Beesley Sweeps Region Junior Olympic Meet: Moves onto Nationals in New Mexico

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Trevor Beesley is leading South Carolina into the Young Men's 5k on Dec. 13.
Schedule of Events
Saturday, December 13, 2003
10:00 a.m. Bantam Girls 3 km
10:30 Bantam Boys 3 km
11:00 Midget Girls 3 km
11:30 Midget Boys 3 km
12:00 p.m. Youth Girls 4 km
12:30 Youth Boys 4 km
1:00 Intermediate Girls 5 km
1:30 Intermediate Boys 5 km
2:00 Young Women 5 km
2:30 Young Men 5 km
(source: www.usatf.org)
Trevor Beesley ran away with the Young Men individual title on Saturday, Nov. 22 in Richmond, Va. at the Region III Junior Olympics. Beesley and 14 other runners fought for the title before Beesley crossed the line first in 16:23.86. Eighteen runners (including Beesley) from South Carolina have declared to compete at Nationals in New Mexico. Beesley is a member of the Quick Striders team. During the regular season Beesley runs for Greenwood High School. Beesley will conclude his tenure at Greenwood in May 2004.

The course in Richmond, Va. took place on rolling hills in a horse pasture and a steep hill. "I was real proud of all the athletes from South Carolina," said Valerie Beesley. "They are such a great group of coaches and kids." Valerie is the mother of Trevor and the South Carolina USATF Youth Chair. As a Youth Chair Valerie will chaperone three runners to New Mexico for Nationals on Dec. 13 at Lovelace New Mexico Soccer Complex in Bernalillo, NM.

The USATF Junior Olympic cross country program starts off with preliminary meets in several of the USATF's 57 local associations. The local associations led to Association Championships and then to 16 Regional Championships, narrowing the group to the best of the best.

Valerie Beesley is hoping to win the bid for Nationals soon, bringing it back to South Carolina. The 1999 National meet took place at Milliken in Spartanburg. Milliken is the home of the Eye Opener, Spartanburg County Championships and collegiate meets throughout the season. This years' state Junior Olympic meet was held at Fort Jackson on Hilton Field on Nov. 15.