I would like to congratulate all of the JD athletes – Nathanael, Eric, Andrew, Nathan, Joel, Patrick, Sean, Sahad, Max, Lyle, Harry, Tyler, Matt, Jeremy Kinnear, Quinn, Janessa, Delainy, Dana, Jill, Anna, Lauren Kruger, Meghan, Madelaine, Nikki, Kirsten, Reagan, Emma, Rhea, Mia, Anise, Marissa, Heather, Kiannah, Caitlin, Hawaa, Grace, Cam, Hanna and Lauren Yardley – who participated in the CALTAF Classic this past weekend. Among them, these thirty-nine athletes produced some outstanding results.Given the rather challenging conditions, particularly on Saturday, I am most impressed that there were fifty-nine personal best performances recorded by JD athletes during the meet – an impressive feat at any time, but especially given the wet, windy and cool conditions. Quinn and Captain Emma led the way, with each recording a very impressive four personal best performances. Dana, Anna, Meghan, Mia, Caitlin, Hanna, Lauren Y, Sahad and Matt achieved personal bests in an impressive three events, while Delainy, Rhea, Andrew, Nathan and Patrick each achieved personal bests in two events. Jeremy, Janessa, Kirsten, Reagan, Anise, Marissa, Hawaa, Nathanael, Eric, Lyle and Harry each contributed to the tally by recording a PB in one of their events. Well done athletes! You certainly rose to the occasion!
For bantam athletes (1998/1999), the CALTAF Classic was their Outdoor Provincial Championships, so bantams were awarded provincial medals in their events. The JD Group can boast that we have eleven Provincial Champions – athletes that finished first and won at least one gold medal during the meet. My heartiest congratulations to Alberta Champions Harry, Tyler, Matt, Jeremy, Reagan, Emma, Mia, Anise, Caitlin, Grace and Lauren Yardley. Among them, these eleven athletes captured fourteen provincial gold medals: Tyler (4x100m, 4x400m), Jeremy (4x100m, 4x400m), Emma (4x100m, 4x400m), Harry (4x400m), Matt (4x400m), Reagan (4x400m), Mia (4x100m), Anise (4x100m), Caitlin (4x400m), Grace (4x400m) and Lauren Y (4x400m). Congratulations Alberta Provincial Champions and gold medalists! Well done!
In addition to fourteen gold medals, bantam athletes captured eight provincial bronze medals: Kirsten (4x100m, 4x400m), Reagan (4x400m), Caitlin (4x100m), Hawaa (4x400m), Grace (4x100m), Lauren Y (4x100m) and Mia (4x400m). Congratulations provincial bronze medalists! Well done!
Not to be outdone by their younger teammates, the JD midget athletes (1996/1997) also had an outstanding weekend. Given that Midget Provincials are not until next month, midget athletes were awarded CALTAF Classic rather than provincial medals. The midgets won a total of twenty medals – one gold, six silver and twelve bronze. Congratulations to JD’s midget medalists: Captain Madelaine (gold hammer throw, silver discus, silver shot put), Andrew (silver 4x400m), Sean (silver 4x400m), Sahad (silver 1500m steeple chase), Max (silver 4x400m), Dana (bronze discus, bronze javelin, bronze 4x100m) Quinn ( bronze 300m, bronze 4x100m), Janessa (bronze 4x100m), Delainy (bronze 4x400m), Jill (bronze 4x400m), Anna (bronze 4x400m), Lauren Kruger (bronze 4x400m), Meghan (bronze 4x100m) and Lyle (bronze high jump). Congratulations to all midget CALTAF Classic medalists! Well done!
Our relay teams got the JD Group off to a great start on Friday evening, with the bantam girls capturing the provincial gold and bronze medals in both the 4x100m and 4x400m, the bantam boys capturing the provincial gold medals in both the 4x100m 4x400m, the midget men capturing the CALTAF Classic silver medal in the 4x400m, and the midget women capturing the CALTAF Classic bronze medal in both the 4x100m and 4x400m. Well done relay teams!
