By Chase Holmes, News Reporter
CLAY — A Clay-Chalkville freshman earned her second All-American nod at the AAU Junior Olympics in Des Moines, Iowa.
Leila McWillie finished fifth out of 47 other competitors in her age group for Javelin at the Junior Olympics. In doing so, she achieved a personal best throw of 30.46 meters. Her placement ensured she was locked in for her second All-American honor in two years of competition.
Leila also finished fifteenth out of 69 throwers in her age groups Shot Put with a throw of 11.31 meters.
For Leila, it came down to setting a goal and working as hard as she could to achieve it.
“I feel really good about it,” she said. “Most of the time it’s hard to make All American back to back, but I was determined to accomplish the goal that I set for myself since the beginning of the season. Now i can truly say I am a 2 time All-American.”
Before the competition, there were a few parts of her game she knew she wanted to focus on.
“We spent the summer season focusing on technique making sure that we are doing everything right minimizing errors. After reaching that point everything else becomes mental. Always want her to stay loose and relax during competition, so she kept he mind clear and focused by listening to her music before competing,” said Antonio McWillie, her father.
Her parents couldn’t be prouder of her accomplishments.
“We are definitely overjoyed with what she has accomplished. AAU level competition is not the easiest. It basically Her versus the United States. We watch her day in and day out put in the work to get better each day. Definitely brought a true meaning to hard work pays off,” said her parents, Antonio and Valerie McWillie. “Now it’s one thing to be a 2022 All-American, but to be a two time All-American in Javelin is a huge deal to her.”
Now that the medal has been hung on the wall and the pictures taken, Leila is ready to face her new challenge, high school. She will start it in a way few have, with a medal from the Junior Olympics and the knowledge that when the homework gets tough and the math isn’t adding up right she has the most unique way to relax and refocus: throwing her javelin as far as she can and looking over at her All-American caliber medal to remember what hard works earns.