Hello athletes, parents and coaches,
Congratulations to Adeem, Alex, Amelia, Andrew, Anna, Annette, Ben, Cam, Cole, Corrina, Ethan, GraceChalmers, Grace Lew, Hanna, Harrison, Isaac, John, Kamila, Katie, Kevin, Kiannah, Lisa, Maddy, Maxine, Mehrdad, Miriam, Molly, Morgan, Noah, Patrick, Phillip, Rathaine, Rhea, Robert, Robin, Sarah, Savanna, Skylar, Taylor, Thomas, Tyra and Vienna, who competed at the CALTAF Classic this past weekend. Among them, these 42 athletes produced some outstanding results. It was wonderful to see CALTAF so well represented by the JD athletes at our club meet. There were many outstanding achievements and many highlights, which I will outline below. Prepare for a long read! I’ve thrown in a few photos (as of yet unedited/cropped) to break up the reading.
From left: Annette, Taylor, Molly, Tyra & Grace warming up
From left: Robert, Noah & Kevin at the 800m start
The JD athletes certainly rose to the occasion and competed very well at this important meet. There were a very impressive 71 personal best performances, with Annette (80mH, 600m, 800m, HJ, LJ) and Mehrdad(100mH heat, 100mH final, 200mH, LJ, TJ) leading the way with an outstanding five personal bests each.Kiannah (100m, 200m, HT, JT) and Lisa (80m, 600m, HJ, DT) each achieved an impressive four personal bests, while Sarah (100m, 200m, 300m), Hanna (200m, 300m, DT), Cole (300m, DT, TJ), Thomas (100m, 200m, JT), Alex (300m, 800m, 1500mSC) and Andrew (80m, HJ, SP) are to be congratulated for achieving three personal bests. Rhea (100m, SP), Miriam (200m, SP), Grace C (100m, 200m), Savanna (200m, 300m),Amelia (100m, DT), Molly (80m, 80mH), Harrison (300m, SP), Ethan (800m, 1500mSC), Ben (300m, LJ),Phillip (200m, 800m), John (100m, 200m) and Adeem (HJ, DT) each recorded two personal bests, whileMaxine (100m), Maddy (1500mSC), Kamila (2000m), Tyra (80m), Morgan (80mH), Taylor (80m), Rathaine(LJ), Skylar (SP), Isaac (100m), Kevin (1200m) and Patrick (600m) each achieved a personal best in one of their events. Well done athletes – that is an impressive list!
Some of the most impressive personal bests included: Patrick (-18.07s in the 600m), Adeem (+4.09m in the DT), Andrew (just shy of +1m in the SP), Andrew (+20cm in the HJ), Phillip (-6.51s in the 800m), Alex(-38.76s in the 1500mSC), Mehrdad (+21cm in the LJ), Maddy (-10.67s in the 1500mSC), Kiannah (just shy of half a metre in the JT), Miriam (just shy of half a metre in the SP), Kamila (-23.70s in the 2000m), Hanna(70cm in the DT), Annette (20cm in the LJ), Lisa (+2.04m in the DT), Harrison (+49cm in the SP), Ethan(-4.26s in the 800m), Ethan (-26.15s in the 1500mSC), Cole (+84cm in the DT) and Thomas (+5.49m in the JT). Well done athletes! You should be very proud of those performances.
The coaches would especially like to acknowledge the performances of athletes Patrick, Grace Lew andAnnette, the only bantams (2000/2001) who took on the challenge of competing in all eight bantam events. While some athletes avoided the dreaded distance events, and others chose not to compete in some of the field events, these three determined and tough athletes participated in all eight events. Patrick ran a very impressive 18.07s PB of 2:04.37s in the 600m, causing Coach Blair to comment that, “ Patrick’s 600 was the best race I’ve seen him run.” Annette cleared a 20cm PB of 4.13m in the long jump, a very impressive jump for a bantam, and cleared a 5cm PB height of 1.35m in the high jump. In her first high jump competition,Grace cleared an impressive 1.15m, while in the 600m and 800m, Grace ran with great determination and toughness. Well done Patrick, Grace and Annette – the coaches are most impressed! Quality and quantity!
