Leppke in Junior Olympics
Ben Leppke, the son of Ann and Lyle Leppke, Marion, is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Marion Middle School.
He is shown above as he received 30th in the triple jump, with 34'06" in competition during the National Junior Olympics in Omaha, Neb. He jumped in the 13-14-year-old division. Competition was June 23-28.
Qualifying meets, prior to the Nationals, included the Missouri Valley Championship held at Emporia State University where Ben placed first with a personal best of 36'04" in the triple jump. He also long jumped 17'02" and placed fourth, which qualified him to advance in both events to the regionals at Tulsa.
The Region 9 meet, at Tulsa, found Ben second in the triple (34'01") and fifth in the long jump (16'06") which advanced him to the Nationals.
Region 9 includes Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The nationals had participants from all 50 states.
