Miami High School track star makes history

Back in July, one of our own, a small town kid from Miami, made Junior Olympic history. 

In late July, more than 7,000 young athletes and families congregated at Savannah State University’s Ted Wright Stadium in Georgia for one of the most prestigious competitions in Track and Field. Amidst the stifling summer humidity and heat was 16-year-old Ryder Guerrero, one of Miami High School’s track athletes, who was competing in the USA Track and Field National Junior Olympic Championships for the first time. During six days of races, he went on to take first place in the 15-16 age bracket of the boys’ 800 meter race at 1:59, and placed fourth in the 400 meter race.  

He’s likely the first from the community to have ever competed at that level, says Shawn Pietila, San Carlos Unified School District Superintendent and former Miami Junior Senior High track coach, who coached Guerrero back when he was in sixth grade. 

“It is a humongous deal for one of our very own Arizona Track and Field young stars,” he adds. 

This was Guerrero’s first time traveling out of Arizona. He headed into the meet as the number one seed in the 800 meter dash and within the top 5 in the 400 meter dash, representing Arizona Flames Track Club, a regional team.

The humidity and heat were overwhelming, he admits. Nonetheless, he didn’t let it stop him when it came time to run the 800 meter race. 

“The second lap, I just decided to make sure I could get the guy in first place close to me,” he recalls of the race. “I just stayed with him until the last 100.” 

And then he passed him.

Despite winning first place in the 800, his winning time wasn’t even his personal best.  

His current PRs for the 400 meter and 800 meter are 48.86 and 1:57, consecutively.   

This spring, at the end of his sophomore year, he took a Division V State Champion win in the 400 meter dash on behalf of Miami Junior Senior High School. The school’s track and field records show that this was the school’s first win at a state track and field event in at least 40 years, and Guerrero’s times are the fastest documented times of any Miami track athlete since at least 1968.

Guerrero’s success prompted him to join the Arizona Flames after the track and field season at the high school had ended for the year. 

“I wanted to accomplish a lot more,” he says. “I wanted to pursue track a lot more, invest a lot more time into it. Just continue running.”

He began traveling to the Valley three times a week for practices and meets. Other days he trained at home. In total, he was training six days a week, and continues to do so.

He won the regional championship in the 400 and 800 meter, and the 4 x 100 relay. His performance led to his qualification for the USA Track and Field National Junior Olympic Championships as one of eight competitors from the region.

16-year-old Ryder Guerrero is both a Miami High School track athlete and a member of the Arizona Flames Track Club, a regional team.

He attributes his success to a positive mentality and to his coaches.

“I'm very thankful for all of them,” he says of his club and school coaches, as well as Pietila.   

“He's a big part of it,” Guerrero says of Pietila. “Because even after he left, he would still send me workouts and check up on me. He helped so much.”

“He had confidence in me, even when I didn't at first,” he adds. “I didn't see what I truly could do, how much damage I could do, and he helped me truly see it, the big picture. Now I have a lot of confidence.” 

He also credits his coaches with helping him stay positive. 

“It's mentally hard because you have to always have positive thoughts,” he says. “One negative thought can ruin your whole race.” 

“You're always trying to be better,” he adds. “During the race, and out of the race, you just have to stay positive all the time.” 

Case in point: his win at state. 

“It was very nerve-wracking,” Guerrero says of his state win. “It was so close, our times. Anybody could have won it.”

“We both dove. I got this right here to win state,” he adds, showing a several-inch scar on his forearm. “I only won it by thousandths of a second. I don't know. It was very exciting, and it made me really want to improve.”

Previously, he was also playing football in addition to track. From here on out, though, he plans to focus only on track year-round. He is hoping to qualify for the Junior Olympics again next year. 

“I still want to put some damage into it,” he says.

Looking ahead, Guerrero is aiming to continue competing in Division I track and field in college.

“I never thought it would come to this,” Guerrero says. “But I'm glad about how it's turning out.”

Guerrero shares a moment with Arizona Flames Coach Jay after winning the 800 meter race at the USA Track and Field National Junior Olympic Championships.