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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2013-05-23, Page 8PAGE 8. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013. *)(('&*%($# )(%"#! %  *'                   &            '  $#% %#'$# !% (#$%) Sports Madill T&F team wins Huron-Perth championship It was supposed to be a ‘building year’ for the F.E. Madill Secondary School track and field team. Last year, a number of the team’s top athletes graduated leaving the younger athletes to carry the torch. These young athletes rose to the challenge at the Huron-Perth championships excelling beyond the coaches’ expectations for this season. Not only did they achieve well individually, winning 39 ‘personal best’ performances, but they won the Junior Girls division, the Senior Girls division, the Overall Girls and the overall Team title. It was a full team effort from start to finish during the two day meet with the Madill athletes urging each other on to higher heights, farther distances and faster times. A total of 10 relay teams and 38 athletes qualified to compete at the Western Ontario Secondary School Athletic Association (WOSSAA) Track and Field meet later this year. This was a special year and a special win as Huron-Perth celebrated its 50th anniversary in track and field. In the Midget Girls division, Madeleine Gallaher continued her winning ways again, earning first place in Midget Girls high jump topping the bar at 1.45 metres. Sarah McLean also won points for the team with third and fourth place finishes in long jump and triple jump. The jumpers were well represented with Phaedra Scott also leaping 4.23 metres in long jump to clinch second place. Upcoming thrower, Karissa Schiestel, continued to dominate in her events, earning second place in both shot put and discus and also qualifying in javelin. Abigail Pittock ran a strong 300-metre hurdle race to claim second place. Teammate Victoria Jacobs also advances in all three of her events placing top six in 200-metre, long jump and triple jump. The Midget girls were third overall and within striking distance of the top team placing with respect to points. The balanced Junior Girls won numerous points on the track and in the field. Jayden Anderson-Johnston won the long jump (4.52 metres) and sprinted the 200-metre and 100- metre for a second and third place finish respectively. Teammate Lauren Thompson had strong races in the 300-metre hurdles (second), 200-metre (third) and 400-metre (third) events. In the throws, the trio of Emily Meier, Samantha Pittock and Jessyca Scott added more points to the score board in shot put, discus and javelin. The excellent performances allowed the Junior Girls to win the Huron-Perth team title. The Madill Senior Girls have a mix of talent, experience and gutsy determination. They won their division decisively. In triple jump Madill girls placed first, Kelsie Eadie, second, Naomi VanStuyvenberg, third, Nicole Jacobs, and fourth, Holly Howson. It was almost a repeat blanket performance but with some different names in the 400-metre. In this event, Nicole Jacobs led the Madill runners with a second place finish and Kira Worner was third, Paige Ballagh, fourth, and Holly Howson fifth. It was an all round team effort with sprinter Sarah Cook contributing points in the 100-metre race and hurdles. Leah Hutchison and Brianna Bird added points in high jump, 100-metre, 200-metre and 3,000-metre races. Trying the steeple chase for the first time, Marion Studhalter got a little wet at the water jump but earned a place in WOSSAA with her fourth place finish. In the throws, Ali Underwood chipped in for more points in the discus and shot put with third and fifth place finishes. The ‘A’ and ‘B’ 4x100-metre relay teams placed second and third, indicative of the depth of talent on the Senior Girls team. Although small in numbers, the Midget Boys team performed well. Lyndon Smith led the way with three second place finishes. His hurdle technique improved over the 300- metre hurdles race as he ran the distance in 44.90 seconds. Smith sprinted down the 100-metre stretch in 12.60 seconds and leaped 5.24 metres in long jump to win seconds in those events as well. Drew McKeachnie ran a gutsy 3,000- metre race to claim second place and also qualified in the 1,500-metre race and long jump. Brandon Marshall, returning after a medical leave, surprised everyone with strong finishes sprinting through the 200-metre dash in 25.26 seconds, and then earning fourth and fifth in the 800-metre and 1,500-metre races. Newcomer Caleb Brown also chipped in points in the triple jump bounding 10.00 metres for a fourth place finish. The Junior Boys team was small but mighty. In Junior high jump, Justin McKague soared over the bar at 1.76 metres to win first and set a new Huron-Perth record. He also won the triple jump (11.51 metres) and was fifth in the 100-metre. Stuart Cameron looked strong in the throws winning second in the shot put (13.95 metres) and second in discus (40.20 metres) as well as earning a new personal best in javelin (34.60 metres). Scott Dolmage showed grit and determination in the distance events with his second place finish in the 3,000-metre race, fourth in the 300- metre hurdles and fifth in the 1,500- metre race. In the Senior Boys division, Luke Dailleboust wowed the onlookers with his pole vault performance. In his first year of competition in the event and under the experienced eyes of coach Bob Campbell, he cleared the bar at 3.85 metres to decisively win the event. Dailleboust also equalled his ‘personal best’ of 6.62 metres in long jump to win the event. His victory in the 110-metre hurdles (15.96 seconds) gave him triple gold and the individual Senior Boys Huron-Perth title. Teammate Jesse Fortier earned second in the 400-metre hurdles (1:01.33) and fourths in long jump (5.51 metres) and fourth in the 400-metre (57.74 seconds). In the throws, Anthony Vader, in his first year as a senior, had his best performances to date in both javelin (43.98 metres) where he was second place and discus (30.04 metres) earning fifth. Despite having all his events in a two hour stretch, Vader also topped the bar in high jump clearing 1.65 metres and winning third place. In an exciting 4x100-metre relay, the combined effort of Jesse Fortier, Anthony Vader, Justin McKague, and Luke Dailleboust got the baton around the track in 47.91 seconds and sprinted across the finish line in first place. The Madill team edged out St. Michael Catholic Secondary School from Stratford to win both the Overall Girls and Overall Championship. This year the conference celebrated the 50th anniversary of Huron-Perth track and field. It was fitting that retired coach Bob Campbell was able to return for the event. He was a strong presence for many of the early years and was also the pioneer of the track and field program at Madill beginning a strong tradition that has carried over into the present time. He coached many events but his specialty was pole vault. His best known athlete was Olympian pole vaulter, Doug Wood, who went on to set the Canadian School Boy Interscholastic record of 5.10 metres (still standing), the Canadian outdoor record of 5.65 metres (just recently broken) and the Canadian indoor record of 5.67 metres (still standing). Over the last 22 years, Madill has won the Huron-Perth championship 19 times. The success of the program lies with the hard working and talented athletes and also with the numerous coaching staff who volunteer their time to coach the many events that are part of the sport. This year, the team has nine coaches looking after the various events: Sandy MacIntyre (head coach) and Maureen Lisle in throws, Karen Dailleboust in track, Gary Lisle in horizontal jumps, Steve McKague in high jump, Heather Durnin in distance, Julie McDonald in hurdles, Gregory Smith in track and Devan Ballagh in track and jumps. Without the generous help of the many coaches, it would be impossible to run a good program. The team now looks forward to WOSSAA to be held May 23 and 24 at TD Waterhouse Stadium at the University of Western Ontario in London. At WOSSAA the top five athletes in each event advance to the Ontario FEderation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) West Regionals to be held at the new Jacob Hespeler track in Cambridge the following week. Big winners The F.E. Madill Secondary School track and field team went above and beyond their expectations of a ‘building year’ to take first place at the Huron-Perth track and field championships earlier this month. (Photo submitted) Weight Loss: $39/mo! HERBAL ONE 167 Inkerman St., Listowel 519-291-6611 The County Road 4 showdown Last Thursday, the Blyth U14 boys soccer team took to the field against their counterparts from the north, the Wingham U14 boys soccer club. (Photo submitted)