Grace in the 80m
Patrick in the 80m hurdles
I would like to congratulate our bantam provincial medallists, who captured overall provincial championships medals either on Saturday or Sunday in the bantam multiple events. On Saturday, Annette won the provincial silver medal, accumulating an impressive 22 points in the four events (80mH, 800m, HJ and DT) to place 2ndof thirty-nine athletes. Annette placed 2nd in the 80m hurdles in a PB time 14.74s, 2nd in the 800m in a PB time 2:32.51s, and 3rd in the high jump with a 5cm personal best jump of 1.35m to place second overall. Well done Annette! Rathaine finished not far behind Annette with 14 points, placing 3rd of the thirty-two athletes and capturing the overall bronze medal. Rathaine finished 1st of thirty-nine athletes in the discus with a very impressive 27.13m throw, and 4th of thirty-two athletes in the high jump, where she cleared 1.30m, earning enough points in those two events to claim the bronze. Well done Rathaine! Coach Blair’s comment on Rathaine’s weekend was, “I thought Rathaine did extremely well in the events she was trying for the first time. Tied for 4th in HJ!” On Sunday, Molly won the provincial bronze medal, accumulating an impressive 17 points in the four events (80m, 600m, LJ and SP) to place 3rd of forty athletes. Molly placed 1st in the 80m in a PB and simply outstanding time of 10.88s (2/10ths off the meet record set in 2009) and 5th in her very first attempt at the 600m, where she finished in 1:53.40s. Well done Molly! Congratulations to our provincial medallists in the bantam multiple events – Annette, Molly and Rathaine. Well done ladies!
From left: Rathaine and Annette
Overall bronze & silver medals
From left: Annette Molly Lisa and Tyra
Provincial Champions: 4×100 & medley relays
Our bantam girls’ relay teams ran very well, and also captured provincial championship medals. The 4x100m relay team of Molly to Annette to Tyra to Lisa captured the gold medal, finishing 1st of four teams in 56.81s. This same group of athletes entered the bantam medley relay, with Molly running the first/400m leg, Lisa andTyra running the 200m/2nd and 3rd legs, and Annette running the 800m/anchor. It proved to be an unbeatable combination. The team finished in 4:55.77s to place 1st and capture the provincial gold medal. Congratulations to Molly, Annette, Lisa and Tyra – Provincial Champions and gold medalists in the 4x100m and medley relays. Well done ladies!
Kamila in the 1200m 
Mehrdad in the 200m hurdles
Two JD first-year midget athletes placed first and ran the times required to be named to the team which will represent Alberta at Legion Nationals in Langley, British Columbia, from 9th to 11th August. In the midget women’s 1200m, Kamila placed 1st of fifteen athletes in 3:43.36s, easily beating the standard required of3:47.00s. In the midget men’s 200m hurdles, Mehrdad placed 1st of eleven athletes in 26.16s, beating the standard of 27.20s. Mehrdad also beat the meet record of 27.46s, and his own provincial record of 26.56s, which he set at the second New Balance meet in May. Team Alberta for Legion Nationals and Team Alberta for the Western Canadian Midget and Youth Championships (WCC) here in Calgary on 27th and 28th July will be announced in the next week, and we hope that both of these athletes will be awarded a place on both teams. Congratulations Kamila and Mehrdad – an outstanding achievement to qualify for the Alberta teams, especially given that you are both first-year midgets.
In the 2000m, Kamila placed 2nd of eleven athletes, finishing in 6:30.56s, a remarkable 23.70s personal best.Kamila’s time topped the Team Alberta Legion standard of 6:51.00, and the provincial record for 14 years and under of 6:38.89s. Congratulations Kamila – an outstanding accomplishment for a first-year midget.
Kamila & Corrina at the start line
John and Thomas in the 200m heats
The JD sprinters achieved a first for the JD Group. Every athlete who had competed in the 200m previously –Sarah, Kiannah, Miriam, Grace, Savanna, Hanna, Thomas, Phillip, and John – achieved a personal best in the 200m – an impressive feat at any time, but especially given that the 200m heats took place on Friday evening, when rain, wind, cold temperatures and puddles made the conditions far from conducive to running personal bests. Well done 200m runners! A memorable string of PBs!
The 200m PB celebratory dance!
From left: Kiannah, Miriam, Savanna & Grace
Harrison in the 200m hurdles
Harrison entered the 200m hurdles for the first time and amazed his coaches and shocked his opponents by finishing 3rd of eleven athletes in 27.43s. Harrison’s time beat the meet record of 27.46s and met the standard required to compete at Legion Nations in Langley in August! Well done Harrison – I see intermediate hurdles in your future!
