Lucas Punkari
Although a lot smaller than those from schools in Thunder Bay, the Muskie track-and-field squad finished in eighth place out of 14 teams at the NWOSSAA championships last Tuesday and Wednesday.
“It was a great meet for our team,” enthused head coach Natasha Shack.
“Last year we left this meet with 84 points as a team and we left this year with 124.50 points,” she noted.
“That just shows the amount of progress we have made as a team in the last 12 months.
“We had 28 athletes compete in 88 events, and all of the kids got to be exposed to a lot of different things that will only help them for next year,” Shack added.
Leading the way was Grade 10 student Jenny Hammond, who finished in first place in the junior girls’ 800m final with a time of 2:37.34.
“I felt that I ran a pretty good race,” said Hammond, who also finished in third place in the 1,500m final, teamed up with Ashtyn Dokuchie, Kenna Robertson, and Isabel Smith to finish fourth in the 4x100m relay, and nabbed a fifth-place showing in the long jump event.
“The entire field was pretty much stuck together until the last lap when we all started spreading apart a little bit, and at the end I was able to come ahead,” she explained.
With her gold-medal performance, Hammond earned the opportunity to compete at this week’s all-Ontario championships in Oshawa but declined the invitation.
“For me, it was just too short of a notice to head down there,” she reasoned.
“I also looked at the times from last year’s event, and the top runners there were about 20 seconds faster than me, so it would have been very hard for me to improve on that time,” Hammond conceded.
“But now I know that I can compete at OFSAA, so I’m going to train really hard to improve my time for next year,” she pledged.
Fellow Grade 10 athlete Arthur Val Ael also turned in a strong showing in Thunder Bay, nabbing a second-place finish in the junior boys’ 3,000m race with a time of 11:00.80.
“It was a pretty fun race to be a part of and since there were only four competitors, I felt like I had a pretty good chance,” noted Van Ael, who also finished in sixth place in the 1,500m final and in seventh place in the 800m race.
“Everyone was sort of stuck together and I was actually leading for most of the race until the last 50m, which was when the Dryden athlete [Jake Wickstrom] got a big kick and pulled away,” he recalled.
Although Van Ael’s time was not fast enough to earn the final qualifying berth from Northern Ontario for OFSAA, he is planning to use his performance in Thunder Bay to build toward having a strong showing in the 3,000m event when he moves up into senior ranks next year.
“This was actually my first time competing in that particular race, so I was really pleased with how I ended up doing,” he said.
“I think I already have the endurance for that race, but I just need to work on my speed so I can get that last little kick at the finish to get ahead of the other athletes,” he remarked.
“I don’t have much of that at the moment, so I’ll be training really hard all year-round to get that ready for next season.”
Other Muskie athletes who made it into the top 10 in their events in Thunder Bay included:
•Braden Caul—tied for seventh in senior boys’ high jump;
•Cameron Cawston—ninth in junior boys’ high jump;
•Cassandra Moffitt—third in junior girls’ triple jump, fourth in 800m run, and seventh in 1,500m run;
•Cayla Leimenstoll—ninth in junior girls’ 3,000m run;
•Chandler Cousineau—fourth in senior boys’ 1,500m run, fourth in 3,000m run, and fifth in 800m run;
•Claire Sandelovich—fourth in junior girls’ shot put, sixth in 200m dash, and seventh in 100m dash;
•Elizabeth Allan—seventh in junior girls’ long jump and eighth in high jump;
•Halle Shypit—seventh in senior girls’ 400m dash;
•Isabel Smith—seventh in junior girls’ 200m dash;
•Jacob Empey—third in Midget boys’ triple jump, fourth in long jump, and sixth in 100m dash;
•Jillian Bobczynski—second in senior girls’ long jump, third in triple jump, and fifth in 100m dash;
•Julia Quast—ninth in junior girls’ shot put;
•Kayla Stang—eighth in junior girls’ 3,000m run;
•Kenna Robertson—eighth in junior girls’ 400m dash;
•Kimya Shahi—10th in senior girls’ 3,000m run;
•Kurt McGuire—eighth in junior boys’ 100m dash, ninth in long jump, and 10th in high jump;
•Sarah Angus—sixth in Midget girls’ shot put and ninth in long jump;
•Sarah Strain—10th in junior girls’ triple jump; and
•Talysha Jernberg—ninth in Midget girls’ shot put and 10th in long jump
Along with the individual showings, the junior boys’ 4x100m relay team of McGuire, Van Ael, Cawston, and Dane Blais finished in sixth place.
With a number of strong performances across the board, and an increasing number of students joining the squad each year, Shack feels the Muskie track team is heading in the right direction.
“Our performances are getting better at each and every event, and I think you saw that this year especially,” she noted.
“Getting a jumping pit next to track was huge for us, as we don’t have to go over to St. Francis anymore and use their pit, and we can have everyone practice in the same area,” Shack added.
“The Dryden meet is a huge plus for us as well, as before we just went to the Thunder Bay meet and that was it for the entire year,” she said.
