Good Sports: The Visalia Junior Olympic runners

VISALIA, Calif. (KFSN) -- As the prima sets connected Mooney Grove Park successful Visalia, a brace of South Valley mediate schoolhouse runners are gearing up for the biggest contention of their life.

But some boys conscionable started cross-country grooming this year.

"It's been a blessing due to the fact that I didn't marque the shot team, possibly due to the fact that of my size," 12-year-old Dionicio Olmos said.

12-year-old Dionicio Olmos began his moving travel aft failing to marque the shot team.

"It pushed me," Olmos said.

But his grooming spouse got progressive for a antithetic reason.

"My person was asking maine to tally with him for transverse state due to the fact that helium liked this miss connected the team," 13-year-old Miguel Martinez said.

Despite being successful antithetic grades astatine antithetic schools, the 2 person pushed each different to different level.

"Miguel is simply a small spot older and having that shot background, has truly motivated Dionicio, who was comparatively young erstwhile helium came connected the team. He was 11 years aged and truthful excited," moving manager Ruby Muniz said.

New to the sport, the 2 started waking up astatine 5 a.m. to train.

"Then we would signifier aft school, and present some of them are really successful soccer, truthful their full time is busy," Muniz said.

With the schoolhouse play over, manager Muniz felt the boys had the endowment to support going.

"Went to the US Track and Field Association meet, and past regionals, and present the nationalist meet," Muniz said.

With some boys earning apical 30 spots successful their property brackets astatine regionals, the U.S. Junior Olympics and a level thrust to Shelbyville, Indiana, is next.

"I've ne'er been connected a level astatine all," Olmos said.

"I've ne'er been connected a level before," Martinez said.

Now the nerves acceptable successful arsenic the boys look to vie against hundreds from crossed the nation.

"Are you nervous?" I asked.

"A small bit," Olmos said.

As the lone 2 qualifiers from Visalia, the 2 are conscionable blessed to enactment the South Valley connected the map.

"I'm successful present with idiosyncratic other who wants to execute the aforesaid imagination arsenic maine close now, and we made it successful our archetypal year," Martinez said.

"Being capable to get the accidental to spell determination has been the astir rewarding happening for us," Muniz said.

Muniz hopes the accidental tin animate others to enactment connected their moving shoes.

"Anyone is capable to run. Anyone that has the passionateness for it, to person fun, tin bash it," Muniz said.

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