Four Belleville students heading for Junior Olympics in Iowa

Four Belleville family members are heading to Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, on July 28, to take part in the 2023 AAU Junior Olympics Games.
The girls are Rickiya Stephenson, 12, who attends McBride Middle School; Ry’Ann Stephenson, 10, who attends Owen Intermediate School; and Ry’Leigh Stephenson, 8, who attends Edgemont Elementary. The sisters all live in the city of Belleville. Also qualifying for the Junior Olympics is their aunt Jeyda Brown, 15, of Sumpter Township, who is home-schooled.
The girls have worked hard to place in the top six in the state of Michigan’s Regionals for Youth Track and Field, said Nicole McGuire, who is the mother of the three sisters and sister to Jeyda Brown.
Jeyda’s mother is Connie Brown.
They have qualified in long jump, javelin, 200m, 400m, 400m relay and 200m.
McGuire said they are hoping the community will help raise money for them to attend this event using gofundme https://gofund.me/2c803136 . The goal is $5,000. They plan to leave Belleville on July 28. The competition runs July 29 through Aug. 5.
The family will need to stay the whole week to participate in the Olympics. McGuire said this is a big achievement and they had to qualify in the top six in their age brackets to even be considered.
“We need your help to get there, as hotel is going to be around $2,500 for a whole week,” she said. “Then they have to get there and back and we have to feed them for the week.”
The four girls run track for the Ann Arbor Youth Track Club, since Belleville does not offer a track club other than at school at McBride and BHS, McGuire said.
McGuire said her daughter will be selling candy, juice boxes, hot dogs, chips, Kool-Aid and bottled water on July 22 from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m at 172 Belle Villa Blvd. with hopes of raising money to attend the Junior Olympics in Iowa.