Luke Eames stacks up wins in Space City at AAU Junior Olympics

After making his first appearance in the Amateur Athletic Union Junior Olympics Sport Stacking Championships, Luke Eames returned to the Cape Region from the Houston games with a handful of big, shiny medals.

Eames, a rising sixth-grader at Fred Thomas Middle School, qualified for the international tournament after taking third in his age group and 27th overall at the Mid-Atlantic Regionals in East Rutherford, N.J. A model of consistency, Eames parlayed the success of his first in-person tournament into his second, collecting second place in the duo relay, third in the four-player relay and third place overall in his age group. 

Luke competed with a heavy heart, having lost his aunt Lauren E. Banks around the time they were set to leave for Houston. His impressive performance was dedicated to her memory, instilling even more purpose into his pursuit of glory. Only the best in the nation were able to overcome Luke’s impressive times.

“The only other competitors that beat him were on Team USA, [and] that's an accolade that you have to work your way toward,” Nicole Eames said.

Luke plans on making his resume more attractive for Team USA over the next couple of years.

In Houston, the 11-year-old said, he was making great times in the preliminaries in the cycle event, posting results around the seven-second mark, but when it counted, he was just a little off. It was no sweat off Luke’s back, as he reasoned his first cycle at nationals was just breaking the ice of competing on the biggest stage possible. The winning time was just over 7.6 seconds.

“I feel like I could do better than a 7.6,” Luke said, supporting his sub-7-second mark achieved during practices at home.

Ryan Eames, who recorded the family photos for the trip, was thrilled to watch his son perform at his sport’s highest level. 

“I'm so proud of Luke and what he was able to accomplish with it being his first junior olympics,” Ryan said. “It was a great experience; everybody at the competition was so welcoming and willing to help when we had questions or weren't sure about something. We can't wait to do next year's competition in Des Moines, Iowa.”

Des Moines will need to put on quite the show for the Eames family, who got their first taste of the iconic Texas restaurant chain Whataburger and the full experience of a true steakhouse in the Lone Star state.

Luke had two words to sum up his Texas adventure.

“Houston rules!” he exclaimed.