Imagine all the colors of the rainbow, running, jumping, throwing in virtually every direction at once. Add periodic cracks from starters' pistols, blaring PA announcements and the screams of thousands of fans, parents and athletes, all packed together in heat and humidity beneath canopies and tents that loom in over the track like WWE fans at a heated cage match.

For good measure, toss in thunder, lightning, torrential and high winds and hit "Puree" on the blender setting.

Still, local athletes of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Pacers Youth Running Club more than held their own in this crazy crucible, with first-timers faring well and veterans also rising to the occasion at USA Track and Field's Junior Olympics State Championship meet last weekend at N.C. Central University.

Tyler Yandrofsky, 8, admitted he was "sort of" scared competing in the state meet for the first time, "but I liked it a lot. I liked running the 200."

Yandrofsky notched a personal best in the 200 meters (37.77) and 400 meters (1:27.28).

Also competing for the first time was Bantam (9-10 bracket) speedster Rebecca Smoots, 9, whose 15.55-second 100-meter dash also reflected a personal best, as did her 200-meter effort (35.45) and high jump.

The top five finishers in Durham qualified for the USATF Regional Championship meet, to be held July 10-13 at Rock Hill, S.C. Competitors there will hail from the Carolinas, Georgia, Virginia and the Potomac Valley area.

Silas Hill, 15, qualified via fourth-place finishes in both the Intermediate (15-16) boys' 3,000 meters on Friday night (10:17) and in Sunday morning's cooler and more hospitable 1,500 meters (4:37.44).

"It was perfect," Hill said of the conditions for his 1,500. "It was overcast, with little or no wind and nice humidity. It ended up being a 23-second PR ... my best by 23 seconds."

Likewise, Sam Dunson's first place in the Midget boys' (11-12) 3,000 meters (10:54.06) and second -place finish in the 1,500 (5:05.77) also qualified him for the regionals in two events.

Due to a computer misread of his previous best time of 5:11 in the 1,500 as 5 hours -- yes, 5 hours and 11 minutes (as opposed to five minutes, eleven seconds) -- Dunson had to make do in a slower heat to post an overall second place.

"My seed time actually put me in the slow heat," he said. "One guy in the other heat actually beat me by about a second. I was back in third place with a lap (to go), and then I passed the front two."

First-time high-jumper Simon Dunson cleared 3-8, good enough for third place and a trip to regionals. Molly Palmer also qualified courtesy of a third-place in her heat of the Bantam girls' (9-10) 800 meters in 2:57.22.

"I went out really hard and then (relaxed), but I started running fast again on the straightaway of the second lap," Palmer said. "I went past a few people then, and then at the end I just did my big sprint."

Harrison Young qualified for regionals with a fifth-place toss in the Midget (11-12) boys' javelin (28.75 meters). He also competed in the long jump (13-11.75) and 200 meters (31.12).

Alexa Young posted a personal best in the second half of a tough 400-, 800-meter double, and placed among the top eight finishers in the 800.

Established in the 1970s, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Pacers Running Club is a non-profit, independent group club for boys and girls from 7 to 18 years of age. No try-outs are necessary for either the spring track and field season or the upcoming cross-country running program this fall. Competition remains secondary to an emphasis on participation and self-improvement, which are at the heart of the Pacers' philosophy.

Over 100 young athletes participated in Pacers' spring season in 2008, coached this year by Meredith Bolon and (your humble correspondent) Randy Young, assisted by a host of running experts and volunteers. Other specialized group coaches included Kelly Young, Isabella Archer, Tina Clossick, Jimmy Barbee, Greg Cordell, Sonia Davis, Wendell Gilland, Joan Nesbit Mabe, Todd Bolon, Matt Villemain, UNC varsity track and field's Olympic-hopeful high jumper Donte Nall and a large number of UNC club athletes, who volunteered regularly.

An intra-squad track meet in early April established benchmarks for each Pacer in a running event, and a second time-trial meet in May gave evidence of the runners' improvement.

Over and above the time trial meets, several Pacers distinguished themselves on the roads of Chapel Hill at local road races held this spring.

Molly Palmer finished second (27:24) in the 12-and-under bracket of the Franklin 5000 road race in April. Sam Dunson, stood atop the boys' under-12 medal stand (18:41), with the Pacers' Connor McDonald, 10, finishing second in 24:38.

In the Girls on the Run's Wondergirl 5K held this spring, longtime Pacer Alexa Young captured the girls' 11-14 age group (21:43), while sibling Harrison Young (23:59) struck gold in the boys' 10-and-under bracket.

While UNC baseball's "Road to Omaha" ended in disappointment, the Dunson siblings and Molly Palmer all hope a top-three finish at the regionals leads back to Omaha for the Junior Olympics National Championships, July 22-27.

Next up for most of the Pacers, however, will be the cross-country season, scheduled to begin on Tuesday, Sept. 2, the day after Labor Day. Practices will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout the fall through late November. Start times for the one-hour practices will likely be either 4:30 or 4:45 p.m.

Plans for the fall include preparation for cross-country races like the local Run for the Kids 5K Trail Run in Chapel Hill, the Pumpkin Run 4K, a camping-training trip to the North Carolina mountains, the annual Greensboro Invitational Meet and the State and Regional USATF Cross-Country Championship meets in November. Other favorite activities will include such annual rites as scavenger hunts and relays with the UNC Cross-Country Club.