In his first pole vault competition, Mehrdad cleared 2.50m, a very respectable height for a midget athlete who had only five training sessions in the event prior to the competition. Coach Bob will be very pleased. Well doneMehrdad!
Rathaine set a new meet record in the bantam discus. Her throw of 27.13m beat (“shattered” was the word Coach Michelle used – very appropriate!) the previous record of 22.22m by a remarkable 4.91m. Well doneRathaine! It is a pity that Alberta does not keep provincial records for bantams.
There were many top five finishes by the JD midgets (1998/1999), which bodes well for medals at Midget Provincials that will be held in Sherwood Park on 20th and 21st July: Maddy (2nd in the 1500mSC), Kamila (1stin the 1200m and 2nd in the 2000m), Anna (3rd in the 1500mSC and 5th in javelin), Hanna (1st in the hammer and 2nd in discus), Harrison (3rd in the 200m hurdles), Ethan (4th in the 1500mSC), Noah (3rd in the 1500mSC), Cole (3rd in triple jump), Thomas (3rd in javelin), Alex (5th in the 1500mSC), Mehrdad (1st in pole vault, 1st in 200m hurdles, 1st in triple jump, and 3rd in 100m hurdles), Kiannah (4th in the hammer) andAmelia (5th in the discus). Well done midget athletes! This list is especially impressive given that the majority of you are first-year midgets.
Maddy ran a very impressive 1500m steeplechase to place 2nd, missing the standard required to compete at Legion Nationals by less than half a second. Not bad for someone who just starting training in the steeplechase a few weeks ago, and who was competing in only her second steeplechase competition! Well done Maddy!
Maddy in the 1500m steeplechase
Ethan in the 1500m steeplechase
In the midget men’s 1500m steeplechase, Noah finished 3rd in 4:54.11s, while Ethan finished 4th in a 26.15s PB time of 4:59.06. Both boys beat the standard required to compete at Legion Nationals of 5:05.00s. Alexwas not far behind his teammates, finishing in 5:13.37s, a very impressive PB for Alex of 38.76s. While the lack of water jump in this race would account for some of Alex and Ethan’s PBs, certainly not 26 and 39 seconds. Well done steeplechasers – Noah, Ethan and Alex!
The throwers were at it again, with some outstanding results. Coach Michelle recalled the following highlights:Thomas added 5.49m to his PB in the javelin, throwing 39.11m to finish 3rd of fifteen athletes, while Coleplaced 9th and Ben took part in his first ever javelin competition. In the midget boys’ discus, Cole came 8th in a very strong field with a 84cm PB of 26.45m. In bantam girls’ discus, Rathaine placed 1st of 39 athletes, and SMASHED the meet record by 4.91m! She threw 27.13m. Skylar came in 3rd with a PB 8.07m, while Lisa had a PB of over 2 meters, throwing 13.41m. Morgan took part in her first discus competition. In midget girls’ javelin, the ladies competed during the mini rain storm we had on Saturday. Anna placed fifth and Kiannahhad a 45cm personal best of 14.48. Hanna won the hammer throw competition, while Kiannah threw the hammer a personal best 14.83m. In the bantam girls shot put, Rathaine placed first with a throw of 9.04, while Skylar came in 3rd and threw a 6cm PB of 8.07. In bantam boys shot put, Adeem placed second, andAndrew threw a 96cm PB of 5.40m. In the bantam boys’ discus, Adeem placed second with a very impressive 4.09m PB throw of 24.32m, while Andrew and Patrick took part in their first ever discus competition. In midget girls’ shot put, Miriam and Rhea both earned themselves PBs – Miriam a 48cm PB of 5.70m and Rheaa 4cm PB of 5.68m. In midget boys’ shot put, Harrison placed 8th and threw a half metre PB of 10.23m. In midget girls discus, Hanna placed 2nd with a 70cm PB of 23.16, Amelia placed 5th with a PB of 17.44, andMaxine competed in her first ever discus competition. In summary, Coach Michelle wrote, “Overall a great meet. We had some veteran throwers doing awesome and some rookie throwers trying things out for the first time. I think next year this time we are going to have an awesome throws team!” I couldn’t agree more. The CALTAF throwers are quickly becoming known in Alberta as a force to be reckoned with.
