DUVALL – Madison Yakabouski can run faster than most kids her age, and some people twice her age – and she isn’t even out of elementary school yet.

The 10-year-old Cherry Valley Elementary School student took second place with a time of 68 seconds in the 400-meter at the Hershey Track and Field North American Final Meet in Hershey, Pa., recently.

She was one of 18 athletes who were chosen to go to the meet from the Pacific Northwest region, which includes Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, British Columbia and Alaska.

Yakabouski runs for the Junior Wildcat track and field program that is sponsored by the Snoqualmie Valley Track Club. Junior Wildcats is designed for kids ages 5 to 14. The club, which also includes the Wildcat Track and Field Program for ages 13 to 18, is managed by a team of Snoqualmie Valley volunteers who receive financial support from individuals and businesses that want to share in providing youth the opportunity to run, jump and throw.

She qualified for the national meet by placing first at the Hershey state qualifying meet on July 7 in Shoreline. She took first in both the 200-meter race with a time of 30 seconds, and the 400-meter with a time of 69 seconds.

This advanced her to the regional meet on July 14 in Shoreline, where she placed first in the 400-meter with a time of 68 seconds, and third in the 200-meter with a time of 30 seconds. She was one of only three other athletes in her 400-meter event from the Pacific Northwest region to compete at the Hershey Track and Field North American Finals based on her 68-second finish at the regional meet. Seven other regions, with a total of 480 athletes, took part in the national meet.

Her mother, Brenda, said Yakabouski went into the national meet ranked first based on times she and other athletes had run this season in local meets.

“We knew, based on last year’s performances, that 67 seconds was first, so Yakabouski was ranked first going into the race,” her mother said.

Yakabouski also participated in all-comers meets held at Chief Kanim and Mount Si High School this spring and summer through the track club. She was like a younger version of track star Gail Devers.

“They hated to see her coming because she always walked away with all the first prizes,” her mother said.

At these meets she participated in every sprint, ranging from the 50-meter to the 400-meter, and she also competed in the long jump.

Track coach Rick Divers, who organizes the Junior Wildcats track-and-field program within the Snoqualmie Valley Track Club, helped prepare Yakabouski during the spring and summer season.

“She really has an ability to stay very focused for someone 10 years old, and her parents were very involved in her training,” Divers said. “She was that kid that no one wanted to run against [because] then everyone else was fighting for second or third place.”

Yakabouski said she didn’t think she would take second at nationals in the 400-meter race. But the racing gods smiled on her that day.

After a false start by the girl in the lane next to her, Yakabouski shot off the line and maintained the lead for much of the race. But after about 300 meters, she was passed by Amber Harper of Milledgville, Ga.

“I tried to catch her, but I didn’t have enough speed left,” Yakabouski said.

But the talented athlete wasn’t disappointed, and she’s already looking ahead to the future. Yakabouski’s real love is basketball, and she wants to play for Chief Kanim Middle School next year.

Yakabouski’s summer can hardly be called a vacation. Her quick speed also took her as far as the Junior Olympics National meet, held July 24-29 in Sacramento, Calif., as part of the Junior Wildcat program. She ran the 200-meter race, placing 15th out of 38 people, and took 12th in the 400-meter race in a field of 32.

The fifth-grader said she hates to train but loves to run and travel places. She runs some of her workouts on the treadmill, which usually consist of a quick-then-slow run called a “fartlek.” She also works out in a garage that her parents converted into a weight room.

On alternate days, she practices her sprints on the track at Woodinville High School.

She credits her athleticism to her father who ran track in high school, played football and basketball in college and has dabbled in just about every sport he could think of.

“I got my sports from him, and my mom’s looks,” said Yakabouski, who maintains a 3.5 grade-point average in school.