For some kids, summer afternoons consist of playing video games, eating popsicles, and taking the occasional family vacation. The Central City Cheetahs choose to spend their summer afternoons in a different fashion: competing in track and field competitions and shattering state records in the process.

The Cheetahs compete in the summer and are a grassroots program funded by Salt Lake County Parks and Recreation. The team is comprised of athletes ages 6 to 18 who compete at the local level as well as the regional and national level, at USATF's national championships.

Coach Roland Tolbert, now in his 24th year with the Cheetahs, feels that this year's squad is easily one of the best teams he's ever had and saw them take home 80 medals at the USATF state championships, with 30 of those being gold. They also won 11 medals at the regional championships and qualified 13 athletes for the National Junior Olympics in doing so.

The Cheetahs' youth girls relay team of Janie Kearl, Maureen Haley, Marleigh Petras, Jane Maus, Molly Vroom, and Katie Houser broke both the 4x100-meter and 4x400 relay state records, beating the previous 4x400 time by more than 20 seconds.

"It was a long day and these girls were really tired and beat up and we kind of hesitated to let them run the 4x400, but they got together and decided on their own that they wanted to do it and ended up breaking the record. It was a great way to end the meet and sum up our weekend,"

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said Tolbert.

Jaron Bytheway, a long jumper at East High School, broke the state long jump record with a jump measuring 23 feet, 6 inches. High school athletes like Bytheway use the Cheetahs as a means to further their development while school is not in session.

"Most of our high school athletes are at the elite level and want to gain some national exposure and compete on the national stage," said Tolbert.

Maureen Haley, or Mo for short, is in her eighth year with the Cheetahs and plans to run at Judge Memorial as a freshman.

"I really enjoy [my time with the Cheetahs]. It's like a second home for me out here," she said.

Every Cheetah has a different story about why they decided to spend their summers competing in track and field.

Katherine Maus, 16, was watching her sister run for the Cheetahs when she was called down out of the stands in her pajamas to fill a spot in one of the relays and was instantly hooked.

The Cheetahs are sending eight athletes of the 13 that qualified to the National Junior Olympic Track and Field Championships in Greensboro, N.C. Tavita Havili, 12, will be competing in the 100 and the 4x100. Terrance Taumua will be competing in the 400 as well as the 4x100. The championships begin July 28th and culminate on Aug. 2 at North Carolina A&T State University. Tolbert hopes to come home with some medals, but admits that it's not going to be easy.

"It's tough because you've got the best of the best there. I think we're going for the experience but we're also going to see if these kids can step up because you never know. It's always good to challenge them and take them to another level to see how they stack up. We want to be pushed and we're going to nationals to better ourselves," he said.

After the Junior Olympics, the Cheetahs will look ahead to next summer. Tolbert encourages athletes of all skill levels to come run with the Cheetahs.

"We're an open county program," Tolbert said. "We don't try out. We don't cut. We treat everyone the same whether you're on the local level and you want to be out here to have fun or whether you're at elite status and you've been to nationals before. If you're a Cheetah, you're a Cheetah and that's our only rule."

While some Cheetahs might enjoy the occasional popsicle, you can bet these kids are making good use of their time off from school this summer. In fact, they're making record-breaking use of their time.