The bantam girls’ 4x100m relay team of Emma to Anise to Mia to Reagan captured the provincial gold medal, finishing 1st of eight teams in 57.43s. Congratulations gold medalists and Provincial Champions! In that same race, the team of Grace to Kirsten to Lauren Y to Caitlin won the provincial bronze medal, finishing 3rd of eight teams in 1:01.16s. Congratulations provincial bronze medalists! The team of Hawaa to Nikki to Cheetah Anika Vogelgesang to Hanna finished just out of the medals in 4th place in 1:03.06s, while the team of Cam to Heather to Rhea to Kiannah finished 6th of eight in 1:08.13s, despite having to retrieve a dropped baton. Well done 4x100m runners!
The bantams girls’ 4x400m relay team of Caitlin to Lauren Y to Emma to Grace easily won the gold medal, finishing 1st of five teams in 4:45.26s. Congratulations gold medalists and Provincial Champions! In that same race, the team of Hawaa to Mia to Reagan to Kirsten captured the provincial bronze medal, finishing 3rd of five teams in 5:01.02s. Congratulations provincial bronze medalists! The team of Nikki to Hanna to Cheetah Anika Vogelgesang to Anise finished just out of the medals in 4th place in 5:01.57s, while the team of Cam to Heather to Kiannah to Rhea finished 5th in 5:31.32s. Well done 4x400m runners!
Not to be outdone by the girls, the bantam boys’ 4x100m relay team of Jeremy to Cheetah Braden Gerlitz to Cheetah Matthew Bustard to Tyler won the provincial gold medal, finishing 1st of two teams in 57.35s, an impressive time given that three team members are only first-year bantams. Well done Provincial Champions and provincial gold medalists!
The bantam boys’ 4x400m relay team of Harry to Jeremy to Tyler to Matt also captured the provincial gold medal and, although they were the only team in the competition, they earned their gold medal by running well and finishing in 5:15.22s. Well done Provincial Champions and provincial gold medalists!
The midget women’s 4x100m relay team of Quinn to Dana to Janessa to Meghan captured the CALTAF Classic bronze medal, finishing 3rd of five teams in 54.90s. Well done bronze medalists! In that same race, the team of Delainy to Anna to Madelaine to Lauren K finished just out of the medals in 4th place in 57.96s. Well done 4x100m runners!
The midget men’s 4x400m relay team of PD athlete Martin Steger to Andrew to Sean to Max captured the silver medal, finishing 2nd in 4:44.52s. Well done silver medalists!
Unfortunately, our midget men’s 4x100m relay team of Joel to Nathanael to Eric to Nathan were disqualified for exchanging outside the zone! Great effort boys!
JD Captain and first-year midget Madelaine had another outstanding meet, winning a gold and two silver medals in the midget competition. Madelaine won the gold in the hammer throw, where she finished 1st of seven athletes with a throw of 24.19m. In the discus, Madelaine’s throw of 22.19m placed her 2nd of ten athletes and earned her the silver medal while, in the shot put, her throw of 8.85m placed her 2nd of fifteen athletes and earned her the silver medal. Well done Madelaine! This bodes well for Midget Provincials!
First-year midget Lyle surprised himself by capturing the bronze medal in the high jump, where he cleared 1.50m, a personal best of 10cm. Well done Lyle!
First-year midget Dana also had an outstanding meet, capturing two bronze medals in her individual events, adding another bronze medal in the 4x100m, and recording three personal best performances. In the javelin, Dana finished 3rd of ten athletes with a throw of 24.38m, an outstanding throw that added a remarkable 7.09m to her personal best. Wow! In the discus, Dana again finished 3rd of ten athletes and again with another impressive PB, throwing 21.78m, a PB of 3.67m. Wow again! Just to prove how versatile she is, Dana also took more than half a second off her PB in the 100m, where she finished 17th of thirty-seven athletes in a personal best time of 14.10s. Well done Dana! Two very impressive PBs and three bronze medals! Good luck at Midget Provincials!
