For Pickerington Elementary School kindergartner Stacy McAllister, sports have been a part of his life since he could walk. The 6-year-old, who started running track at age 2 and playing football at age 4, is not only a speedy superstar, but also dreams of going to the Olympics one day.
“As soon as he was maybe 2 years old, we put him in his very first pee-wee (track) meet and he took second place,” says Tori McAllister, Stacy’s mom. “He loved it, and so after that it really was just something we all were looking forward to because he was really a natural.”
As a sprinter, Stacy currently runs the 60-meter and 200-meter dash for indoor track, in which he is nationally ranked as a 6-year-old, and the 100-meter and 200-meter dash for outdoor track.
Despite the fact that Pickerington doesn’t have a track team for athletes as young as Stacy, he finds success with the Ohio Heat Track Club, coached by Tremayne Peppers. In 2019, Stacy traveled to Orlando with his family to compete in track at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
This competition is where he received gold medals in all of the events in which he competed and gave Stacy his national rank in track for the 55-, 100- and 200-meter dashes at just 5 years old.
Although he had only just turned 5 at the time, McAllister says that Stacy’s first time going to the primaries is his biggest achievement in sports so far.
“Last year we didn’t do it because of COVID. A year before, he was able to go down there and he gold-medaled in all of the events that he ran in, so that was cool,” McAllister says. “We were stoked. I would say he’s really made some noise for the track world for kids that age.”
In total, Stacy has won seven gold medals throughout his time running track with Ohio Heat.
Stacy also plays for the Mini Tigers football team through the Pickerington Youth Athletic Association (PYAA).
He’s a running back on offense and a safety on defense. As a kindergartener, he gets to play with kids as old as second grade, but McAllister says Stacy holds his own against them.
“This past year, he played for the Mini Tigers, and that was kindergarten through second grade, so most of his teammates were second-graders, but Stacy had a super rewarding year,” she says. “People were able to see his skill and his talent up close, so that was cool.”
Stacy’s older brother, Edmund, is in fourth grade and, like his brother, competes in both football and track. Edmund, who also runs for Ohio Heat, is nationally ranked in the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes. Edmund also played football in the PYAA senior division as a fourth-grader this past year as a quarterback and running back on offense and a defensive back on defense.
According to McAllister, Edmund has been a big influence on Stacy and helped to inspire his love of sports.
“I like it because my brother runs track, too,” Stacy says.
For McAllister, the most rewarding part about parenting such speedy kids is watching them succeed and have fun.
“Being able to see them to see them compete on all levels, (and) love what they’re doing, that’s probably the most rewarding part because you want to see your kids happy,” she says.
As for future plans with the boys, McAllister wants to make sure that she can provide them with all the tools necessary for success as well as making sure that they keep up with their academics.
“I really feel like Stacy will take on track, and he always tells me that he’s pretty sure he’s going to go to the Olympics,” she says. “We always set our hearts on just making sure that we continue to provide resources so that he can have his dream come true.”
Helen Widman is an editorial assistant. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
