in the Boys 17-18 1500 run.
Also qualifying in three events from district was Miguel Martinez (Boys 9-Under).
Advancing in two events were Kambria Evans (Girls 13), Josephine Heady (Girls 9U), Malachi Dolan (Boys 11), Cole Bettger (Males 17-18), Bear Wilberts (Boys 9U) and Liam Pennington (Boys 11). Salene Lanham (Girls 12), Corrina Lanham (Girls 13), Britain Rutherford (Males 17-18) and Lincoln Coffey (Boys 12) also qualified for the next round.
In all, Mach I runners won seven gold medals (4 males, 3 females), three silver (all males) and one bronze (female) at district.
June 4-7 at The University of Texas at Arlington
Top 16 in each event qualified for SW Regional Qualifiers Meet June 24-28, also at UTA’s Maverick Stadium
Mach I qualifiers
(distance in meters)
Females
9-Under
1500: 5. Josephine Heady, 6:46.
800: 10. Heady, 3:20.
11-year-olds
3000: 1. Jenna Fink, 11:46.
1500 race walk: 1. Fink, 9:14.
1500: 1. Fink, 5:29 (PR).
12-year-olds
3000: 3. Salene Lanham, 15:19.
13-year-olds
3000: 4. Kambria Evans, 13:42; 5. Corrina Lanham, 15:06.
1500: 5. Evans, 6:29.
Males
9-Under
1500: 2. Miguel Martinez, 5:24; 4. Bear Wilberts, 6:03.
400: 5. Martinez, 1:10.
800: 1. Martinez, 2:36 (PR); 10. Wilberts, 2:58.
11-year-olds
3000: 1. Malachi Dolan, 11:24.
1500: 4. Dolan, 5:15; 8. Liam Pennington, 7:03.
12-year-olds
12. Lincoln Coffey, 6:12.
15-16
3000: 1. Josh Fink, 10:02.
3000 race/walk: 1. Fink, 15:03.
1500: 10. Fink, 4:41.
17-18
3000: 2. Cole Bettger, 9:33; 6. Britain Rutherford, 12:33.
1500: 2. Bettger, 4:17.
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