CALTAF Track and Field

Congratulations to all of the JD athletes – Rebecca, Amanda, Kamila, Paige, Hanna, Amelia, Erika, Tyra, Adrienne, Shaniah, Annika, Juliette, Eden, Jasper, Allie, Katy, Maddie, Grace Martin, Alex Matsuoka, Cole, Alex Oglinzanu, Evan, Thibaut, Yohan, Andrew, Scott, Adeem, Matthew and Thomas – who competed at the Indoor Provincial Championships this past weekend. Among them, these twenty-nine athletes produced many personal best performances and some outstanding results – a very fitting end to the indoor season.

I would like to begin by congratulating our Provincial Champions – Jasper, Hanna and Kamila.

• Jasper won the gold medal in the bantam multiple events on Saturday, finishing 1^st in a large field of forty-four athletes. Jasper’s 2^nd place finish in the 200m, where she finished in 29.77s, 3^rd place finish in the long jump, where she cleared 3.92m and 4^th place finish in the 60m, where she finished in 9.08s, earned her 24 points and the overall gold medal. Congratulations Jasper – Gold Medalist and Provincial Champion in Saturday’s bantam multiple events.
• Hanna won the gold medal in the midget women’s shot put, placing 1^st of thirteen athletes with a 19cm personal best throw of 9.92m. Congratulations Hanna – Provincial Champion and Gold Medalist in the shot put. Well done!
• Kamila placed 1^st of fourteen athletes in the midget women’s 1200m, where she finished in a 3.28s indoor personal best time of 3:40.61s. This time was also a provincial record for the 15 years and under 1200m, beating the old record by 3.09s. Well done Kamila – Provincial Champion and Gold Medalist in the 1200m.

Congratulations also to our provincial silver and bronze medalists, Hanna and Adeem. Hanna won the silver medal in the midget women’s weight throw, where she finished 2^nd of four athletes with a throw of 11.12m. First-year midget Adeem captured the bronze medal in the midget men’s weight throw, where he finished 3^rd of four athletes with an impressive 1.64m personal best throw of 10.08m. Well done Hanna and Adeem – provincial silver and bronze medalists in the midget weight throw.

We also had several athletes finish in 4^th or 5^th place: Erika (200m = 5^th, 300m = 4^th), Shaniah (2000m = 4^th, 800m & 1200m = 5^th), Cole (800m = 4^th , triple jump = 4^th), Jasper (60m = 4^th, high jump = 5^th), Allie (800m = 4^th), and Matthew (800m = 4^th). Coach Blair felt it was worth reminding the athletes that, “although 4^th can be a tough pill to swallow – so close to the podium but not quite there – 4^th or 5^th in Alberta is still pretty darn good.”

The rest of the JD athletes certainly rose to the occasion as well. There were forty-two personal best performances, with Adeem leading the way with an outstanding four PBs (60m, 60m hurdles, shot put, weight throw). Paige (60m, 200m, 300m), Amelia (60m, 60m hurdles, 200m) and Erika (60m heat, 60m semi-final, 200m final) were very impressive on the track, with each recording 3 personal bests in their running events. Yohan (60m, long jump, high jump) and Hanna (200m, 300m, shot put) also recorded 3 personal bests, improving both on the track and in their field events. Amanda (60m, 300m), Shaniah (800m, 1200m), Cole (300m, triple jump), Evan (60m, 300m), Andrew (300m, long jump) and Matthew (800m, shot put) each recorded a personal best in two events, while Rebecca (1500m), Kamila (1200m), Tyra (60m), Adrienne (60m), Annika (800m), Juliette (60m), Allie (800m), Katy (60m), Maddie (60m), Grace M (60m) and Thibaut (long jump) each recorded a personal best in one of their events.

Some of the most impressive personal bests were:

• With some strong running and an impressive kick in the last 200m of the race, Rebecca took 11.44s off her PB in the 1500m, where she finished in 5:18.34s. When Coach Blair and I told Rebecca that she had run an 11 second PB in the 1500m, it took us a few seconds to convince her. Rebecca had not realized what a great race she had run.
• Amelia took more than a second off her PB in the 200m and ran under 30 seconds for the first time.
• Shaniah took an impressive 7.59s off her PB in the 800m, where she finished in 2:28.77s, and 5.12s off her PB in the 1200m, where she finished in 3:56.52s. In the 2000m, which she was running for the first time, she ran faster than last year’s qualifying standard for Legion Nationals (7:02.15).
• Paige took 1.5s off her PB in the 200m and more than half a second off her PB in the 300m.
• Thibaut added more than half a metre to his PB in the long jump.
• Hanna took half a second off her PBs in both the 200m and 300m, and added 19cm to her PB in the shot put.
• Adeem took more than a second off his PB in the 60m hurdles, added 22cm to his PB in the shot put, and improved his PB in the weight throw by an impressive 1.64m.
• Allie took almost two seconds off her PB in the 800m.
• Cole added 24cm to his PB in the triple jump.
• Evan improved his time in the 300m by almost 2.5s.
• Yohan added another 5cm to his PB in the high jump.
• Amanda took .23s off her PB in the 60m and more than a second off her PB in the 300m.
• Matthew added 25cm to his PB in the shot put and took almost 1.5s off his PB in the 800m.

