MOSES LAKE – Last week, three athletes from the Moses Lake Athletics Club competed in the USA Track and Field Nationals event. Brody Baker, Jaedynn Dietmeyer and Liam O’Shea traveled to Savannah, Ga., from July 21 to July 27.  

Looking back, Dietmeyer called it a great experience.  

“It was a super cool experience seeing all the different people around the country all competing there and seeing people from our neck of the woods down in Georgia... it was a great learning experience to get exposed to that next level competition,” she said.  

All three athletes had to compete at an association and regional meet to qualify for Nationals. According to Dietmeyer, there were competitors from all over the Pacific Northwest who took their chances to qualify.  

Baker competed in the 13-14 Division for boys discus. Baker placed 34th after two throws, the first at 26.72 meters and the second throw, his best at the competition, going for 32.42 meters. According to head coach Jodi O’Shea, Baker had a solid performance despite being on the younger side of competitors.  

“He was able to put together a couple solid throws, this will only help his future, definitely, to compete at that level,” she said.  

Liam competed in the 800-meter and 1500-meter races for the 17-18 Division at the National competition. In the 800, Liam finished 24th with a final time of 2:01.24. In the 1500, he placed 20th with a new personal record time of 4:13.74.  

The heat presented challenges for him and other runners, he said. Adjusting to the humidity made it hard for him to feel like he was at 100%.

“I can totally take a 100-degree day over here, and I'll be perfectly fine. Even training, I'll be fine. But 90 degrees down there, it's like 110 up here, it's ridiculous, and it's very difficult to feel comfortable,” Liam said.  

According to Dietmeyer, part of their preparation for Nationals was heat training. She used a sauna to help her body get used to the heat and practiced almost exclusively outside, she said. She said that since her body was able to build familiarity with the heat, it became easier for her to be comfortable competing in it.  

According to Liam, several days of the competition were delayed due to the heat index being too high to compete in. Part of his preparation focused on the mental aspects of running. A saying he likes to go by is that running is 90% mental and the rest is physical.  

“When you're trying to reach your limits, you're trying to push yourself up to the absolute limit again and again at all these different competitions and races. You kind of need to be okay with the fact that you're not going to get there a lot of the time, and you're only going to compete at your full potential sometimes. The goal is to get there every time, but a lot of the time you won't,” he said.  

Dietmeyer competed in the 17-18 Division for the Women’s Javelin Throw competition. She placed 11th after she recorded a 32.97-meter throw, which came close to her personal best of 32.91, according to the results page on www.athletic.net 

“Our coaches are great; they put a lot of time and effort into just being consistent over the summer. Especially going into college this fall, I think I learned a lot, and all the officials at the meet were great as well,” Dietmeyer said.  

She said her experience training with the club proved beneficial to her success at Nationals and beyond. As far as expectations went, she feels like she can check off that box after her performance.  

“My focus was just being as consistent as I can with my training and executing the things I've practiced with myself and my coaches. Like doing what I know I can do, my personal best, and I absolutely think I fulfilled that,” she said.  

For the club, this is their second year as a group. Jodi had a lot of optimism coming out of Nationals and seeing her athletes perform against strong competition.  

“We’re really proud and happy with how our kiddos performed, because we had several younger (athletes) that did really well at regionals. Some qualified, some didn't, but overall, seeing the progress from where we were two years ago is exceptional,” Jodi said.  

As they look forward, Jodi said the club hopes to continue giving their athletes exposure like this. She said their goal is to elevate the experience of youth in the community in track and field.  

“I'm hoping by getting them out into regional and national level competitions, that they realize they can show up and compete, and I think that that makes us, as a club, pretty proud,” she said.  

    Jaedynn Dietmeyer, a recent graduate of the Mavericks program, throws in the Javelin competition at the USA Track and Field Nationals meet. Dietmeyer will be attending Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in the Fall.
  

    Liam O’Shea, left, and Jaedynn Dietmeyer, right, take a photo after competing at the USA Track and Field Nationals meet. O’Shea competed in the 800- and 1500-meter races at the USATF Nationals meet.
  

    Brody Baker, a discus thrower for Moses Lake Athletics Club, is all smiles at the USA Track and Field Nationals meet. Baker competed in the 13-14 Division of the Boys Discus.
  

    Moses Lake Athletics Club head coach, Jodi O’Shea, left, takes a photo with her son Liam, right, at the USA Track and Field Nationals meet. Jodi said this is the second year of the club and is proud of how far they have come.
  

    Liam O’Shea running in the 800-meter race for the Moses Lake Athletics club. O’Shea said the heat presented challenges at the USA Track and Field Nationals meet.