Barta, Frech, Gomez and Heyison earn top honors as 2021 U.S. Paralympics High School Track & Field All-Americans Named
by Kristen Gowdy
L-R: Ezra Frech, Samantha Heyison, Joel Gomez and Sydney Barta were named U.S. Paralympics High School Athletes of the Year.
COLORADO SPRINGS – U.S. Paralympics Track & Field today announced the 25 women and 22 men who earned spots on the 2021 High School All-American list. The list recognizes the top high school track and field athletes who have a Paralympic-eligible impairment based on their performances in the 2021 season. This is the 11th edition of the list.
“We are excited about the growth we saw in these young athletes, some of whom competed at the Paralympic Games, this year,” Sherrice Fox, director of U.S. Paralympics Track & Field, said. “After their 2020 seasons got derailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, these athletes responded in a positive way, bringing their best to their events in high school, national and international competition.”
The selection criteria looked at the top athlete performances in each event in 2021 as compared against the “A” standard for the U.S. Paralympics Track & Field National Team. The ranking list reflects those top performances in descending order based on the result as compared to the “A” standard by percentage.
Headlining the list are the four athletes honored as the 2021 U.S. Paralympics Track & Field High School Athletes of the Year – Sydney Barta (Arlington, Virginia), Ezra Frech (Los Angeles, California), Joel Gomez (Encinitas, California) and Samantha Heyison (Adamstown, Maryland).
Barta, who earned Female Track Athlete of the Year honors, made her Paralympic debut in Tokyo and just missed the podium in the women’s 200m T64, her signature event. Barta ran an American record in the preliminary round of the race en route to a fourth-place finish in the final and missed the bronze medal by just .2 seconds. A senior at National Cathedral School in Washington D.C., Barta also took 10th in the 100m in Tokyo.
Another first-time Paralympian in 2020, Frech is the 2021 Male Field Athlete of the Year after competing in both high jump and long jump in Tokyo. Frech, who attends the Brentwood School in Los Angeles, finished in the top-five in men’s high jump T63, taking fifth with a 1.80-meter jump, and was the top American finisher with eighth in the long jump.
San Diego native and recent Classical Academy graduate Gomez took 10th in a tight men’s 1500m T13 race in Tokyo and earned Male Track Athlete of the Year honors. A 2019 World Para Athletics Junior Championships gold medalist, Gomez also just missed the final of the 400m in Tokyo.
U.S. Paralympic Track & Field’s Female Field Athlete of the Year, Heyison competes for Urbana High School. While she did not compete for a spot on the Paralympic team, she won the women’s discus F64 competition at the 2021 Desert Challenge Games in May with a 31.55-meter effort. The high school junior is a rising star in the sport, and will be one to watch in the future.
The full list of this year’s High School All-Americans can be found below. For media requests and inquiries, please contact Kristen Gowdy at Kristen.Gowdy@usopc.org.
2021 U.S. Paralympics Track & Field High School All-Americans
Men
| 100m | High School | |
| Cooper Blair | Central Catholic High School | |
| Ezra Frech | Brentwood School | |
| Evan Correll | Waukee High School | |
| Delmace Mayo | Boston Green Academy | |
| Chance Wells | West Valley High School | |
| Lucas Jundt | Indian Trail High School and Academy | |
| Grant Pierce | Northeast Magnet High School | |
| Samuel Winter | Homeschool | |
| Vance Ott | Coahoma High School | |
| Tyler Gunnarson | St. Charles | |
| Wyatt Willand | Northwood-Kensett | |
| Austin Spalla | Lincolnway West High School | |
| Zebidiah Pfenning | West Noble High School | |
| Andy Botkin | Christ Church Episcopal School | |
| Griffith Boehnlein | Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology | |
| Collin Lancaster | Bethlehem Christian Academy | |
| Zachary Carter | Monahans High School | |
| 200m | High School | |
| Austin Spalla | Lincolnway West High School | |
| 400m | High School | |
| Joel Gomez | Classical Acadmey High School | |
| Evan Correll | Waukee High School | |
| Owen Cravens | Huntley High School | |
| Cooper Blair | Central Catholic High School | |
| Peyton Gunnarson | Lewiston-Altura High School | |
| Chance Wells | West Valley High School | |
