12/15/2025
USATF Junior Olympics Nationals Recap
What a wild and memorable weekend! We ran our hearts out, froze our butts off, and had a lot of fun doing it. The pool parties, team meals, crazy weather, laughs and especially the camaraderie are what will be most noteworthy as we look back on this epic experience. We are so proud of the 21 athletes who competed at USATF Nationals on Saturday and their amazing work to get there.
Competing against the best young runners in the country is always a bit of a shock to the system; every one of the athletes had to advance out of regionals, so this was truly the cream of the crop. The top 25 in each race were awarded with All American honors and Peak had 4 athletes join this elite group.
Special shout out to 9-10 boys Collin Romero for his 19th place finish and Gene Garrow in 23rd out of 314 competitors; 11-12 girls Avery Piala nabbed 21st out of 300 and moved up 10 places in the back half of the race; and 13-14 girls Ella Schubert with 22nd out of 291. Achieving All American is a huge accomplishment, so big congrats.
All of our runners put in so much hard work and gained incredible experience going to the “big show”. For many Peak athletes, this was their first trip to Nationals; we hope that this experience stoked the love of running and gave them a taste of what running at the highest level looks and feels like.
- - - Results
8 and Under girls
Sydney Piala (70th) and Vivian Matus (120th)
8 and Under boys
Ashton Lederman (114th)
9-10 girls
Eva Schopp (83rd), Juniper Krofta (156th), Sophie Kirkpatrick (225th)
9-10 boys
Collin Romero (19th) and Gene Garrow (23rd)
11-12 girls
7th place team with Avery Piala (21st), Etta Smith (58th), Peyton Formanek (75th), Tatum Buxton (102nd), Zoe Piala (116th), and Isla Craig (228th)
11-12 boys
Chip Krofta (204th), Ryker Anderson (248th), Gavin Gray (263rd), and Rowan Matus (265th)
13-14 girls
Ella Shubert (22nd)
13-14 boys
Oliver Ebetino (212th) and Charlie Steinberg (234th)