Burns blazing trail toward AAU Jr. Olympics
El Dorado freshman Deandra Burns hopes to keep a red-hot summer track season burning bright this weekend when he joins a local contingent in the AAU Jr. Olympics in Greensboro, N.C. He will compete in the boys 14 age division for Team Elite.
Burns has already had a dominant AAU season, winning the 100, 200 and long jump at the AAU District Qualifier in Little Rock on June 8.
“Deandra is a workaholic. He never stops wanting to train and you need that type of mentality in order to be successful in this sport,” said Coach Kenneth Cunningham. “He finished last year as the top sprinter in his age division, so he has a target on his back. The hunter has now become the hunted. Even though he has moved up into a new age division, he still ranks near the top in the 100, 200 and long jump.”
Burns ran 11.22 in the 100, 22.60 in the 200 and long jumped 20-11.25 at the district qualifier. He won the 200 at the AAU Region 16 Qualifier in Tulsa on June 27-30 and also took first in the long jump and finished second in the 100.
Cunningham believes Burns will raise his level as the competition heats up.
“He has a great chance to bring home three gold medals,” said Cunningham. “He has been working to improve his start and posture while sprinting. If we can correct those things, then he could run sub-11 in the 100 and sub-22 in the 200. One great thing about competing at the Jr. Olympics is that he will only have to focus on one race a day, which makes him stronger.”
Parkers Chapel’s Darnarius Aaron will also compete in the Jr. Olympics, running a leg on the 16-year-old boys 4x100 relay.
“Lil D has really improved since last year and worked very hard this summer,” said Cunningham, who noted Kamya Bryant and Talia Holmes also qualified for the Jr. Olympics but won’t make the trip.