Barta, Frech, Gomez and Heyison earn top honors as 2021 U.S. Paralympics High School Track & Field All-Americans Named

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