Youth Track: New track club set for Newport Beach

NEWPORT BEACH - Olympic hopefuls Wendi Ratjees and Anne Parker have

formed a new youth track and field club at the Newport Beach YMCA. The

track club meets Wednesday afternoons at 4 p.m. and Saturday mornings at

9 a.m. at the Newport Harbor High track.

The participating athletes will have the opportunity to compete in

local track meets sponsored by the USA Track and Field Association Youth

Development Program.

“The purpose is to educate the athletes on the proper mechanics of

each event,” said Ratjees, who finished sixth at the 2000 U.S. Olympic

trials in the heptathlon. She also worked as an assistant coach at UC

Irvine this past season and earlier served as an assistant at Stanford.

She will compete at the 2004 U.S. Olympic trials in the heptathlon.

The track club, which has 10 members, will be competing at the Orange

County Municipal Athletic Association Track and Field Championships

Sunday at Trabuco Hills High.

“We are preparing for a three-month season full of youth track meets

and fun,” said Parker, who is training for the 2004 U.S. Olympic trials

in the decathlon and pole vault. Parker is a USA Track and Field

Association certified level I and II coach and was an assistant at Long

Beach State in 1999. Parker is also the Central Orange Coast YMCA fitness

coordinator and can be reached at (949) 642-9990.