12-year-old Jonas Clay, of Kaysville, earned his second All-American honor at the AAU Nationals in Charlotte, North Carolina recently with a 17th-place finish in the boys 11-12-year-old division. 

“It was harder this year for me because I hadn’t been able to run as much as usual because I was busy with other sports, so I wasn’t training as much,” Jonas said. “Even though I felt less prepared, I had done it quite a few times, so I knew I didn’t have to worry about anything else except just running.”

Race Cats coach Jami Caldwell said, “Jonas is always a really strong runner,” noting that he also placed in the top three in each of his races this season and won the Triple Crown series. 

Also competing at nationals Dec. 4 were Jacob Johnson – who also earned All-American recognition with an 11th-place finish in the 8-and-under division – along with Lydia Johnson, Jacob’s sister, and siblings Jackson and Juliana Grover.

Jonas, son of Stephen and Monica Clay of Kaysville, has been to nationals every year since 2018 and was part of the second-place boys 11-12 team last season. That finish earned the seventh grader at Shoreline Junior High School in Layton his first All-American recognition. 

He started running through a program at the Layton Recreation Center when he was six years old. “He got really into it, loved it and excelled at it,” Stephen Clay said. “I used to run with him, but he’s too fast for me now and goes for runs on his own. Soon, he’ll start training with Davis High School.”

Jonas said he appreciates the sportsmanship he has seen in the running community. “I like how you want everyone to do well,” he said, noting that his work in the sport has also increased his ability to do hard things.

Stephen has seen his son learn how to set goals and work hard to accomplish them. “That self-motivation that he is full of translates into so many areas in life,” Stephen said. “Jonas is never satisfied and is always pushing harder.”

“I was so proud of my athletes that went to nationals,” Caldwell said. “They’re incredible kids and I love seeing them gain confidence in themselves and learn to love running.”