Area athletes making worldly splash

In case you haven’t noticed in the last few weeks, our region is showing its depth of athletic talent. It’s not just people earning all-state honors.
Try world class talent.
The U.S. Olympic Trials have been a showcase for the quality of athletes coming from the Kansas City area and the state of Missouri.
Late Monday night, probably while you were already in bed, former Lee’s Summit High School runner Matt Tegenkamp became an Olympian.
Tegenkamp finished second to Bernard Lagat in the 5,000-meter finals at the U.S. track and field trials in Eugene, Ore., to punch his ticket to Beijing as one of the top two finishers. He entered as the top seed in the 5,000 and won his heat in Friday’s semifinals.
When I interviewed Tegenkamp last year, it was his dream to make the Olympics this year, and now he’ll be marching in with the rest of the U.S. contingent when it makes its entrance at the opening ceremonies on Aug. 8.
Tegenkamp still holds the top spots in The Examiner’s All-Time Area Track and Field Honor Roll in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters. His time of 8 minutes, 57.23 seconds in the 3,200 was the first time a Missouri high school runner had ever broken 9 minutes in the two-mile run. His time of 4:11.43 in the 1,600 is the closest anyone from this area has ever come to breaking the 4-minute mile as a high school runner.
But Tegenkamp hasn’t been the only area athlete to shine recently. Lee’s Summit North graduate Chris Rohr, who now competes for the University of Missouri, made it to the Olympic Trials in the hammer throw. Though he failed to qualify for the next round with a 10th-place finish in his flight, his toss of 216 feet was quite respectable.
And Rohr still has time to improve and make a run at the 2012 Olympics.
Speaking of Mizzou, former Tiger Christian Cantwell finally ended his frustrations by making the Beijing squad a couple days ago. He tossed the shot 71 feet, 2 3/4 inches to earn his first Olympic berth.
Raytown South sprinter Maurice Mitchell didn’t make the trip to Eugene to compete this year, but don’t be surprised if he makes the Olympic team in 2012 after four years of seasoning at Florida State.
Though it was wind-aided, Mitchell broke the 10-second barrier in his senior season. His 10.26 seconds in the 100 meters as a junior was the best time in the nation for a high school runner. Imagine what he will be able to do after four years of tutelage at a track and field power like FSU.
And this isn’t even mentioning Ivana Hong, the Blue Springs High School student who is vying for an Olympic berth in gymnastics. Hong will travel to Houston later this month with hopes of securing one of the final four spots to the U.S. team that will be favored to win a team gold medal.
Hong finished fifth at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Philadelphia, and that was competing on an injured ankle. Hopefully she’ll be healthy when she heads to the Karolyi ranch in Texas to earn one of the final spots. Her strength in the all-around makes her one of the favorites to earn a spot.
It also seems like these past two school years that we had more Division I college signings in this area than we ever have in the past.
Take a look around at some of the young athletes in our area. They may be the next Olympian.