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Home > Archive > Aug 2, 2007

Local Boy Wins Place at Hershey’s Track & Field Finals
By Stephen Vincent
As the first participant to throw the softball at the Hershey's state track meet in Richfield, Tyker Olds thought he had a good throw at 192 feet, but he didn't know if it would hold up to win the state softball throw title for the 11-12 age group.
Thrower after thrower failed to even near his mark, until one kid stepped up and heaved the softball, and Olds nervously watched as the officials measured.
“I got really nervous when he threw it,” Olds said, “because everyone was like, 'Whoa.' I thought he threw it farther than I did, but they measured, and it was only 189 (feet).”
Olds' distance was good enough to win the state title and earn him a trip to Hershey, Pa., to compete in the Hershey's Track & Field Games North American Finals, Aug. 4. The Hershey's meet features more than 500 kids 9 to 14 years old who have won qualifying meets along the way.  
Olds will be one of several participants from Utah's Dixie at the North American meet. The others include Micah Morgan (boys 9-10 softball throw), Lexi Esplin (girls 13-14 long jump), Megan Loveland (girls 13-14 softball throw), and a 4x100 relay team in the 9-10 boys division, Tanner Wilkinson, Konnor Aitken, Zach Leahy and Breitton Adams.
Olds, who won the regional meet in St. George with a throw that was 60 feet better than the second place heave, is looking forward to touring the Hershey's Chocolate Factory and Hershey's Park, as well as going on an airplane for the first time in his life.
Olds knows a little about the national meet because his friend Will Durante went back to Pennsylvania for the same event last year. And Olds admits that this year's state meet would have been close if Durante had competed.
Olds' victory in the state meet was no accident. His family lives in a house that sits against the Black Hill on the Green Valley side of the hill. The hill rises over their backyard, making it, in Tyker's mind, the perfect place to practice.
Olds spends hours throwing softballs onto the hill, which he then goes and retrieves and throws again.
Olds said he would like to throw the discus or the javelin when he gets to high school.
Olds also enjoys playing football, baseball and basketball, and he was also busy reading “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” last week.
The 12-year-old Olds is getting ready to return to Lava Ridge Intermediate School, where he will be a seventh-grader and is a member of the student council.
“He's always just been a great one,” Jana Olds, Tyker's mother, said. “When he was in preschool, his teacher told me he'd be a future leader, and other teachers have told me that too.”
Tyker Olds also participates in Scouting. Having just returned from Scout Camp a couple weeks ago, he will soon be receiving his Star rank.
Tyker is the oldest of four kids – he has one little sister and two brothers, and he enjoys being the oldest.
“It's kind of cool because I get to boss everyone around,” he said.
Jana Olds sees her son as being a great help to her with the younger kids, especially his 3-year-old brother, Jaker, who has autism.
“It's hard for him sometimes having a brother with special needs because he has a lot more responsibilities,” she said. “But I think it helps him to understand the challenges other kids have.”
Jana plans to stay home with Jaker while Tyker is at the meet, but she said her husband, Rowdy, may go back to Pennsylvania to root on their son.
Tyker Olds is just looking forward to the experience.
“I am excited,” Olds said. “I know it will be a good time, even if I don't win. I look forward to competing against some of the best athletes in the nation.”

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