Under sunny skies, a sea of orange travelled to the Terry Fox Stadium in Brampton on May 28. The largest team of Coyote runners in over five years, 37 racers in total, participated in the first prep meet of the outdoor season.
Unbelievably, our small town of Meaford took the fifth largest team to the meet. All athletes racing were looking to improve the PBs, personal best times, and a few went in hoping to move on to the next level of competition. This track meet was the Minor Track Association’s Team Ontario Meet Qualifier and it will be used by MTA to select 40 athletes to represent Ontario at the International Youth Track and Field Championships in Landover, Maryland, USA, in July. Athletes who place in the top 16 positions in this qualifying meet will be allowed to participate in the final selection meet at the end of June.
Tyke runners began the day with the 1200m races. Three of the girls had never competed at a track race before and one newcomer, Nyla Dubeau, crossed the line in third place.
Following the Tykes, the older athletes had their first races of the day, the 1500m. The Coyotes had numerous personal best times in this event. Of note was Atom boy Jacob Martindill. He has had some training challenges this season, but his patience and perseverance shone as he started the race in the middle of the pack and kept up a strong pace throughout the race, finishing fifth overall. Isabel Spence ran an impressive race while calmly picking off her competitors one by one and crossing the line in fourth place. Emmett Leary kept the excitement going as he set his sights on catching the leader of the pack of Senior boys over the three and three quarter lap race. He was able to make up some ground on his competitor, and enjoyed the thrill of the chase as he finished in second place.
Next, one of the Coyotes youngest runners in the club participated in the 100m races. Eleanor Cleland bravely competed in her very first race as a Coyote and her teammates excitedly cheered and celebrated as she confidently crossed the line in second place. Her running debut earned her a medal and a satisfied smile.
To cap off the morning, the Coyotes had thirteen runners participate in the 400m races. River Jones kept us on our toes as he put forth an excellent burst of speed to finish third in his heat, while taking home an impressive new personal best time of 1:02.21 in the Senior boys category.
After a short lunch break, the action resumed with thirty-two of the Coyote athletes putting their training to the test in the 800m race. What seemed to stand out most in these races were the number of athletes crushing their personal best times. Mite boys Bennett Hustwitt and Eli McPhatter both demonstrated excellent advances in their time. Runner McKenna Marshall shaved off an impressive 30 seconds from her previous personal best. Wes Brown also broke the illusive three minute mark for the first time in his running journey.
Overall, it was a great day of racing with Coyotes setting new personal best times in 50 of the 68 races in which they participated. The team also came home with ten medals, 28 top-six finishes and most of the team qualifying for the Team Ontario selection meet to be held in June.
For more information on the team or for complete results please check out their website at www.georgianbaycoyotes.com
