Mestler Athletics youth track and field camps to feature Olympian this summer in Eugene

When Vincent Mestler missed out on a summer internship with Nike in 2023, the aspiring entrepreneur did the next best thing: He started his own business.

The distance runner for the Oregon men’s track and field team opened Mestler Athletics last year and hosted a series of weeklong summer track and field camps for kids ages 9 to 14.

The program returns this summer with the first of five consecutive one-week sessions at Sheldon High School starting Monday.

Just as he did last year, Mestler has enlisted several of his Oregon teammates to help coach and teach kids across all disciplines of track and field.

This year, there will also be an Olympian on staff.

NCAA women’s shot put champion Jaida Ross, who secured her spot in the Paris Summer Games on Saturday with a third-place finish at the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials, returns for her second year assisting at the summer track camps.

“I’m excited,” Ross said. “I had a blast last year. It was so fun coaching the kids and seeing their progress over the summer.”

Other Ducks joining Mestler on the coaching staff are multi-event athletes Rafael Raap and Taylor Chocek, distance runners Anika Thompson and Josh Schumacher, middle-distance runner Matti Erickson and javelin thrower Kohana Nakato.

Former South Eugene High standout hurdler Olivia Allen (Villanova) and heptathlete Catie Touchette (Hawaii) are also on staff.

“It was really awesome,” said Mestler as he reflected on the first year of the camps. “Had a great time. It was super successful. I didn’t do the internship but I felt like I got more out of this than the internship.”

Mestler said last year’s camp had approximately 80 kids total — a number that has been exceeded already during the registration process with plenty of room to still grow.

“I feel like I can handle about 50 kids per week and right now I’m sitting between high 20s and low 30s,” Mestler said. “Hoping to push that a little farther.”

The camp will run from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. daily during each week. The cost for a single week is $160 or $700 for all five, with participants also getting free entry into the OTC All-Comers Meet at Hayward Field during their week of camp.

“I’m trying to get more and more kids involved, and get them to learn about track in a healthy environment because that doesn’t always happen,” Mestler said.

For more information or to register, visit summertrackcamps.com.

Follow Chris Hansen on X@chansen_RG or email atchansen@registerguard.com.