From One Big Weekend to Another for Youth Team

Atlanta Track Club will be well-represented at Saturday's USATF Georgia Junior Olympics Cross Country Championships, with 70 members of the Youth Team expected to compete and as many as five age-group team titles in their sights.

It's the largest number of Youth Team athletes to line up at the USATF Georgia champs since the competitive arm of the Club's running programs was founded in 2017 and is the outgrowth of a record membership of 107 this season under third-year coach Mike Brown.

The core of the team is composed of youngsters in grades 4-8, with a coaching philosophy that focuses on long-term development and incremental growth while creating an environment that encourages athletes to display sportsmanship, set goals, develop enthusiasm for the sport and gain health and wellness knowledge that will last a lifetime. All ability and experience levels are welcome.

"We never want to burn these kids out," said Brown, who said that he considers his biggest success stories the youngsters who started out with qualms but then began to "buy into the program. Yes, I want you to get better, but I care more that you start to enjoy it. Every kid learns differently, and I take responsibility and great pride in figuring out the triggers for each kid."

Click here for more information on the Youth Team and upcoming Speed Academy, which begins on December 2 and is also aimed at all levels of experience and ability.

The Youth Team is coming off a strong performance in Fayetteville last weekend at the USATF Georgia Developmental Meet, which served as a warmup of sorts for the state champs - which is also the first-round qualifier for the Junior Olympic regional and national championships.

Youth Team medalists in Fayetteville include:

• Hope Bradley - 1^st, Girls 8-and-Under age group
• Giosia Mseya - 5^th, Boys 8U
• Ermina Mseya - 7^th, Girls 9/10
• James Corse - 5^th, Boys 9/10
• Ofelia Mseya - 6^th, Girls 11/12
• Elizabeth Koekemoer - 10^th, Girls 11/12
• Parker Emrick - 5^th, Girls 13/14
• Lia Sinitiere - 7^th, Girls 13/14
• Audrey Buresh - 2^nd, Girls 15-18

And yes, the three Msyea medalists are siblings, and they aren't alone in making Youth Team a family affair - Brown says that whoever finishes higher between James Corse and his sister Meena gets to pick what they all have for dinner.

Also posting notable results last weekend, at the GHSA State Cross Country Championships, were several teams and individuals from Atlanta Public Schools, with which the Club has had a partnership since 2018 to support and help empower the programs and its athletes. Learn more about that partnership here.

Leading the way was Atlanta Classical Academy, with its girls' team claiming the Class 1A Division 2 title by placing three runners in the top 10 and five in the top 17. The boys' team finished 2^nd overall, just 5 points shy of the title, with five runners in the top 22.

APS students receiving a medal for finishing in the top 10 were:

• Flora Tyler (Atlanta Classical Academy, 2^nd, 1A Division 2)
• Sara Neil Kirkland (Atlanta Classical Academy, 9^th, 1A Division 2)
• Mary Elizabeth Kirkland (Atlanta Classical Academy, 10^th, 1A Division 2)
• Ian Burke (Atlanta Classical Academy, 4^th, 1A Division 2)
• Warren Trawick (KIPP Atlanta Collegiate, 5^th, 2A)
• Jayden White (KIPP Atlanta Collegiate, 6^th, 2A)
• Grace Danser (Maynard H. Jackson, 9^th, 4A)

Danser, a junior, was also named this week to Atlanta Track Club's All-Metro Cross Country Team. She is also a two-time winner of the APS City Championships, which the Club helps put on as part of the partnership.

In addition to the individual medalists, APS team highlights include a 7^th-place finish by the Booker T. Washington girls, a runner-up finish by KIPP Atlanta Collegiate's boys, and a 9^th-place finish by the Maynard H. Jackson girls.