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When you hear “Pro-Am,” you probably aren’t imagining what Atlanta Track Club is putting together. According to Eric Heintz, Atlanta Track Club’s High Performance Director, this is something that has never been done before – both fresh and exciting.

Eight professional Track & Field athletes at the peaks of their careers will pair up with eight local high school athletes standing atop the rankings of Georgia’s Track and Field community for the TrackTown meets RunningCityUSA Shot Put and High Jump competition, Friday, February 28, 2020.

The first team competing in the Shot Put competition is senior Yoosang Kim of North Gwinnett High School teaming up with NCAA All-American Nick Ponzio. Marietta High School sophomore Marice Brown will compete with All-American David Pless.

Carrollton High School senior Robert Johnson is pairing up with All-American Payton Otterdahl. Last, Mason Robinson, a senior from Alexander High School will compete with 2016 Olympic Gold Medalist Ryan Crouser.

Crouser, the 6’7” Portland, Oregon native, is coming off another golden performance at the 2020 USATF Indoor National Championships. Not only did he take home first place with a massive throw of 74’1.75”, it put him just 2.25” away from breaking the World Record held by Randy Barnes since 1989.

Kicking off the high jump competition, Alexander High School junior Jazzmin Taylor will compete with Olympic Trials Qualifier Rachel McCoy. Baldwin High School’s Mollie Speights is pairing up with high jumper Jelena Rowe.

Harrison High School senior Jordan Jones will compete alongside Amina Smith, an Olympic Trials Qualifier and ACC Champion. Kaylen “KK” Madrey, a junior from Newnan High School will team up with Olympian and two-time Indoor Champion Inika McPherson.

“These professional and Olympic athletes will have new fans, but even more important, these students will have new mentors,” Rich Kenah, Executive Director of Atlanta Track Club said.

Professionals are traveling as far as Oregon and California for this Pro-Am competition to be paired with well-rounded student-athletes some of who are boasting 4.0 GPAs or a national runner-up in the Heptathlon and even committed to play collegiate football and softball. These events will heat up in the center of the America’s Marathon Weekend Experience at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. with extensive preparations to set the scene for these competitions.

“We are building a world class sporting venue, because we are hosting current world class athletes and future world class athletes,” Heintz said.

America’s Marathon Weekend Experience is leading up to the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Marathon and Publix Atlanta Marathon, Half Marathon and 5K, but it’s Atlanta Track Club’s goal to use this weekend as an opportunity to highlight this sport, which is accessible to all types of athlete, some with their own Olympic future.

“We hope to highlight the different elements that are Track & Field. Though distance running is the main event of this weekend, we want to show the variety of disciplines within our sport.”

On Saturday, the youth competition will continue. Before Olympic hopefuls punch their ticket to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, 60 teams competing in the 4 x 1 Mile Road Relay will sprint across the finish line first. These relay teams include 26 of the Powerade All Metro Cross Country Team and come from all over the state: surrounding areas of Macon, Athens, Augusta and Metro Atlanta.

“A Road Mile Relay, this is also the first time this has been done before with the same start and finish line as the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Marathon,” Heintz said. “With the teams, I hear there has been some competition to be the last leg, because every student athlete wants to cross that finish line. It has built and established an incredible excitement.”

As part of securing the Trials, Atlanta Track Club promised to inspire the next generation of athletes. Kenah explains why Atlanta Track Club is not only keeping on that promise but continuously investing and incorporating our youth into this momentous weekend.

“America’s Marathon Weekend is to not only celebrate our sport in its entirety of all disciplines, but it’s to give beginners the opportunity to engage and be inspired. Our ultimate hope for these student-athlete events is to continue Atlanta’s Olympic legacy.”