2014 AAU Region National Qualifier Meet

Daniel Tulloch the Jamaican Flash is preparing to run the 1500 Meter Run at Richard Stockton College Galloway, NJ on June 29, 2014.

 Region 2 - Middle Atlantic (Delaware / New Jersey [Southern] / Pennsylvania [Eastern])

Daniel started the day being the underdog in the 1500 Meter run. He had one of the worst seed times for this 2014 Regional event. But Daniel put in a week long practice on the tread mill and at the track to prepare for this race.  He showed the other children from Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey that he is a 1500 meter runner that has to be dealt with.  

 Here is the 1500 Meter Race  

Daniel ran the 1500 Meter run at Richard Stockton College Galloway, NJ on June 29, 2014. He came in 4th out of 9 Athletes with a time of 5 Minutes, 49.93 Seconds. This is Daniel's personal best. This means that the Flash qualified for AAU Nationals at Drake University, Des Moines, IA.

Here is the 800 Meter Race

  

The flash did not qualify to go to Des Moines, IA for the 800 Meter run. As you can see in the video, another athlete stepped on the back of his heal as he came down the stretch to the end of the first lap. He fell and rolled but continued to run passing up two runners.  He finished with a time of 3 Minutes, 6.61 seconds in 14th place out of 16 athletes.  

The Next Competition

Daniel still has to compete in the 2014 USATF Region 2 Championships on July 10 thru 13, 2014. He will go back to Galloway, NJ for this event. He may qualify for USATF Nationals scheduled to take place at Turner Stadium Humble, Texas. If he does qualify, he will be an undisputed National Athlete.  Keep in mind, USATF Regional competition is a lot harder than AAU. It is a long shot that Daniel can qualify for both National meets. But I also said the same thing about reaching both Regional meets.    

Coach Darnell Williams, Daniel's grandfather is thinking about Daniel's next AAU and USATF Competition.

 

The Economics of Competition

I sat down with Stephanie and Daniel and asked what would happen if Daniel made Nationals in both AAU and USATF?

 

Damine and David is waiting for Daniel to run the 1500 Meter Run.

 

That is when Stephanie and Daniel sat down and started doing some thinking about it. It takes about $2,000 to attend National Competition. If Daniel qualifies for USATF and AAU this summer, that is a $4,000 Track and Field Bill.

Kathy Derr and her family raise the majority of Daniel's National Travel money. My co-workers raise the rest of the money.

But this money is just a small part of what is needed.  The Tulloch family is going to have to do some fund raisers to pay for these travel expenses.  They are going to have to ask for donations in order for Daniel to participate. They will also have to work with Daniel's track club, St. Luke's Spirit out of Germantown, Pa. in raising cash for travel expenses.  

The situation is worse than it looks. Daniel is the 2 time USATF Mid-Atlantic Association Cross Country Champion. It is probable that Daniel will qualify for USATF Cross Country Nationals next December. That is another event that will have to be funded meaning that he will have to come up with another $2,000. We are talking about  a possible total of $6,000 that must be raised.