will race on behalf
of U.S. in Australia
Old Bridge teen on track
to realize her dreams
Jaclyn Daya, 17,
will race on behalf
FARRAH MAFFAI Jaclyn Daya of Old Bridge is one of 30 physically challenged athletes specially selected from throughout the U.S. to compete in the Junior National Championships in Australia this year.
of U.S. in Australia
By sue m. morgan
Staff Writer
Racing around the asphalt track surrounding the perimeter of the Old Bridge High School football field, Jaclyn Daya uses her upper body to fiercely propel the three wheels of her track chair, sometimes passing her teammates as they run the course on foot.
For Jaclyn, 17, it is another hour of practice with the high school’s girls’ track team — another hour of wheeling the elongated Racer track chair around the course she shares with her running and jogging teammates.
After she’s done the course, Jaclyn moves on to the nearby weight room to do arm curls and work on the bench press for another hour.
Those exercises, along with almost daily practices and a positive spirit, have enabled Jaclyn, a high school junior and track team member, to achieve her athletic goals in track and field competitions in the United States and Canada.
On April 8, Jaclyn and her mother Gina will fly to Adelaide, Australia, where the young harrier will represent the United States in the Junior National Championships for wheelchair athletes from April 11-18.
Jaclyn, paralyzed since birth with spina bifida, cannot move her legs. She is one of 30 physically challenged athletes specially selected from throughout the United States to compete in various track and field events in the land down under this year.
The Dayas learned of the competition in Australia through Trish Yurochko, coach of the Lightning Wheels, a track and field team for wheelchair athletes, which is based at Children’s Specialized Hospital in Mountainside.
"Trish put in the application for her to go to Australia," Gina Daya explained.
"She’s very helpful and a great coach," said the pleasant, somewhat shy Jaclyn. "She’s taught me so many things."
While in Australia, Jaclyn will compete in a pentathlon consisting of a long-distance run, a short-distance run, javelin, shot put and discus, Gina Daya said.
Last June, Jaclyn placed first in a pentathlon of those same five events at the Junior National Wheelchair Championships held in New London, Conn. That competition, held in a different state each year, draws wheelchair athletes nationwide, Gina Daya noted.
The competition in Australia is that country’s answer to the Junior National Wheelchair Championships, except that competitors from throughout the world are invited, Gina Daya added.
Back on this continent, Jaclyn has also traveled to California and to Windsor, Canada, to face off against those of similar age and ability in track and field.
"The kids are classified according to their ability," Gina Daya said. "There are different divisions for ages."
Presently, Jaclyn usually competes with other wheelchair athletes ranging in age from 16 to 18, her mother explained.
At the high school, Jaclyn has been a member of the girls’ track team for two years. She practices with them, travels with them to competitions, and occasionally competes with able-bodied runners, Gina Daya stated.
Both mother and daughter are grateful to the team’s two coaches, Marc Willems and Jeff Mastroly, for the training, encouragement and support they’ve given Jaclyn.
"Both of them go out of their way to help me," Jaclyn said.
When the other teenage boy and girl runners first saw Jaclyn, as a sophomore, pushing her three-wheeled, elongated track chair along the track, they were a bit taken aback by the sight, the young athlete recalled.
"In the beginning, everyone was surprised by it," Jaclyn said. "Now they think the track chair is really cool."
Overall her peers are very supportive and have been propping up her spirit as she prepares to go to Australia, Jaclyn noted.
"My friends wish me a lot of luck," she said.
Jaclyn, herself, is very excited about the trip and the upcoming competition.
"Just being able to compete and represent the United States is a great thing," she said.
Jaclyn actually came to the Lightning Wheels’ team four years ago via the New Jersey Jaguars wheelchair basketball team, Gina Daya said.
"A lot of the players told her, ‘Come out for track; you’ll have fun,’" Gina Daya recalled.
At first, Jaclyn was nervous about trying a new sport, but stuck with it and found out that her teammates were right.
In fact, not only did she enjoy track and field — she excelled once she started participating and placing in national competitions sponsored by Wheelchair Sports, USA, the league that oversees the Lightning Wheels and other regional teams.
"The first year, track was my least favorite sport," Jaclyn said. "Now it’s my favorite."
Although she cannot use her legs, Jaclyn also swims competitively at the Lakeridge Swim Club near her home.
To swim, Jaclyn depends completely on her arms.
"If the limb doesn’t work, [Jaclyn] doesn’t try to use it," Gina Daya said.
Her coach, Marie McDonald, has taught her various arm strokes that have also helped to build her upper-body strength, her mother said.
After using braces and crutches to walk during her elementary school years, Jaclyn opted to use a wheelchair once she entered Carl Sandburg Middle School as a sixth-grader. The wheelchair allowed her a greater sense of independence while traveling from classroom to classroom, her mother said.
"It allows her to keep up with the kids and be independent," Gina Daya said.
After she graduates high school next year, Jaclyn hopes to attend either the University of Arizona’s Tucson campus or the University of Illinois to study athletic training or marine biology. Both schools have extensive wheelchair athletic programs, Jaclyn and her mother said.
Jaclyn would definitely advise anyone in similar circumstances to go for their goals and dreams, whatever they are. In her case, participating in both the school’s track team and Lightning Wheels helped build her confidence, even after a rocky start.
"There were definitely times when I said, ‘What am I doing?’ But I’m glad I stuck with it," she said.
Her advice to all athletes, able-bodied or not, is to persist regardless of the obstacles.
"Don’t give up, and keep trying. You’ll get there," she said. "Never give up on yourself."
Jaclyn has two siblings, brother T.J., 13, an eighth-grader at Sandburg, and sister Jenna, 11, a fifth-grader at McDivitt Elementary School.