Records fell like rain on a sunny Saturday, as the Royal Canadian Legion Track and Field meet welcomed a record number of athletes to Haley Park.
“It was the best day in a long time,” said organizer and time tech, Lina Horan. “And the most registrations ever.”
Close to 150 athletes from 21 different schools and clubs from across the Kootenays and Boundary competed in the meet, including 26 competitors from the Trail Track and Field Club (TTFC) and a dozen more from Greater Trail schools.
Twenty-nine records were set, 11 by Trail Track and Field athletes, with TTFC’s Gabby Paterson setting the standard in five of the six events she entered in the 11-year-old Girls category.
Gabby placed first in all of her events, and shattered the 60-metre hurdles record with a time of 9.99 seconds, besting the previous mark of 11.7 set in 2013. She raised the bar set by TTFC athlete Sadie Joyce in 2015, by eclipsing her time of 9.1 seconds in the 60-m dash with an 8.79, and again in the 100-m dash, the high jump and the long jump.
Not to be outdone, Joyce competing in Girls 14-15, set two more records with a 27.35 second run in the 200-m dash, and then won the high jump with a record-setting 1.58-m to beat the previous best of 1.54 set by TTFC Samantha Almquist in 2004. Joyce also came first in the 100-m dash and the long jump, with a second-place finish in the 300-m.
On the boys side, TTFC’s Thane Joyce was unbeatable in boys 10U, setting the high jump record with a leap of 1.21-m, and claiming first in 60-m and 100-m dash, 60-m hurdles, long jump, and shot put.
Rossland siblings Keira and Reuben Demmler excelled at the meet with Keira, 10, capturing first in the 60-m, 100-m, 600-m, and long jump, second in 60-m hurdles, and third in shot put. In 12-year-old Boys, Reuben topped the podium in 100-m dash, 300-m, 80-m hurdles, and long jump, with a third place finish in high jump.
Other Greater Trail record-setters on the day include Katie Rose Clarke who broke the 11U Girls 600-m run record with a time of 2:08.0. Clarke also came second in long jump and shot put, and third in 60-m hurdles and high jump.
TTFC’s Jendaya Shields set the record in the javelin with a toss of 27.51-m, while also claiming first in shot put and discus. TTFC athletes Zoe Giles came first in 80-m hurdles, then ran the 300-m hurdles in a record pace of 54.65, and Maddy Lakevold broke the triple jump record by over a metre with a jump of 9.66-m. Lakevold also won the long jump and came third in the Hammer throw.
More Greater Trail results:
In Boys 9 and under, Charles Clark, TTFC, placed first in 60-m hurdles, long jump, and shot put and third in 60-m and 100-m sprint.
Mitchell Ford placed first in high jump and second and shot put, while Ethan Cawte came second in long jump and third in shot put.
In Girls 9U, Anise Bazky from Seven Summits school placed first in 60-m, 100-m, and long jump.
Boys 10U: Caleb Freeman of Webster Elementary jumped to second place in high jump, third in long jump and 100-m.
Boys 11U: Lukas Clarke, TTFC, won the shot put, and placed second in long jump, and 60-m hurdles, and third in high jump. Rowan Howald, TTFC, captured second in 60-m and third in 100-m. Pablo Rivas of Rossland came second in shot put, and third in 60-m hurdles and long jump.
Girls 11U: TTFC’s Taylor Singer finished second in 60-m and 100-m sprints, 60-m hurdles and high jump, and third in shot put. Neveah Lucht, TTFC, captured third spot in long jump, and 60-m and 100-m sprint.
Boys 12: Ezra Clarke of TTFC lofted the 3kg shot put to first place, came second in discus and 100-m, and third in long jump. Grady McAuley, TTFC, finished second in long jump and third in 100-m.
Girls 12: Hannah Freeman leapt to second in long jump and sprinted to third in 100-m.
Boys/ Girls 13: TTFC’s James Clarke earned third in 100-m and long jump, while Jada Brennan took first place in 100-m sprint and second in long jump.
Boys 14-15: TTFC Finley Kinghorn claimed first place in the shot put, discus, and hammer throw, and second in javelin.
TTFC athlete Aiden Paterson raced to first in the 100-m sprint, then came second to Nelson’s Matti Erickson in the 200 and 300-m sprints.
Connor Nagle from J. L. Crowe topped the podium in the high jump and long jump, and came third in the 100 and 200-m sprints, while teammate Jaxon Kuchar placed second in 800-m run and third in the long jump.
Girls 14-15: J.L. Crowe athlete Grace Bobbitt earned second in the 100-m and high jump and third in discus. Jordan Singer, TTFC, finished third in the 300-m and long jump, while Maya Amantea came second in triple jump.
Women 16-17: TTFC’s Annika Ford won first in 100-m and hammer throw, and came second in long jump.
Molly Miller from Seven Summits, captured first place in the 3,000-m run.
