Around Iredell Sports

2008 Aug-09

Statesville Express provides avenue for continued training

The Statesville Express is a local AAU track and field team, which competes regionally and sent three of its athletes to the AAU Junior Olympic games. Pictured (bottom row, from left) are: Sydney Moore, 8; Adonis Rucker, 9; Hasim Hall, 8; and Treon Allison, 13. Also pictured (top row, from left) are: Le’Kia Hall, 11; Yasmeen Culbreath, 12; Devin Moore, 12; Davin King, 13; and Jonathan King, 11.

By Jason Bullard
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When simply winning became a little ho-hum at East Elementary, track and field coach Leonard King decided to take on a bigger challenge.

“We only had four meets, and we won everything,” said Statesville Middle student Devin Moore, a member of King’s dominant girls team at East. “Our team won first place in girls, first place in boys and first place all-around. And Coach King thought that he wanted more of a challenge for his team.”

And so the Statesville Express was born.

“I wanted to take us to a little bit more competitions, and a friend of mine in Charlotte told me about AAU track,” King said. “So I just started the Statesville Express so we could run against better competition all over the state and all over the nation.”

The track team, comprised of nearly a dozen elementary and middle schoolers from around Iredell County, spent the spring and summer competing in events across the southeast, culminating with three athletes participating in the AAU Junior Olympic games July 26 through Aug. 2 in Detroit.

Devin, 12, was joined at the national meet by two East Middle students — Yasmeen Culbreath, 12, and Jonathan King, 11. All three competed in the midget age division.

While competing in statewide and regional events, Express members had grown accustomed to tougher competition. Still, Devin and Yasmeen admitted to feeling a few butterflies before the Junior Olympics. But Leonard King helped calm those nerves.

“Coach King gave me a pep talk,” Yasmeen said. “He told me that I deserve to be there; he told me they’re fast, but I’m fast, too.”

Jonathan King said he didn’t need any such encouragement.

“For me, it was fun,” he said.

Clearly. At the national event, Jonathan finished 18th in the shot put — the best result on the team — and 33rd in the discus.

Devin finished 21st nationally in the long jump, while Yasmeen was 28th in the 400-meter dash and 34th in the 200.

Several other athletes from the team were impressive throughout the season as well. Hasim Hall finished sixth in the state in the 400; Adonis Rucker was second in the region — consisting of teams from North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee — in the 200; Davin King was fifth in the region in the high jump; and La’Kia Hall qualified for the Junior Olympics in the shot put, but was unable to attend the meet.

Leonard King said that success is good for the runners individually, but also the team as a whole.

“Track is one of the only sports where it’s a team and an individual sport,” he said. “... When that gun goes off, there’s no referee, there’s no mama, there’s no other team. They have to depend on themself. And what they do individually affects the whole team. So there’s a sense of responsibility on each one of them.”

And that could pay dividends in the long run in the form of college scholarships.

“I don’t see enough track scholarships coming (to Iredell County athletes),” the coach said. “Everyone looks at basketball and football and just stays with that, not knowing that you can actually get a full ride with track, also.”

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