In addition to those mentioned above, some of the more memorable moments of the weekend were:

• First-year midget Erika finished the 60m heat in a personal best 8.40s to qualify 5^th of fifty-seven athletes for the semi-final. In the semi-final, Erika ran a personal best 8.35s to qualify for the final, where she finished 8^th overall – a very impressive result for a first-year midget competing amongst a very competitive field of first and second year midgets.
•  I was especially grateful to Shaniah for encouraging the bantam athletes to try the 800m for the first time. Without her encouragement, I am not certain that Alex M and Jasper would have run the 800m. Great leadership Shaniah! Coach Blair was, “Glad to see Alex M and Jasper tough it out in the 800 and run very well.”
• In her first attempt at the 200m, first-year midget Erika finished 6^th of forty-eight athletes in the heat in 27.92s to qualify for the final. In the final, Erika ran even faster, finishing 5^th in a talented field of twelve sprinters in 27.88s. Well done Erika!
• I was especially pleased that Jasper and Matthew chose to compete in all six of the bantam events. Had this been Outdoor Provincials, their dedication would likely have earned them an Athletics Alberta Award.
• We have another coach in our midst! Jasper was overheard offering excellent advice to her bantam teammates on how to run a 200m.
• There were some excellent results in the bantam girls’ 60m, with Jasper finishing 4^th of forty-four athletes in 9.08s, Maddie 9^th in 9.33s, and Juliette 10^th in 9.34s.
• Shaniah and Annika demonstrated great sportsmanship at the 2000m finish when they waited to shake the hand of the last competitor, who was well behind the rest of the field. The athlete looked quite relieved that not all of her fellow competitors had left the track.
• First-year midget Erika just missed the medals in the 300m, finishing 4^th of twenty-nine athletes in an impressive 44.07s.
• Coach Ed and I were pleased to see Maddie, Grace M, Eden, Katy, Alex M and Jasper competing in the high jump. As anyone who has competed in high jump will know, coming down on the bar can be quite painful and off-putting, so it was good to see these young athletes participating in the event.
• In his first high jump competition, first-year bantam Thomas cleared 1.25m to finish 6^th of twenty-four athletes.
• Some of the Power and Speed midgets really stepped up for the Provincial Championships and competed the best they had all season with, as Coach Blair pointed out, “multiple and sizeable PBs” – in particular, Amelia, Amanda, Paige, Hanna, Adeem, Yohan, Erika and Evan come to mind.
• The distance athletes continued the trend that they established way back in the cross-country season of being very successful in competition. Kamila was 1^st of fourteen athletes in the 1200m, bantam Allie was 4^th of thirty athletes in the 800m, first-year bantam Matthew was 4^th of twenty-six athletes in the 800m, first-year midget Shaniah was 4^th, 5^th and 5^th respectively in the 2000m, 800m and 1200m, Cole was 4^th and ran really well in what Coach Blair described as a “physical 800m”, first-year midget Annika was 6^th in both the 1200m and 2000m and 7^th in the 800m, and Alex O, despite battling a sore ankle, was 7^th in the 800m. Well done distance runners – what a great year you are having!
• In her first high jump competition, bantam Jasper cleared 1.35m to finish 5^th of thirty athletes.
• I especially enjoyed watching some of the bantam girls – Eden, Jasper, Katy, Maddie, Grace M and Alex M – participating in their first shot put competition. Given their lack of experience in the event, they all competed very well. Coach Michelle was most impressed with their effort and results. First-year bantam Alex M finished 8^th of thirty-eight athletes with a 6.02m throw.

Coach Ed labelled this photo, “Lined up at the spa!”

The JD athletes and coaches would like to thank Marci Rosin and Lisa Strauss for giving up their weekend to accompany the team to Edmonton. We greatly appreciate the long hours you devoted to ensuring the success of the athletes. We are most grateful.

Thank you also to the parents and siblings who traveled to Edmonton to cheer on the athletes. We are most grateful for your continued support.

Congratulations again to all athletes. Well done! What a great end to the indoor season.