Apollonia “Apple” Jauregui has earned a spot in the 2026 USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships, where she will compete in discus against many of the nation’s top young athletes.
The championships will be held in Norwalk, California, from Monday, July 27 to Sunday, Aug. 2.
Jauregui, 11 and incoming fifth grader at Gateway Christian School in Roswell, has been throwing discus for two years and said she is proud of herself for being part of the event.
Jauregui credited many people for her success, including her parents Natalie Carrasco and Abel Jauregui, her brother Michael Apodaca, and her best friend since first grade Kayli Aguilar.
“I would like to thank all my supporters that have helped me go to nationals because I wouldn’t be able to do it without them,” Jauregui said.
Jauregui also has a booster account set up at Pioneer Bank at 3000 North Main St., called Apollonia Jauregui Booster Pioneer Bank.
Carrasco said her and Jauregui are extremely grateful for the bank’s support.
“This trip is expensive, but we’re getting it situated, and Pioneer Bank has been a big help,” Carrasco said.
Jauregui has lived in Roswell her entire life. She said being from a small town never stopped her from working hard to be the best she could and that others should be the same way.
“People in little cities can still do a lot of good things if they put the work in and have a dream,” Jauregui said.
Marshall Mecham can be reached at (915) 232-1793 or on X @mecham_marshall.
Mecham serves with the New Mexico Local News Fellowship, which places emerging journalists in newsrooms across the state. Learn more at www.newmexicolocalnewsfellowships.org.
