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By MACKENZEE SIMMS | Staff Writer

HELENA – Over the summer, Helena native Aspen Warren represented the United States at the Coast 2 Coast International Athletics track and field meet held in Queensland, Australia.

Coast 2 Coast International Athletics is an organization that hosts a yearly meet in Australia to give young athletes the opportunity to travel and compete on the international stage.

Like his teammates from around the United States, Warren qualified for the Coast 2 Coast meet due to the incredible work and dedication he applied every day as an athlete while he attended Helena High School.

“I had been training basically my whole high school career for it,” Warren said. “But when I received the invitation to go in August 2023, I was training for it up until when I went in July. The training was definitely hard, but very worth it.”

The training Warren completed at home had very different conditions than he would face in Australia, but according to him, this was actually an advantage.

In Alabama, July means intense summertime heat and humidity. In Australia, July is the middle of winter with temperatures in the day ranging from 60-70 degrees. For Warren, this was the perfect conditions to race.

“Honestly, since I had been training in summertime here, I was in really good shape when I went to Australia because it wasn’t like a freezing cold winter,” Warren said. “When I ended up racing, the weather played a big part in me performing really well because I’ve been training in the summer heat.”

On the Monday of competition, Warren ran in the men’s 1500-meter race with a time of 5:08:53. The following day, Warren competed in the men’s 800-meter run, finishing with a time of 2:02:39. These times resulted in two victories.

But for Warren, wining wasn’t everything.

“It was honestly a breakthrough race for me,” Warren said. “I was honestly just happy to be there, and I didn’t really care how I did. Obviously, I was training hard for it and wanted to do the best that I could, but I was just happy to be there.”

In addition to proving his skills on the international stage, Warren was also able to interact with other athlete from various countries.

“I met people from all over the world,” Warren said. “I met some professional athletes and national athletes, even people that competed in Paris. It was a really good experience. I made a ton of connections and met so many people.”

Warren even developed new connections with other athletes from around the United States, despite not meeting any of his teammates prior to arriving at the airport.

“I was the only athlete from the state of Alabama that that was going,” Warren said. “You don’t realize how big the U.S. is until you meet people from across the country. I learned a lot.”

The cohort of athletes formed at the Coast 2 Coast meet were able to bond over their sport and over new experiences in Australia, but the end of the meet didn’t mark the end of the trip.

On the way back from Australia, the group made a detour to Honolulu, Hawaii where they explored the island and the magical scenery.

“Leading up to the competition, obviously we had fun, but we were locked in and we were being serious and just focusing on the meet,” Warren said. “But after we all finished the meet, our guards went down and we were able to actually enjoy ourselves, not having to stress about a big competitive track meet and just enjoy ourselves in Hawaii.”

Beyond the memories he made, Warren also learned lessons on his trip that he will carry with him as he moves to his next chapter running track at the University of Montevallo.

“One thing I learned is that there is something to learn from everybody that you meet,” Warren said. “You just have to be willing to get to know them and be open minded about things.”