King of the track
Delgado ready to defend title

SUBMITTED PHOTO Joseph Delgado (middle) competes in last year’s Junior Olympic Nationals in Omaha, Neb. He is currently the defending National Youth Pentathlon champion and the current No.1 ranked Pentathlon athlete in the nation.

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This past weekend, Delgado competed in the Regional 11 Junior Olympics, which includes athletes from Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, and the young trackster missed breaking a 20-year old National Pentathlon record by two points.

“My shot put hurt me,” Delgado said. “ I need to focus on getting a good solid throw right away, then work on getting more distance.”

Delgado said it was disappointing not to break the record, but he admitted that proved he still had room for improvement.

At the regional meet at Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Delgado won the Pentathlon as well as the long jump, high jump, the 100-meter hurdles and the 200-meter hurdles.

Despite coming up two points short of the a national record, Delgado had four personal bests.

In the shotput, he set himself a new standard with a throw of 37 feet. In the high jump he improved to 5-feet, 10.75-inches.

In the long jump, he hit the sand at a distance of 21-feet 7.50-inches, and in the 1,500- meter run, he hit the finish line in a time of 4:48.51.

Delgado will next compete at the Track City International Classic in Eugene July 17 through July 19, before heading off to compete at the USATF National Junior Olympic tournament in Greensboro, NC on July 28 through Aug. 2.

Delgado will not only compete in the Pentathlon at the National championship, but will also compete in the high jump, long jump, the 100-meter hurdles and the 200-meter hurdles.

Delgado said being No. 1 in the nation and being the defending National champ, he can feel the pressure of the bullseye.

“I have to come into each event ready to compete,” Delgado said. “I cannot take anything for granted. I have to work hard at practice and compete hard in every event.”