Humbling circumstances have become all too familiar for Jordon Washington.At the same time, the Warrenton junior recognizes most of those setbacks are part of being in a privileged environment.Washington’s success on the track has presented him a wealth of unique opportunities. But each time he nears a higher threshold, the sprinter has commonly found himself narrowly missing the cut.Most recently, he competed in the United States Association of Track and Field Junior Olympics in Greensboro, N.C. The event, held at North Carolina A&T State, simulated the actual Olympics with a participants march and torch ceremony.Washington qualified for the meet in the 100-meter dash, falling short of the finals by recording a time of 11.4 seconds.“It was a humbling experience,” acknowledged Washington. “I did pretty good in the association and regional meets. But once you get to Nationals, the competition is pretty good.”Washington faced a similar predicament last summer, but the preliminary process was different this time around, with the Top 3 from each heat advancing to the finals. The fastest overall times didn’t necessarily push through.“My heat was one of the fastest, which was unfortunate for me,” said Washington, who competed in seven meets this summer.He joined the AAU circuit and also ran in three Junior Olympic Association events and three club meets.“It’s been a really busy summer,” asserted Washington. “I’ve put a lot of time in on the track.”While his schedule last summer required lots of travel, most of Washington’s events this summer kept him local.“It’s cool going out of state, but I was really lucky this year, because almost everything was in St. Louis,” said Washington. “I didn’t have to travel all summer, since it was pretty much all centralized.”Washington, who runs the 100- and 200-meter races and is a member of the 400- and 800-meter relay teams for Warrenton, plans to expand his base next spring.“I’m going to work on possibly doing the long jump, high jump and possibly hurdles,” said Washington.His passion for track and field has filtered down to other family members, as Washington’s niece decided to join the Missouri Elite Track Club this summer as well.“My sister has always tried to go to my track meets,” said Washington. “She knew I was doing all this summer training, and she decided to get my niece involved.”His niece, XX, joined him in Greensboro, qualifying in the 100-meter dash and long jump.“I guess it does kind of run in the family,” quipped Washington, who vows to continue his persistent regimen in an effort to reach the next level of his sport. “All I can do is keeping working hard.”

Warrenton junior Jordon Washington competed in the USATF Junior Olympics.

Derrick Forsythe Photo.