2017 AAU Region 17 Qualifier

AAU Region 17 Qualifier Meet Preview: Five Athletes To Watch

AAU Region 17 Qualifier Meet Preview: Five Athletes To Watch

AAU Region 17 Qualifier Meet Preview: Five Athletes To Watch And Relays

Jun 28, 2017 by Harry Prevor .
AAU Region 17 Qualifier Meet Preview: Five Athletes To Watch
By Will Grundy, MileSplit

The AAU Region 17 Qualifier will go down this week at Hall Stadium, in Missouri City, Texas. The meet will be one of three Texas AAU Regional meets that will streamed LIVE on FloTrack.

The Gulf District meet was a tough meet with some big time performances. These are the five athletes you will need to keep an eye on at the AAU Region 17 meet as the athletes try to qualify for the AAU National meet on 7/26- 8/5/17 in Ysipilanti, Michigan.

Meet Information

Gabe Oladipo is the big dawg of all big dawgs and he is definitely one to watch at this meet. In fact, Oladipo is one to watch at any meet. In the discus, he is enjoying an undefeated 2017 season that saw him break a state record, win a state title, win the Great Southwest shot put and discus, and then win the AAU Gulf district championship. Oladipo is also coming fresh off of winning the USA Junior championships last weekend, when he earned his spot on another Team USA as he will represent the US at the Pan American Games in Trujillo, Peru. Keep an eye on Oladipo this weekend as he competes for The Wings Track Club.


Xavier Cerda leads the 14 year old boys 1,500m

Xavier Cerda
of the Northside Striders is a three event qualifier for the 14 year old boys. Cerda won the 1,500m in 4:35.35 and 10:05.18 in the 3,000m at the district meet. Cerda also placed fourth in the 800m. Cerda will look to repeat those performances and add a win in the 800m.


Courtny Wilmington runs a leg for her 4x800 relay team

Keep an eye out for Courtny Wilmington. Wilmington won the 14 year old girls 800m in 2:18.95. She was also third in the 400m in 59.09. Look to see if Wilmington can lower her times in each each event and get a win in the 400m as well as the 800m regional title. Naomi Taylor of the Texas Cyclones will compete in the 17-18 year old girls 100H and the long jump. She won the Gulf district meet in both events with a 14.78 run and a 17-2.75 jump. Taylor heads into the AAU Region 17 meet as the favorite in both events.



Another double event winner was Dominic Houston-Shepard from Houston Pacesetters. At the Gulf district meet, Houston-Shepard won the 15-16 year old boys 110H in 14.68 and the 400H in 55.85. Shepard was a finalist in both events last summer at the AAU Nationals and looks for a return trip and possible national championships.



As far as Relays go, you definitely want to see how fast the Jacob Sports Academy (JSA) 15-16 year old girls 4x100 can go. At the Gulf championships, JSA girls ran a fast 46.32. Can they go faster? On the boys side, the 17-18 year old boys 4x100 and 4x400 relays saw The Wings and Max Velocity go head to head. In the 4x100, The Wings finished ahead of Max Velocity 41.58 to 42.06. The two teams were right back at it in the 4x400 as The Wings' A and B team went 1-2 in 3:13.82 and 3:14.37 with Max Velocity right behind them in third with a 3:14.83. Watch to see The Wings - Max Velocity show part II.

WATCH LIVE ON FLOTRACK!