By Terry Mosher

Editor, Sports Paper

De’Andre Sincere has picked up where he left off in the Central Kitsap Junior High track and field season this spring.

Sincere, an eighth-grader who led the nation in the long jump (20-05.5) and was third in the 100 (11.34) and fifth in the 200 (23.41),  won the 100, 200 and 400 last weekend at the USATF Junior Olympic Association local Region 13 meet held at Chief Sealth High School in Seattle.

He won all three events in the boys 13-14 division as a member of the Bremerton Jaguars, a group that is led by coach Tim Lavin, a former finance director for the Kitsap Sun who now is director of operations for the Admiral Theater Foundation in Bremerton.

Sincere won the 100 in 11.43, the 200 in 23.45 and the 400 in 51.96, which would have been the CK Junior High record if it would have been a school event. He also placed third in the long jump (17-08.25).

The top eight finishers at the Region 13 meet advance to the JO Region 13 championships July 7 at Chief Sealth. Competitors from Oregon, Idaho, Washington and Alaska compete. The top five advance to the JO Nationals July 22-28 at North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, N.C.

Lavin believes that Sincere and several others from the Jaguars, including Jaleel Elmore, who won the 400 in the boy’s 15-16 division with a time of 51.27, have a good chance to advance to nationals. Elmore was a ninth-grader at Fairview Junior High this past year and led the country in the 200 with a time of 23.04.

Elmore also advanced in the javelin with a sixth-place throw of 125 feet, eight inches.

The Jaguars’ Molly Fischer finished fourth in the 1500, clocking a personal best by 20 seconds of 5:03.54.

“That’s unbelievable,” says Lavin of Fischer’s improvement.

All together, 12 Jaguars moved on to the Region 13 meet. Besides Fischer, Elmore and Sincere, there was Taylor Nichols (girls 9-10 in the 100, 200 and 400); Lecia Sincere (girls 9-10 in the 400); A’naiyah Davis (girls 11-12 in the 100 and 200); Maya Nichols (girls 11-12 in the 800 and 1500); Malcolm DeWalt (boys 11-12 in the 100 and 200); Blake Schmidt (boys 13-14 in shot put and javelin); Brayana Elmore (girls 17-18 in triple jump, high jump, javelin and long jump); Darren Williams (boys 8 and under in the 100, 200 and 400), and Emily Parrish (girls 171-8 in shot put and discus).

“Malcolm is really strong, really good,” says Lavin. “He’s going to be a huge star, so is Sincere.”

Bremerton’s Ron Atkins took five kids to the local regional meet. They all competed at the Kitsap Track Club Fliers. The big winner was Zach Smith, who will be a senior this fall at Olympic High School.  Smith finished second in the 100 (10.94) and third with a West Sound all-time record (21.6) at the state 2A meet in late may, and at the regional meet he won the boys 17-18 100 ()10.93) and 200 (22.27) to advance to the Region 13 meet.

Also advancing for the Fliers was Christine Foresha in the girls 15-16 100 and 200; Keyera Gaulden in the girls 171-8 100 and 400 and Hannah Snyder (daughter of North Kitsap track and field coach Dave Snyder) in the girls 17-18 triple jump.

Atkins is also off and running. He plans on running in  USATF Masters starting in January. The former Bremerton track star is 39 and has hopes of getting his 100 time down to 11.2 by then so he can qualify for All-American status and compete in the program with the help of sponsors.

“If I can get down to 10.9 and 10.8 I can compete big-time,” says Atkins. “I want to be on the USATF circuit when I’m 40.”

The South Kitsap Track Club advanced Peer Vargas in the boys eight and under in the 100 and shot put, Deyondre Davis in the boys 11-2 80 hurdles and javelin and William Varags in boys 13-14 in the high jump.