Team Mildenhall athletes compete against NATO air force allies at Belgian athletics championships

  • Published
  • By Karen Abeyasekere
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  A 352nd Special Operations Support Squadron loadmaster and a 100th Maintenance Squadron Aircraft Structural Maintenance journeyman competed at the Allied Air Forces Athletics Championships at Heusden-Zolder, Belgium, recently.

Also participating in the competition were air force teams from the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Poland, Belgium and Germany. U.S. Air Forces in Europe athletes made up 65 percent of the U.S. Air Force team, whom competed in a wide-array of events Sept. 8. 

Staff Sgt. Shannon Renea Zachary, 352nd SOSS, took part in the shot put and javelin events, and Airman 1st Class Julio Villa, 100th MXS, ran the 1,500-meter and 5K events.

"I was excited when I found out that I'd been chosen for the U.S. Air Force team," Zachary said. "The last time I threw [javelin and shot put] was seven years ago in college. It's a great feeling to be back in there again, and to be doing it at that [Air Force] level."

The 31-year-old, from Dallas, attended college at Oklahoma Christian University and competed in the Southern Athletic Conference indoor (winter) session - consisting of weight throw and shot put; and outdoor session - shot put, hammer throw, discus and javelin events.

Originally, Zachary was picked to compete in the discus event.

"That's what I qualified in and trained for, and was going to Belgium to participate in - but two days before the competition, they dropped the event. So I had to do javelin and shot put instead."

She placed first in shot put and second in javelin, against the NATO air force teams.

When competing against other top athletes from European air forces, Zachary said she felt comfortable with her ability.

"Because I'd thrown in college, I already had the basic mindset and skills, and this was a great opportunity. It was very nice meeting people from other countries air forces, in particular, when we got the chance to socialize with everyone at dinner one evening," she said.

"When you get 'in the ring,' it's individual, but the points you collect contribute to the team - so it's actually a team and individual sport," she said. "That makes it pretty unique."

When training, Zachary attended track meets at RAF Lakenheath, where she qualified for the team, practicing discus three times a week. She trained for javelin in Germany.

"I usually look up videos on the internet of Olympians doing hammer throws, and watch their form and techniques to learn from them," she said.

Lt. Col. David Swanke, 352nd SOSS commander, said he's extremely proud of Zachary and her fitness achievements.

"As an air commando, Staff Sgt. Zachary is a mission-critical joint airdrop inspector and MC-130P Combat Shadow loadmaster. In addition to her superior mission execution, she's a fitness role model, maintaining a high standard - which she has translated into gold and silver accomplishments at the NATO competition," he said.

Villa, 22, made the U.S. Air Force team, competing in the 1,500 meter race and 5K in Belgium.

He's been running competitively since high school.

"I went on to run in college, in California, then naturally progressed when I came into the Air Force," Villa said. "I didn't run competitively at first, but my teacher suggested I try out for the high school team, and it went from there."

The maintainer, whose brother also runs track and field events in college, said he didn't find out until the last minute that he'd been chosen for the team.

"I was preparing for the Air Force marathon, held in September, then a couple of weeks before [the competition in Belgium], I got a phone call from someone from Ramstein [Air Base, Germany] , congratulating me on my selection on the Air Force team. I'd missed the phone call telling me I'd been selected, so this was the first I knew about it," he said. "I immediately started training for my events in the Belgium competition."

When training, Villa runs 60 miles per week, and around 40 miles per week when not in training. He said he usually runs either around base, or in Thetford Forest.

The airman first class said he was ecstatic when he found out he had made the team.

"I'd put in for the cross country even the year before, but didn't get it. I was upset, but brushed it off and just started training harder than ever. So when I found out about my selection on the team, it felt like I'd finally been recognized - the hard work I'd put into my training had finally paid off."

He said Steve Prefontaine, a middle- and long-distance runner in the 1970s had been his inspiration. Prefontaine once held the American record in the seven distance track events from the 2,000 meters 10,000 meters.

"He was a really good runner, and he had a huge mustache," said Villa, laughing, as his own mustache shook. "Prefontaine was a really bold person, and always went out with the attitude, 'I'm gonna win!'"

After conquering the U.S. Air Force team, Villa said his next goal is to compete in the next level of competition, against all branches of the military.

Villa said his leadership has always been extremely supportive where his races are concerned, often encouraging him to sign up for races and pushing him to compete in events.

"Airman Villa is an inspiration to his fellow Airmen and our leadership is proud to have Airmen like him, involved at Air Force-level events with his type of talent," said Senior Master Sgt. Randy Walton, 100th MXS Fabrication Flight chief.

"Even with the challenging maintenance operations tempo, it's beneficial to afford people like him the opportunity to show we're committed to promoting a fit-to-fight Air Force," he said.