July 25, 2024
Tavares Middle School Student Greenlea Salazar Qualifies for USA Junior Olympics
By Kyle Coppola
Tavares Middle School Student Greenlea Salazar Qualifies for USA Junior Olympics
Greenlea Salazar, a talented thrower from Tavares Middle School, has qualified for the Junior Olympics. She excels in discus, shot put, and javelin, and holds her school’s record for the 600g javelin.
Last month, Greenlea showcased her skills at the FLYRA Middle School Track & Field State Championship in Bradenton, where she placed 3rd and earned a medal. Motivated by her success, she continued competing throughout the summer, participating in USATF events and securing a 5th place finish in her age group at Nationals.
Despite a busy season, Greenlea’s journey is far from over. She aims to compete in the AAU Nationals in Jacksonville in early July, with a goal of placing in the top 8 and qualifying for the USA Junior Olympics in North Carolina at the end of the summer.
Greenlea’s athletic commitments extend beyond Tavares Middle School. She competes for the Red Sea Running Club and recently joined Wind Speed Athletics in Clermont. Her coaches, Kevin and April Von Maxey at Tavares Middle School and Red Sea Running Club, and Jacina Redden-Campbell at Wind Speed Athletics, have played significant roles in her development. Additionally, her dedicated throwing coach and biggest supporter is her dad, Hank Salazar.
Greenlea’s determination and impressive track record indicate a promising future in athletics. As she prepares for the AAU Nationals and the potential to compete at the Junior Olympics, her community stands behind her, eagerly anticipating her next achievements.
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
