Lucas Punkari
With a track resurfacing and re-working of the schedules in Thunder Bay meaning they were unable to take part in any meets in the Lakehead this year, the Muskie track squad instead turned its focus on the first-ever Dryden Invitational track and field meet last Wednesday.
The 12 members of this year’s squad ended the day with eight first-place showings, three seconds, and five thirds en route to finishing second overall in the team standings with 148 points, with only the host Eagles beating them out (238).
“I know going into the meet they felt like that didn’t really have enough time to prepare for it due to the weather conditions we had in April, but they really were up for it,” Muskie coach Natasha Shack enthused.
Leading the charge for the Muskie boys was Grade 12 competitor Josh Strain, who won individual gold medals in the long jump, 100m dash, and the high jump.
He also was a member of the winning 4x100m relay squad along with Braeden Caul, Dexter Fichuk, and Chandler Cousineau.
“Josh always puts up great results, and it was great to see him get those first places,” Shack noted.
“It was also great to see him help out the other students in the jumping events, and we hope to see him help out even more next year after he comes back from his first year at university,” she added.
On the girls’ side, their day began with a bang as Alanna Walsh, Kahetonni Mitchell, and Adriane Gurski made a clean sweep on the 800m podium for the black-and-gold.
“That was a great way to start the day, for sure,” Shack said.
“All three girls had a really strong pace to their race, and they also got a lot of support from the rest of their teammates around the track, which is something I noticed throughout the day along with [travelling coach] Keith [Gilbert],” Shack recalled.
The top performer for the Muskie girls was Grade 10 student Jillian Bobczynski, who placed first in the long jump and 100m dash, and second in the high jump.
As well, Bobczynski was a member of the first-place 4x100m team with Katie Sinclair, Jillian Gustafson, and Gurski, and the winning 4x400m squad with Gurski, Walsh, and Hailey Clendenning.
“From my vantage point, I couldn’t actually tell if the girls had won the 4×100 race or not over Dryden, it was that close,” Shack noted.
“Adrian was able to close in on the Dryden team in the third leg of the race, and when she handed the baton over to Jillian [Bobczynski] for that final leg, she just accepted the challenge and was able to come through.”
Gurski added a second-place showing to her day’s work in the 1500m event, followed by Walsh in third.
Other Muskies who earned third-place showings were Cousineau (boys’ 800m), Fichuk (boys’ 400m), Caul (boys’ high jump), and Gustafson (girls’ high jump).