Midget Quinn captured the bronze medal in the300m, where she finished 3rd of seventeen athletes in 47.77s. In the 100m preliminary, Quinn ran a personal best 14.02s to qualify 15th of thirty-seven athletes for the final, where Quinn ran another personal best of 13.78s to finish 13th. In the 200m preliminary, Quinn recorded another personal best, finishing 15th of thirty-eight athletes in 28.79s, a personal best of 1.14s. In the 200m final, Quinn finished 13th. Quinn also added another 8cm to her PB in the long jump, where she finished 10th of twenty-eight athletes. Bronze medals in the 300m and 4x100m and four personal bests – well done Quinn!
In the bantam multiple events, athletes were awarded points based on their results in the eight bantam events. In the bantam girls’ competition, our top finisher was Mia, who accumulated enough points to finish 6th overall of forty-nine athletes. Well done Mia! Captain Emma was not far behind, finishing in 9th place, while Caitlin was 17th, first year bantam Lauren Y was 18th, Marissa, first-year bantam Hanna and Anise tied for 21st place, and Hawaa was 27th. Well done ladies!
In the bantam boys’ multiple events, Harry and Matt finished tied for 17th overall of thirty-two athletes. Well done Harry and Matt!
In the bantam girls’ shot put competition, Mia placed 1st of forty-six athletes with a throw of 8.04m, a PB of more than half a metre. Mia also finished 3rd of forty-six athletes in the discus with a throw of 20.62m, an impressive personal best of 2.34m. In the 80m, Mia finished 10th of forty-nine athletes in a personal best time of 11.58s. Well done Mia! Sixth overall of over forty athletes, provincial gold and bronze medals in the relays, 1st and 3rd place finishes, and three personal bests! An outstanding meet!
JD Captain Emma also had an outstanding meet, finishing 2nd of thirty-eight bantam athletes in the 80m hurdles in a personal best time of 14.77s. Emma was also 7th of thirty-one athletes in the high jump, where she cleared 1.25m, 9th of forty-nine athletes in the 80m, where she finished in a personal best time of 11.57s, and 9th of forty-one athletes in the long jump, where she cleared 3.91m, a personal best of 14cm. Well done Emma! Ninth overall, two provincial gold medals in the relays, 2nd, 7th and 9th place finishes from amongst over forty athletes in your individual events, and four personal bests! Outstanding!
In her first attempt at the 1200m, bantam Caitlin ran an outstanding race, finishing 4th of thirty-three athletes in an impressive 4:16.09s. Caitlin recorded an impressive three personal best performances during the meet, taking more than half a second off her PB in the 80m, more than a second off her PB in the 80m hurdles, and adding another 22cm to her PB in the shot put. Well done Caitlin! Seventeenth overall, provincial gold and bronze medals in the relays, a 4th place finish in a race with thirty-three athletes, and three personal bests. A great end to an outstanding season!
First-year bantam Lauren Y ran an outstanding 1200m, finishing 5th of thirty-three athletes in 4:17.32s, an impressive personal best of 6.75s. Lauren was also 8th of thirty athletes in the 800m, where she finished in 2:47.43s. Well done Lauren! Eighteenth overall, provincial gold and bronze medals in the relays, 5th and 8th place finishes in races with over thirty athletes, and three personal bests! Very impressive results for a first-year bantam!
First-year midget Andrew recorded two impressive personal bests this weekend, taking 15.86s off his PB in the 2000m, where he finished 7th in 7:28.47s, and adding almost half a metre to his PB in the discus, where he recorded a throw of 19.85m. A silver medal in the 4x400m and two impressive PBs – well done Andrew!
Bantam Anise added another 5cm to her PB in the high jump, clearing 1.25m to finish 5th of thirty-one athletes. Anise also finished 11th of forty-six athletes in the shot put, 14th of forty-six athletes in the discus, and 16th of thirty-eight athletes in her first attempt at the 80m hurdles. A provincial gold medal in the 4x100m, a 5th place finish in a competition with over thirty athletes, 21st overall, and a personal best! Well done Anise!
