Staff
The Athletics Ontario U18 Indoor Track and Field Championships were held in Toronto at York University on Saturday, February 2, and Sunday, February 3. The Georgian Bay Coyotes sent three of their athletes to the competition in order to put their hard winter training to the test.
Hannah Knight, a grade 11 Meaford student, started things off running only four seconds off her personal best time in the Girls 1500m. Hannah placed 50th to stop the clock at 5:38.11.
Ethan Pentland, a grade 10 Durham student and Meaford’s Spencer Book, grade 11, were up next. Ethan ran an aggressive race and crossed the line in 10th spot. His time of 4:20.17 was only four seconds off his best time. Spencer was struggling with a bug on Saturday. He started on pace, but fell off the pack after 800m. His time of 4:43.22 was well off his best time.
Sunday was a much better day of competition. Hannah Knight ran a personal best time in her U18 – 800m event. Her time of 2:42.05 gave her 45th spot overall. Spencer Book and Ethan Pentland were both in the fastest of 6 heats in their U18 – 800m race. They both flew off the starting line with the pack, coming through their first 400m in 55-56 seconds. They both dug deep on their third of four laps to hold pace and finished with a strong sprint to the line. Book placed 4th and Pentland 5th, each just missing their personal best times.
The younger Coyotes return to Toronto on Saturday, Feb 16th for their second meet of the winter season. For more information about the Team, check out their website at www.georgianbaycoyotes.com.
Photo: From left to right, Hannah Knight, Spencer Book and Ethan Pentland are flanked by Coyote coaches, Kevin and Shelley Hooper, at the AO U18 Indoor Championships in Toronto.
