2746 Miles Between Carter Crayton And Two National Titles

WATCH LIVE: AAU Junior Olympic Games

8 & Under Shot Put star Carter Crayton (Charlotte Flights) won her second national title in as many days.  Crayton competed at the USATF National Junior Olympic Championships in Sacramento, California yesterday and then the AAU Junior Olympic Games in Greensboro, North Carolina today.

Crayton and her father, Demetrius, flew into Sacramento on Friday and spent a few days out west before competing on Sunday.  Crayton would win the 8 & Under Shot Put in 22-05.25, 9 inches better than second place.  

Then came the hard part.  Getting back home for AAU the following day.  The two had a flight out of Sacramento at 10:00 PM PST (1:00 AM EST) and landed at 6:00 AM EST. 

Carter said she slept the entire flight back.  Demetrius said he was able to sleep some on the plane.  Carter drove from the Charlotte airport to their house, had a snack and slept until 10:00 AM when they left for Greensboro.

The idea for winning both USATF and AAU came from friend Laila Jones, who competes for Tri-City Relays and did the double going from Greensboro, North Carolina to Des Moines, Iowa winning both 8 & Under Shot Put titles. 

The AAU competition would prove tougher than USATF yesterday.  Crayton would trail Magdalena Kandt heading into finals who led with a mark of 23-¾. Crayton would take over the lead on her 4th throw, her best throw of the last two days 24-3½.  The mark would hold on to be the winning mark through the end of the competition.

Demetrius said he was exhausted after the last two days, but it was all worth it to see his daughter's success on the national stage.  The two meets are almost as far as they can possibly be apart from one another at 2746 miles.  

Carter is just 7 years old, but is proving to be a superstar thrower at a young age.