| Grant Pierce | Northeast Magnet High School | |
| Wyatt Willand | Northwood-Kensett | |
| Lucas Jundt | Indian Trial High School and Academy | |
| Samuel Winter | Homeschool | |
| Vance Ott | Coahoma High School | |
| Delmace Mayo | Boston Green Academy | |
| Tyler Gunnarson | St. Charles | |
| Collin Lancaster | Bethlehem Christian Academy | |
| 800m | High School | |
| Evan Correll | Waukee High School | |
| Wyatt Willand | Northwood-Kensett | |
| Chance Wells | West Valley High School | |
| Peyton Gunnarson | Lewiston-Altura High School | |
| Vance Ott | Coahoma High School | |
| Collin Lancaster | Bethlehem Christian Academy | |
| 1500m | High School | |
| Joel Gomez | Classical Acadmey High School | |
| Owen Cravens | Huntley High School | |
| Evan Correll | Waukee High School | |
| Wyatt Willand | Northwood-Kensett | |
| Collin Lancaster | Bethlehem Christian Academy | |
| Chance Wells | West Valley High School | |
| Grant Pierce | Northeast Magnet High School | |
| 5000m | High School | |
| Joel Gomez | Classical Acadmey High School | |
| Wyatt Willand | Northwood-Kensett | |
| Discus | High School | |
| Trent Clayton | PA Leadership Charter School, Center for Performing and Fine Arts | |
| Jackson Schroeder | Texhoma High School | |
| High Jump | High School | |
| Ezra Frech | Brentwood School | |
| Long Jump | High School | |
| Ezra Frech | Brentwood School | |
| Zebidiah Pfenning | West Noble High School | |
| Samuel Winter | Homeschool | |
| Lucas Jundt | Indian Trial High School and Academy | |
| Shot | High School | |
| Jackson Schroeder | Texhoma High School | |
| Vance Ott | Coahoma High School | |
Women
| 100m | High School |
| Hannah Dederick | Central Valley High School |
| Sydney Barta | National Cathedral School |
| Catherine Carey | Bishop Kelly High School |
| Catarina Guimaraes | Cranford High School |
| Elicia Meairs | John Paul Stevens High School |
| Lauren Fields | Valley Christian High School |
| Aubrey Jumper | Holy Redeemer |
| Elizabeth Floch | Valley Christian High School |
| Hope Santiago | Monahans High School |
| Abigail Counts | Flower Mound High School |
| Karissa Craddock | Richland Center High School |
| Kira Stevens | Homeschool |
| Ella Rodriguez | Christopher High School |
| Jada Clark | Oshkosh West High School |
| Camryn Ledford | Joplin High School |
| Janie Richardson | Homeschool |
| Emma Jundt | Indian Trail High School and Academy |
| Danielle Kanas | George Steinbrenner |
| 200m | High School |
| Sydney Barta | National Cathedral School |
| Catherine Carey | Bishop Kelly High School |
| Aubrey Jumper | Holy Redeemer |
| Kira Stevens | Homeschool |
| Janie Richardson | Homeschool |
| Ella Rodriguez | Christopher High School |
| Danielle Kanas | George Steinbrenner |
| 400m | High School |
| Hannah Dederick | Central Valley High School |
| Catarina Guimaraes | Cranford High School |
| Elizabeth Floch | Valley Christian High School |
| Jada Clark | Oshkosh West High School |
| Aubrey Jumper | Holy Redeemer |
| Abigail Counts | Flower Mound High School |
| Janie Richardson | Homeschool |
| Karissa Craddock | Richland Center High School |
| 800m | High School |
| Hannah Dederick | Central Valley High School |
| Elizabeth Floch | Valley Christian High School |
| Lauren Fields | Valley Christian High School |
| 1500m | High School |
| Hannah Dederick | Central Valley High School |
| Elizabeth Floch | Valley Christian High School |
| Isabelle Hogness | Horace High School |
| 5000m | High School |
| Elizabeth Floch | Valley Christian High School |
| Club | High School |
| Peyton Manigo | Joliet Central High School |
| Discus | High School |
| Samantha Heyison | Urbana High School |
| Alicia Guerrero | Wapato High School |
| Danielle Kanas | George Steinbrenner |
| Ella Rodriguez | Christopher High School |
| Javelin | High School |
| Danielle Kanas | George Steinbrenner |
| Elicia Meairs | John Paul Stevens High School |
| Long Jump | High School |
| Aubrey Jumper | Holy Redeemer |
| Catherine Carey | Bishop Kelly High School |
| Catarina Guimaraes | Cranford High School |
| Danielle Kanas | George Steinbrenner |
| Ella Rodriguez | Christopher High School |
| Janie Richardson | Homeschool |
| Shot | High School |
| Elicia Meairs | John Paul Stevens High School |
| Hope Santiago | Monahans High School |
| Kira Stevens | Homeschool |
| Olivia Molnar | The Colony High School |
| Krasimira Sarich | Klein Oak High School |
| Abigale Gase | Otsego High School |