Young athletes representing 22 local junior high and middle schools, including Oakdale Junior High and Cardozo Middle School in Riverbank, are preparing to compete at the 72nd Annual Harold Pope Junior Relays on Saturday, May 11 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Modesto Junior College Track & Field.

Sponsored by the Stanislaus County Office of Education (SCOE), the Education Foundation of Stanislaus County, Save Mart CARES and Sutter Health, the public is invited to attend. Admission and parking are free.

The annual Harold Pope Junior Relays is dedicated to the memory of Harold Pope (Oct. 24, 1932 – Oct. 31, 2016). The Junior Relays became the Harold Pope Junior Relays in 2000 in honor of his 47 years of coaching, mentoring, and teaching youth in Stanislaus County. Pope was a principal, superintendent, coach, bus driver, motivator, and teacher in Valley Home.

The Junior Relays include a variety of track and field events. Schools participating this year include Big Valley Christian, Cardozo, Cesar Chavez, Creekside, Denair, Dutcher, Glick, Hart-Ransom, Hickman, La Loma, Mountain View, Oakdale, Our Lady of Fatima, Paradise, Prescott, Roosevelt, Ross, Savage, Somerset, Turlock, Waterford, and Yolo.