TULSA, Okla. — Two Nathan Hale High School students are invited to compete in the Coast 2 Coast International Track and Field Championships this summer.
Jeremiah Moore, a junior, and Carmello Williamson, a sophomore, have been teammates for about two years. They raced together before, and share a deep passion stretching over most of their life for the sport.
"One day I just realized it was a big thing for me and I was meant to be a track runner," said Moore.
Williamson also remembers running being a big part of his childhood. He said it never dawned on him to pursue it seriously, until someone beat him in a race and ignited his competitive fire.
The duo competed together last year and qualified for state. While they didn't get the outcome they wanted, their coach said it's those moments that helped shape them into strong athletes, and better young men.
"They may not win every race, but they understand that a that a loss is an opportunity to improve," said track coach Walter Williams. "And then they come back to the drawing board and they improve. They show it, the results speak for themselves."
No one knew this was coming for one, let alone two Nathan Hale High students. The school got a letter one day, and Williams got to deliver the news to the two student athletes.
"I never thought about this, I never thought that I was going to go somewhere different to race other people in the world from different countries," said Williamson. "It's really just amazing to me."
While it's an incredibly opportunity for both runners, Williams said this is bigger than track or athletics as a whole.
"In this culture, in our environment, a lot of our young people they don't get the opportunity to experience something like this," said Williams. "They have an opportunity to go overseas and compete against athletes from other countries and that’s an even bigger thing and so here at Nathan Hale, were celebrating them. Our admins, our principles, our teachers, our student body, were celebrating them because it’s not every day that something like this happens here on 21st street."
Moore said this is the latest hurdle in his quest for greatness.
"I always wanted to be somebody special, somebody amazing," said Moore. "I felt like I was just made to be out and like show off my talents out on the track."
When asked about goals, both Moore and Williamson said they wanted to win. They want to execute their goals, and get stronger through this overseas experience.
Coast 2 Coast is scheduled for July, when less than fifty athletes will head to Australia first to compete for a few days. Then, they will head to Hawaii for a couple more days of racing.
The two need to raise about $6K to fund the trip to Australia. Moore is still seeking support to make sure he can get there and reach his goals.
Coach Williams started a GoFundMe to help Moore get to Coast 2 Coast.
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