Hanna in the shot put competition
Cole in the triple jump
Mehrdad finished 1st in the triple jump with a personal best jump of 10.95m, while Cole placed 3rd with a personal best jump of 9.79m. Well done boys! I see provincial medals in your near future!
Sarah (100m, 200m, 300m), Kiannah (100m, 200m), Grace (100m, 200m), Savanna (200m, 300m),Annette (80mH, 600m, 800m), Molly (80m, 80mH), Lisa (80m, 600m), Ethan (800m, 1200mSC), Thomas(100m, 200m), Phillip (200m, 800m), Alex (300m, 800m, 1500mSc) and John (100m, 200m) proved how much stronger they are becoming by achieving a personal best in all of their running events. Well done athletes!
Blair and I were both impressed with the bantam 600m, where Annette (1:49), Lisa (2:07) and Patrick (2:04) ran PBs. However, what really caught our attention were the races by some of the athletes who had never tried the event before – particularly the efforts and toughness demonstrated by Molly (1:53), Tyra (2:02),Morgan (2:12), Robin (2:06), Grace L (2:17), Taylor (2:07) and Rathaine (2:07). Rathaine actually admitted that the 600m was not as bad as she had feared. J Well done bantam runners – it is great to see you trying new distances.
The jumpers had a great weekend, with some impressive PBs. Andrew impressed his coaches and teammates in the high jump by clearing a 20cm PB height of 1.30m. The fact that Andrew is affectionately known as “Timbit” by his teammates will give a clue as to why that height is so impressive. Annette added another 20cm to her PB in the long jump to clear 4.13m – an impressive jump for a bantam athlete. Annette placed 4th of forty athletes in the long jump. Annette also added 5cm to her PB in the high jump, clearing 1.35m. This placed Annette 3rd in a field of thirty-two athletes. In her very first high jump competition, bantamGrace L cleared 1.15m, causing Coach Esther to comment that, Grace gets off the ground so well that it appears that she has springs in her legs. Mehrdad and Cole placed 1st and 3rd in the triple jump competition, while Ben added another 7cm to his PB in the long jump. Adeem and Lisa both added 5cm to their PBs in the high jump. In her first high jump competition, bantam Rathaine cleared 1.30m to finish an impressive 4th of thirty-two athletes. Mehrdad added another 21cm to his PB in the long jump, clearing 5.24m. Well done jumpers!
Andrew at high jump
Vienna in the 100m
In her first 100m competition, first-year midget Vienna ran a very impressive race, finishing well ahead of many of the older athletes in 13.61s. Well done Vienna!
Cam decided to test the nerves of her coaches this weekend by competing in the 800m, 1200m and Father’s Day race despite her broken arm. Thankfully, Cam survived all three starts.
The bantam boys’ medley relay team of Patrick (400m) to Andrew (200m) to Adeem (200m) to CheetahMatthew Fowlow (800m) won the gold medal in 5:09.14s. Although the team was the only one entered, the boys earned their gold medals with some great running. A special thank you to Matthew, who trains with CALTAF’s Cheetahs group. Matthew kindly accepted the challenge of running up with the older bantam athletes when we short a team member. Matthew ran a very strong 800m anchor leg, keeping the team in the race against the girls. Congratulations Provincial Champions and gold medallists in the medley relay – Patrick, Andrew, Adeem and Matthew.
Jolene with CALTAF Board Chair Gary Foster
Bantam Medley Champions: Cake!! Who needs medals?
From left: Adeem, Patrick, Matthew & Andrew
The JD athletes, parents and coaches would like to wish Jolene Dressler, the CALTAF administrator, all the best in her retirement. Jolene has served CALTAF tirelessly for over thirteen years, and is retiring to spend more time with her family. We are grateful beyond words for your dedication to CALTAF and the countless hours that you have worked on behalf of the JD Group. We will miss you! Go well!
Tyra and her dad, Ryan, in the Father’s Day race
Robert & Phillip with their dads, Trevor & Bruce
The JD coaches and athletes would like to thank the many JD parents who gave up their weekend to work as volunteers and/or to cheer on the team. We are most grateful for your continued and most generous support.
Going for gold! Cam and Grace with their dads Rob and Colin
Congratulations again to all athletes (and Dads!) who competed at the CALTAF Classic – some truly outstanding results! Well done! Robin
(all photos by Laura Barclay)
