Willie Johnson wins 15-16 national title, three Metro East Flyers named All-Americans

Aug 10, 2018 7:55 PM

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Left to right: Willie Johnson, 400m AAU Junior Olympics National Champion (15-16 age); Marcus Lampley, 5th place in 400m (17-18 age); Darrion Williams, 8th place in Triple Jump (17-18 age).]

EAST ST. LOUIS –Three East St. Louis athletes are proving that their hometown is still the City of Champions. Each brought home medals from the AAU Junior Olympic Games, held July 28 – August 4 in Des Moines, Iowa.

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Willie Johnson won the national title for the 400 meter in the 15-16 age group with a time of 47.8 seconds. Fellow Flyer Marcus Lamply finished fifth in the 400 meters in the 17-18 age group. Darrion Williams, also from East St. Louis Senior High School, finished eighth in the triple jump for the 17-18 age group.

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All three of these young East St. Louis athletes earned the distinguished honor of being named National All-American for finishing in the top eight in finals for their events at the AAU Junior Olympics Nationals.

The AAU Junior Olympic Games are known as the largest national multi-sport event for youth in the United States. It has become the showcase event of the AAU Sports Program.

East St. Louis School District 189 is focused on providing rigorous, high-quality education and exceptional educational experiences to the nearly 6,000 students within the community. The district's vision is for students to be supported physically, socially, and emotionally in a safe and nurturing environment to achieve academic success that prepares them for college, the workforce, and citizenship in the 21st century. For more information, visit www.estl189.com. Follow more great stories @estl189 on Facebook and Twitter.