Local Athletes Qualify for AAU Nationals

Later this month, seven local athletes will travel to Greensboro, North Carolina to compete for the AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) National Championships in Track and Field. The event will run from late July through early August and will see athletes from around the country converge and compete at North Carolina A&T. The seven players, who all compete in track and field for Springstead and Nature Coast

High Schools, have qualified for the national meet in multiple categories:
Connor Mccazzio (Springstead) – 100m, 4×100
Xylus Pastrana (Springstead) – Long Jump, 4×100
Chadiell Echavarria – (Springstead) – High Jump, Triple Jump, 4×100
Deaijah Tullis (Springstead) – 100m, High Jump, Triple Jump
Kason O’Neil (Nature Coast) – 800, 4×400
Brayden Barrett (Nature Coast) – 4×400
Jaxson Nichols (Springstead) – 110m Hurdles, 4×100, 4×400

Mccazzio was unable to run track during his junior season due to multiple hamstring injuries, so his coach is excited to see him compete and “admire[s] his effort to run track and see if he still has his speed on him.” The tracksters comprise the majority of a team known as Kinetic Speed with only one player, Tyree Davis, not being able to qualify. This was due to his attending football camps that were running concurrently with track events and thus not allowing him to qualify.

The local track team is run by former Springstead multi-sport athlete Thomas Watson who attended the high school from 2008 to 2012. He holds a part of the Eagles’ 4×4 record and competed in states and the national championships in 2011. That year saw the event take place in New Orleans. He is a veteran presence with experience in such a meet, which allows his players to trust his instruction that much further.

Coach Watson’s intent behind building the team was to bring more attention to athletes from Hernando County. His continued goal is to allow his players to get more exposure, show their skills, and network with other players and coaches around the country. This concept stems from his days playing for the Eagles.

“That was the idea a long time ago back when I was in high school because I didn’t have any kind of representation when I was going to school here,” Watson said. “I figured that when that time and the opportunity came, I would do the same thing for kids that want to have some additional coaching. So, I did just that, created that team, and I plan on continuing doing the same thing for the youth moving forward.”

With seven of his eight tracksters qualifying for nationals, Watson’s additional coaching has no doubt been of aid. Making it to these competitions can be crucial for the future of many players. The local coach knows multiple athletes who landed scholarships or other opportunities after being scouted at these competitions.

“It is a great experience,” said Watson. “You get to travel outside of the state, you get to see something different, you get to compete against different athletes from across the United States. There’s the exposure piece of it as well, too, because if you perform well, there are many different track coaches that are there – college coaches, specifically – that are looking at the times.”
Though he knows it is a tall order, Coach Watson hopes to see his athletes make it into the top eight at the championships later this month.