Local businesses team up to send teens to national competition - East Idaho News
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Local businesses team up to send teens to national competition

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STAR VALLEY, Wyoming — Four track and field athletes are now on the final stretch toward earning a national title.

Wyatt Peck, Wesley Kallgren, Asefa Wetzel and Shane Henderson are a part of the Star Valley Track & Field 4 x 800 meter relay team. They recently won at the Simplot Games with an outstanding time of 8:00.82, according to a GoFundMe set up to help fund the team.

Now a group of local businesses are helping the team get to a national competition. 1st Bank of Afton and Alpine, Bank of Star Valley, Simplot, Silver Star, Lower Valley Energy, Dennis Lancaster and Luthi & Voyles all teamed up to donate $4,000 to send the four Star Valley’s teens to a nation competition.

Winning at the Simplot Games qualified the team to enter the New Balance Nationals Indoor prep track and field competition that will be held March 10 to 12 at the Armory Track & Field Center in New York City.

But before the team could even think about sprinting in relays in New York, they faced the hurdle of financing the trip.

They started a GoFundMe and raised some $6,000 from the community. Then on Friday afternoon, the team of local businesses chipped in a $4,000 donation with a simple note attached: “We are proud of you!”

Now that the baton has been handed back to teens by the nearly 70 donors on GoFundMe, the boys can focus on their training in hopes of bringing home a national title.

Efforts to reach the athletes for comment were unsuccessful.

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