On Saturday February 15, nine Coyote runners braved the roads and made it to the Toronto Track and Field centre to compete in the MTA Indoor Team Ontario Qualifier meet. The Minor Track Association hosted this meet as a selection process to create a team of Ontario’s best, who will travel to Virginia Beach to compete at the Adidas Track Nationals in March, so there were some very phenomenal racers present.
Because the purpose of the meet was to practise distances for an American meet, the Coyotes racers got a chance to try the mile for the first time. None of the runners had personal best times for this race, but Coyotes’ Coach Keith Hargreaves set everyone a projected time based on their 1500m results.
The mile was the first event of the day, and the Coyotes’ team of four Atom girls, Mila Dolan, Madelyn Moores, Iris Herman, and Avery McPhatter, got the day off to a good start. Madelyn, Iris, and Avery were placed in the first heat of three. Madelyn had a fast first lap before settling into her race pace for the eight laps. She had a strong race and took second in her heat. Iris, a first year Atom, held an exceptionally steady pace throughout her race. Avery paced herself well and made a very nice pass in the last lap, overtaking a Blue Devils runner with confidence. Mila toed the line with the second heat of girls. She started a bit hard, but ran a strong race, placing thirteenth overall.
In the senior division, Coyotes’ girls Chloe Burgess and McKenna Marshall faced the second and faster heat of racers. Chloe has spent many months recovering from breaking her ankle in four places and though she had a great start to her race, she later said that she pulled back because she kicked her ankle and felt nervous about it. Teammate and good friend McKenna cheered her on and helped her finish the race, picking it up nicely for the last lap.
Senior boys Nathan Leary and Richard Saunders were next to race the mile. They were both placed in the same heat and started well. Richard unfortunately got tripped up on the barrier on the inside lane early on in his race, but he showed excellent determination in persevering to the end. Nathan set his mind on beating his estimated time and did just that, stopping the clock at 5:33 for his 1600m.
Intermediate girl Kate Earle faced off in a heat with one other intermediate and several seniors. Kate held a consistent pace and did a nice job staying calm through the first lap and then gradually passing all the seniors. She crossed the line taking second in her age category.
After a lengthy wait, five of the Coyotes lined up to race the 3000m. Fifteen athletes registered for this event from several different divisions. In the interest of time, all racers were placed on the line together. This made it difficult for officials to accurately tabulate results and unfortunately the timing was not accurate in the end. The courage the Coyotes had to complete the gruelling 15-lap race earned them all an award. Atom Iris Herman and Senior Chloe Burgess came home with gold medals for their efforts. Senior McKenna Marshall was pleased to leave with a silver medal. Senior Nathan Leary took the bronze medal in his age category while teammate Richard Saunders took the Senior Boys fourth place ribbon.
To end the day, three of the Coyotes’ Atom girls, Mila, Madelyn, and Avery, raced the 800m. Madelyn went out fighting to get a new best time and she did just that, knocking four seconds off her previous best. Avery and Mila were close to their personal best times, and both had a nice finishing kick in their final lap.
“Overall, it was a fun-filled day for our Coyote runners. Athletes thoroughly enjoyed the experience of running unencumbered by snow, and it was a great learning opportunity. It will be exciting to see how our training and experience pay off at the meet next month,” said the team.
For more information about the team, please check out their website at: www.georgianbaycoyotes.com
