ast week, Mechanicsville’s Ryan Long and Maya Saunders both competed in the AAU Junior Olympics in Detroit Michigan.

  Long competed in the Sub-Youth category for discus and went into the competition 33rd in USSSA rankings for 2008.
  Long entered the competition with the goal of wanting to better his personal record. If he medaled, that would be a bonus because he knew that many of the kids in his age category were more experienced than him, being 9-12 months older.  Arriving at the competition, Long discovered that many of his fellow competitors were also a foot taller than him.

  However, Long accomplished his goal though by throwing 87-2, improving his personal record by six feet and improved his USSSA ranking to 24th.

  Saunders ran in the 1500m and 800m. In the 1500m, Saunders placed 29th out of 42 runners with a time of 5:52. In the 800m, Saunders ran a personal best 2:42, which earned her a 15th place finish out of 60 runners.

  Though the season is over, both Long and Saunders continue to train. Long hopes to reach 100 feet with the discus during the 2009 track season as Stonewall and he is also looking forward to participating as a team member for Richmond Heat Track Club for 2009 AAU season.

  Saunders plans to run cross country this fall.

  Information provided by Bonita Bolling and Lisa Long.