First-year midget Nathan added another 3.17m to his PB in the discus, throwing 28.50m to finish 5th of fourteen athletes. Nathan was also 5th in the javelin competition with a throw of 21.27m, and took almost a full second off his PB in the 100m, where he finished in 14.77s. Well done Nathan!
First-year bantam Grace ran an outstanding 800m, finishing 7th of thirty athletes in 2:45.91s. Provincial gold and bronze medals in the relays, and a 7th place finish in a race with thirty athletes. Well done Grace!
Bantam Harry had an excellent meet, placing 11th of twenty-two athletes in the 1200m, where he finished in 4:27.74s, an impressive personal best of 10.05s. Harry also placed 10th of thirty athletes in the shot put and 11th of twenty-nine athletes in the long jump. Harry is also a Provincial Champion, having won a gold medal in the 4x400m. Well done Harry!
New first-year midget athlete Joel, who was competing in his first meet, finished just out of the medals in the long jump, clearing 4.98m to place 4th of sixteen athletes. Well done Joel!
In his first attempt at the 1500m steeplechase, first-year midget Sahad captured the silver medal in 5:31.95s. Sahad recorded three personal bests at the meet. In the 800m, Sahad took 2.05s off his PB, while in shot put he added almost half a metre to his PB with a throw of 7.76m, and in the discus added another 34cm to his PB. Well done Sahad!
Bantam Marissa tried a new strategy in the 1200m, and it certainly seemed to work for her. Marissa finished 9th of thirty-three athletes in 4:30.47s, a personal best of 4.87s. Marissa was also 12th of thirty-eight athletes in her first attempt at the 80m hurdles, 18th of forty-six athletes in her first attempt at the discus throw, and 19th of forty-nine athletes in her first 80m. A 9th place finish, 21st overall, and a personal best! Well done Marissa!
Bantam Hawaa ran a very strong 1200m, her first attempt at a distance race. Hawaa finished 16th of thirty-three athletes in 4:49.67s. Hawaa also took more than 1.5s off her PB in the 80m hurdles, and captured a provincial bronze medal in the 4x400m. Well done Hawaa!
New athlete Tyler, who was competing in his first meet, produced some excellent results, finishing 10th of twenty-five athletes in the 80m hurdles in 16.72s, and 16th of twenty-five athletes in the 800m, where he finished in 3:05.41s. Tyler is also a Provincial Champion, having won gold medals in both the 4x100m and 4x400m. Well done Ty!
First-year bantam Hanna demonstrated how much stronger she is becoming by recording three personal bests and finishing 21st overall from amongst almost fifty bantam athletes. Hanna took more than half a second off her PB in the 80m, where she finished in 12.42s, added almost half a metre to her PB in the long jump, where she cleared 3.82m to finish 14th of forty-one athletes, and finished 16th of forty-six athletes in the shot put, where her throw of 6.45m was a personal best of 21cm and placed her 16th of forty-six athletes. Well done Hanna! Impressive results for a first-year bantam!
Bantam Matt had an outstanding meet, recording three personal bests, becoming a Provincial Champion as a member of the winning 4x400m team, and placing 8th of twenty-eight athletes in his first discus competition with a throw of 17.34m. Matt took more than half a second off his PB in the 80m, more than two seconds off his PB in the 1200m, and added another 8cm to his PB in the long jump. Well done Matt! I see more throwing in your future! J
New athlete and first-year bantam athlete Jeremy became a Provincial Champion two times over as a member of both the winning bantam 4x100m and 4x400m teams. Jeremy also took an impressive 3.62s off his PB in the 800m, where he finished 11th of twenty-five athletes in 2:53.68s. Well done Jeremy!
