Odenton Youth Athlete Wins First At AAU Junior Olympic Games

ODENTON, MD — The AAU Junior Olympic Games are happening now through Aug. 4 in Greensboro, N.C., and a local athlete hoped to make her mark there. More than 15,000 participants are in Greensboro for the 53rd annual AAU Junior Olympic Games, the largest national multi-sport event for youth in the United States.

Formidable long distance standouts will be competing this week, including Taylor Gross of Odenton who went into the national event as the top seed in the nine-year-old race-walk event, which covers 1,500 meters. Her qualifying time was 9:37.79.

Gross competed on the first day of the AAU Junior Olympic Games as a member of the Severn Highsteppers Track Club. She secured a first place finish in her event with a winning time of 8:45.87.