On Sunday, November 23, fifteen Georgian Bay Coyotes Track Club runners capped off their fall training by participating in the Minor Track Association’s first indoor meet for the season, the Winter Warm Up Prep Meet. This event offered some less traditional distances and was not all that well attended. It was, however, a great opportunity for the Coyote athletes to put their training to work and get some experience on the indoor track.
The meet opened with the 1000m and 1200m races. Bennett Hustwitt ran a strong 3:41 in the 1000m despite an officiating mix-up that forced him to run alongside the 1200m field. In the Atom 1200m, teammates Casey Mothersell and Caleb Cleland claimed first and second, while Mila Dolan led the Coyote girls with a strong third-place finish. The Senior boys had an exciting race as the three Coyote boys swept their 1200m podium, with Richard Saunders first, James Yaromich second, and Ian Matthews third.
The morning culminated with the 300m races, which saw solid results from the McCague brothers. Maxwell and Marshall placed fourth and sixth in the Mite division while their older brother, Mathur, battled well and out-sprinted a competitor in the Tyke race to take fourth.
After the lunch break, six of the Coyote athletes took part in the 2000m race. Only ten athletes were brave enough to toe the line for this ten-lap race. The Coyotes looked like well-oiled machines out there putting up steady lap splits and showing their endurance for these longer distances. Madelyn Moores determinedly took second place in the Atom girls category, while Iris Herman calculated a nice finishing kick to take fourth. Casey Mothersell claimed first in the Atom boys category and was able to chase the seniors with his speed. Richard Saunders took first in the Senior boys category and finished the 2km in seven minutes flat. Teammate Ian Matthews was not far behind with a strong second place finish.
The last event for the team was the 600m race. All the Mite racers were combined on the track which meant that Eleanor Cleland, and Maxwell and Marshall McCague were all racing together. Eleanor dominated the crowd, finishing at least ten seconds before the next competitor and taking first. Max and Marshall both started a bit hard, but held on nicely, finishing in second and fourth.
Tyke boy Mathur McCague played it cool off the start of his 600m race and then dug deep to shock the crowd with a very speedy finish which landed him in third place.
Avery McPhatter took part in the 600m Atom race. A jostle at the start of the race left Avery with a 10cm gash on her leg from a spike. Despite a very tough start, Avery showed excellent determination, paced herself well and finished faster than coaches had hoped for. A true display of grit.
James Yaromich was the last of the Coyotes to race the 600m and unfortunately he didn’t have any competitors in the same category. Knowing this, he set out to race the clock and aimed to come under the two-minute mark. James managed this handily, finishing a full ten seconds under two minutes.
Overall, the Coyotes came home as a well-decorated team, with fourteen medals and many ribbons, impressing coaches with both performance and sportsmanship. The team now heads into a well-deserved two-week break before preparing for the indoor season.
For more information about the team, check out their website at: www.georgianbaycoyotes.com
