Perry siblings excel at AAU Junior Olympics

At the AAU Junior Olympics, Perry’s Brayden Richards won his age division of decathlon, and his older brother Javin, the 2021 News-Herald boys track and field athlete of the year, was third.

Prior to transitioning to football for the fall with Perry, Brayden and Javin Richards enjoyed success in their spring and summer craft, track and field. Earlier this month, the Pirates’ multisport standout siblings traveled to the AAU Junior Olympics, held at Humble High School in suburban Houston.

Brayden won the 15-16 division of decathlon with 5,481 points and was also third in javelin with a best effort of 155 feet, 4 inches.

The sophomore-to-be at Perry won the decathlon’s pole vault (13-11 1/4) and javelin (164-8) and also logged top-five finishes in 400 (54.11), 110 hurdles (16.82) and shot put (36-2 3/4).

Javin was third in the 17-18 decathlon with 6,511 points, behind Brock Lewis of Bourne, Texas (6,767) and Jaden Schilling of Santa Rosa Beach, Fla. (6,676).

The senior-to-be and 2021

News-Herald boys track and field athlete of the year won 110 hurdles (14.79) and tied for first in pole vault (14-5 1/4), along with top-fives in 100 (11.38) and 400 (50.99).

Traxton Richards placed 11th in the 12-year-old division of outdoor pentathlon.

Several News-Herald coverage area residents also participated in the Junior Olympics. Among current area high school standouts, Euclid’s Alexis Cain was 12th in 400 and 13th in 200 in the 17-18 division.

NEWS-HERALD FILE Perry’s Brayden Richards is shown during this past outdoor track and field season.