LOS ANGELES — North Montgomery Middle School eighth grader Dane Utterback had a successful USATF Junior Olympics.
On Saturday, Utterback placed fourth in the 200 meter hurdles and 19th in the semi-finals in the 100 meter hurdles. Both events were in the 13-14 age group.
Utterback was satisfied with his results but said the good experience has fueled him to get even better.
“It was fun and the competition was good but I had to stay focused and not let the others intimidate me,” Utterback said. “This has given me confidence going into next year.”
Utterback advanced to the 200 meter hurdles finals by running a personal best :26.18 on Thursday.
Adrian Williams from Atlanta, Georgia won the championship in a time of :25.10. One-half of a second was the difference between the second place finisher, Jace Coleman of Houston, Texas, and Utterback in fourth place.
On Friday, Utterback qualified for the 100 meter hurdle semi-finals with a personal best time of :14.79. In Saturday’s 100 meter hurdles semifinals, Utterback placed 19th with a time of :15.1. The top eight advanced to the championship race.
In Sunday’s 100 meter hurdle semifinals there were 24 athletes. The top qualifiers in the finals all recorded times less that 14 seconds. Chad Davis from Goodyear, Arizona won the championship with a time of 13.66.
Dane’s father, Kenyon Utterback, who also coaches his son, said they will take a break from training to allow Dane a breather to get back into school mode.
He will start training for track in late winter and plans on participating in a few Midwest USTA events in early spring with his eyes on the middle school state track and field championships.
During the six-day stay in California, the Utterback family visited a beach and attended a L.A. Angels versus Milwaukee Brewers baseball game where all the USTA athletes were recognized.
Utterback will now turn his attention to playing middle school football, with practices starting this week, and he plans on playing basketball this winter for the Chargers’ eighth grade team.
