VALPARAISO | As a member of the Calumet Region Junior Striders, Aaron Savage likes to think of himself as a pretty good runner.
But it's his arm, not his legs, that earned him a coveted spot in the Hershey's Track and Field North American finals next week in Hershey, Pa.
Savage, 10, will have a lot of stories to tell his fifth-grade classmates at Morgan Twp. when he returns to school in a few weeks. On Thursday, he'll board a plane in Indianapolis with four other Indiana qualifiers to compete in the softball throw at the big meet on Saturday.
"I'm just going to go out there and have some fun," said Savage, the son of Mark and Lis Savage of rural Valparaiso.
Savage is the first Calumet Strider to qualify for the Hershey meet. He will be joined by Xavier Walker, 11, of Gary who was selected to participate in the standing long jump.
The trip to Hershey is about more than just track and field. It's a modern day athletic version of a visit to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory and an opportunity to meet kids from throughout North America.
Those selected tour the Hershey Chocolate plant and attend Hershey's Chocolate World amusement park on Friday before participating in the meet Saturday followed by other fun activities. The kids stay in dorms at nearby Elizabethtown College.
Only five athletes from each state and areas of Canada are selected. Kids first compete at the local level, with the top two finishers in each event and age group eligible to advance to a state meet.
Savage and Walker were among several Lake and Porter County athletes who competed in the Indiana state meet July 11 at Lafayette Jefferson High School.
Savage won the softball throw at 131 feet, 11 inches, more than three feet better than his previous personal best. Walker won the standing long jump at 8-0 1/2.
"All I really do is play baseball in the back yard and throw a lot," Savage said of his practice habits. "I was pretty nervous (at the state meet). I was thinking that I wouldn't win."
But he did, beating the second-place finisher by more than 26 feet.
While Walker was invited in the standing long jump, he also dominated at the state meet in the 200. A member of Gary PAL team, his time of 28.56 seconds was more than two seconds ahead of his closest competitor. He also qualified last year, but was unable to attend the national meet because he was competing in the AAU Junior Olympics.
Savage and Walker each will be traveling to Des Moines, Iowa for the AAU Junior Olympics after competing at Hershey's.
Ezra Alexander of Gary, the Hershey's Indiana coordinator, will accompany the athletes to Pennsylvania for the fifth time.
"It's more about the experience than it is about the meet," Alexander said. "But the meet is awesome because it's an international meet."
One Indiana representative, De'Andrey Twilley of Muncie, advanced to the North American final meet for the third consecutive year.
YOUTH TRACK & FIELD
Hershey's Track & Field Games
North American Final
Where: Hershey, Pa.
When: Aug. 1.
Indiana Representatives:
Aaron Savage, Valparaiso (boys 9-10 softball throw)
Xavier Walker, Gary (boys 11-12 standing long jump)
Ashinn Patterson, Muncie (girls 9-10 standing long jump)
De'Andrey Twilley, Muncie (boys 11-12 softball throw)
Brayden Law, Fort Wayne (boys 11-12 800)
