Next Level Elite Track Club
MANHATTAN, KS – Fourteen youth athletes from Next Level Elite (NLE) Track Club traveled to Pittsburg, KS, over the past President’s Day weekend to compete in the YES (Youth Enduro Sports) National Indoor Track Meet. These young athletes from the Manhattan area were from 2nd grade to high school. Collectively, they earned 39 medals to bring home to our community. Of these medals, 18 were gold.
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Israel Cameron, a second grader who attends Northview Elementary School in Manhattan, and the youngest member of NLE to participate in this national meet stated that, “I’m very proud of myself.” Isreal earned three medals in this meet.
Muna Lee, a 7 time NCAA champion, 12 time SEC champion, 20 time All-American, handed out medals at the YES National Indoor Track meet and acknowledged Next Level Elite on her Instagram post with two of the teams youth athletes, by stating “Great job this weekend! Keep chasing your Olympic dreams.” Muna Lee represented the United States in the 2008 Summer Olympics.
The youth who participated from across the United States ranged in age from eight to eighteen years old. Ja’Marcus Vornes’s, a 4th grader at Northview Elementary, is working toward his fourth trip to the Junior Olympics this year. He placed first in the 400m, 800m and the 4×400 relay at the YES National Indoor Track Meet. Before this meet he stated that, “My last goal is to get on the podium”, which he did three times in this meet and for the gold each time. James Dunnigan Jr. is also a 4th grader at Northview Elementary stated that his goal is “to have fun and make my family proud.” James also took home three gold medals in the 60m, 200m and 4×400 relay.
The goal of these young athletes is to participate in the AAU Junior Olympics this summer in Des Moines, Iowa. Next Level Elite sent eight young athletes to the Junior Olympics last year and is on track to send at least that many this year as well.