First-year midget Meghan qualified for the final in the 80m hurdles, 100m and 200m, which resulted in a very busy weekend. In the 80m hurdles preliminary, Meghan ran a personal best 15.07s to qualify 6th of eighteen athletes for the final. In the final, Meghan ran another PB, finishing 7th of eight athletes in 14.84s. In the 100m preliminary, Meghan qualified 10th of thirty-seven athletes for the final in a personal best time of 13.52s. In the 100m final, Meghan moved up a place to finish 9th overall. In the 200m preliminary, Meghan finished 12th of thirty-eight athletes to qualify for the final, where she placed 10th in 28.23s. Meghan’s most impressive race of the weekend, however, came in the 200m hurdles where, in her first attempt at the event, she finished 5th of thirteen athletes in 32.05s. Meghan demonstrated that she is able to do more than sprint by entering the discus competition, where she finished 8th. Qualifying for three finals, three personal bests, three top ten finishes, and a bronze medal in the 4x100m. Well done Meghan!
Eric recorded one of the most impressive personal bests of the meet, finishing the 800m in 2:40.58s, a personal best of 11.30s. Well done Eric! Great run!
First-year midget Patrick recorded personal bests in both of his events, taking more than half a second off his PB in the 200m and shaving just a hair off his PB in the 200m hurdles. Well done Patrick!
New midget athlete Nathanael took almost a full second off his PB in the 300m, finishing 8th in 47.04s. Nathanael also demonstrated his strength in the throws by finishing 6th in the shot put, 6th in the javelin and 9th in the discus. Well done Nathanael!
Bantam Kirsten finished the 80m in a personal best 12.85s, and finished 17th of forty-six athletes in her first discus competition. Kirsten also took home bronze medals in both the 4x100m and 4x400m. In the latter race, Kirsten ran a very impressive final leg for her team, moving them from 4th place to the all important bronze medal position. Well done Kirsten!
First-year midget Delainy took almost a full second off her PB in the 300m to finish 8th of seventeen athletes in 49.56s. Delainy also ran a PB in the 800m, and took home a CALTAF Classic bronze medal in the 4x400m. Well done Delainy!
Bantam Reagan ran a personal best 12.70s in the 80m, and left the meet as a Provincial Champion, with a gold medal in the 4x100m and a bronze medal in the 4x400m. Well done Reagan!
First-year midget Anna ran a very strong 800m, finishing in 2:51.00s, a PB of just under 10 seconds. Anna also took more than half a second off her PB in the 200m, where she finished in 31.19s, and ran another personal best in the 100m, where she finished in 14.79s. Well done Anna! Three personal bests and a bronze medal in the 4x400m!
First-year midget Jill had a tough weekend, getting stepped on and knocked down in the 1200m. Undaunted, Jill picked herself up and finished the race, recording a time not that far off her PB. Jill also placed 8th in the 2000m and 16th of twenty-five athletes in the 800m, and was a member of the bronze-medal-winning midget 4x400m team. Well done Jill!
Lauren K finished not far off her PB in the high jump to place 8th and ran a strong second leg in the 4x400m, keeping her team in the bronze medal position. Well done Lauren!
Rhea was one of the few bantam athletes who, despite the challenging conditions, managed to record a personal best in the high jump. Rhea added an impressive 10cm to her PB, clearing 1.10m to finish 19th of thirty-one athletes. Rhea also took almost half a second off her PB in the 80m. Well done Rhea!
Janessa took just over a second off her PB in the 200m, finishing in 29.92s. Janessa was also a member of the bronze-medal-winning midget 4x100m. Well done Janessa!
My sincerest thanks to the many JD parents who were so supportive of the athletes and coaches throughout the weekend. In particular, I would like to thank Anise’s Dad, Anthony Parker, who graciously stepped in and helped coach the bantam girls in long jump, when the JD athletes were split between two pits on opposite sides of the track. I am most grateful to you all.
Congratulation again to all athletes – those are very impressive results. Enjoy the weekend! I will see you all on Monday – please remember that, on Mondays, we begin early at Glenmore Track and end at 8:00pm at Sandy Beach – see below. Robin
