One Kyrene Corridor 12-year-old proved that you can do almost anything if you set your mind to it by winning the Junior Olympics National Championship Pentathlon Midget Boys Category after training for only two months.
Austin Hornbaker, a seventh grader at Aprende Middle School, says he didn’t even think about competing in the pentathlon until two months before it was due to be held.
He ran in races for the first time last year as a sixth grader in cross country and track at Aprende, where he competed mostly in distance races but also was exposed to the high jump, shot put and hurdles. Â
“Austin missed his 1500 race on May 29 and he was bummed,” said Aprende coach Cynthia Washington. “He knew he could get another chance by running the 1500 in the pentathlon, so he literally started practicing on some of the other events June 1 and competed in his first pentathlon on June 5.”
To the amazement of all, Austin not only got his chance to run the 1500 again but came in second in the Arizona State competition which qualified him for the regional track meet in Colorado according to Washington.
The pentathlon is a contest featuring five different events originating in ancient Greece. The events are held in a single day and include hurdles, long jump, high jump, shot put and a distance- type race.
Competitors are awarded points based on their performance in each event; the one with the highest total points is crowned champion.
At the regional track meet in Colorado, Austin and his parents, Kathyrn and Richard Hornbaker, said they didn’t have high expectations and decided to go for the experience.
“We were told that there were going to be kids at regionals who had been training and competing in the pentathlon for a long time, and who would be in a whole other league. And we believed them,” said Kathryn.
Austin not only held his own against athletes from Utah, New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado but once again came in second, qualifying for the national meet in Sacramento.
In between meets, he practiced hard with the Arizona Cheetahs, a private track club run by Washington. With about two weeks until nationals, Austin hit practice hard and really pushed himself to the limit.
“During my summer training, I would spend six days a week practicing my different events for about three hours each day,” said Austin.
“It all paid off, though, because in a little less than two months I improved by 665 points to my national score of 2,495 points.”
During the national meet held July 28, he competed against 16 regions, each sending their top three competitors in each age brackets.
Austin competed first in the 80 hurdles.
“My best event in the pentathlon was probably hurdles,” said Austin. “I got the most points in it and I can run as fast as my friend Nate Marshall, one of the best hurdlers I know next to Tevin Mayfield, coach Washington’s son, the local legend.”
“I finished 80 meter hurdles first in 13.36 seconds which got me around 839 points,” continued Austin. “My second best event was shot put, which I also won. We used a 6 pound ball that I threw 38 feet 5 inches.”
Austin’s confidence soared after winning first place in his first two events, propelling him to a third-place finish with a 4.53 meter long jump and second place with a 1.45 meter high jump.
The last event, the 1500 meter run, is the reason Austin started running the pentathlon in the first place. It is also the hardest because the athletes have been competing all day in the other events. At that point, Austin said he knew he could win if he could finish no less than 15 seconds behind the next competitor.
“Unfortunately, I made the grave mistake of sharing this information with my competitor, who strived to stay 15 seconds ahead of me the whole race,” said Austin.
“It was the hardest race mentally and physically in my life but getting that gold medal meant so much to me. I finally experienced the highest level of determination that every runner needs to succeed.”
It was a struggle but also a mental breakthrough that kept Austin close enough to ultimately win the championship by only two points, he said.
“I finished eighth but still ran a 5:25, which was a personal best, but not as fast as I would have liked to have run,” said Austin. “It was a hard race but I just remember I was not so much worried about where I finished as much as I was focused on staying close to my main competition.”
Not bad for a kid who comes from a family who doesn’t play sports. His dad played basketball in middle school and his brother, Brighton, 15, spends time rock-wall climbing at a local gym. But parents of athletes catch on fast to the thrill of seeing one of their children compete in athletics.
“When he first wanted to go out for track, I wasn’t too excited about all the early morning practices and the hot afternoons watching the meets,” said Kathryn.
But, she added, “It got more exciting the more I learned about each sport and interacted with other parents and coaches. At Nationals I remember hearing his name the first time being announced in first place and being so overjoyed.”
“As newcomers to the sport, we thought traveling to the regional meet in Colorado would be a valuable life experience but didn’t have any expectations for his performance,” said Richard. “When Austin won the USARF Region 10 Pentathlon, it was a real shock.”
It appears he is no slouch when it comes to academics, either.
“Austin was inducted into National Junior Honor Society in April of last year based on his outstanding scholarship, leadership, and service to his community,” said Amy Furman, his advanced language arts teacher at Aprende.
Coach Washington is also looking forward to coaching him again at Aprende and at Corona in a couple of years.
“Austin wants to be the best and sets really high expectations and goals for himself, which he showed he can accomplish by what he did this summer in winning the national championship after only training for two months,” said Washington.
“He’s the kind of kid every coach wants to have on their team—a true leader.”
