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The Citizen, 2012-05-24, Page 8PAGE 8. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 24, 2012. Cultivate something beautiful this spring with quality products and friendly advice from... AUBURN CO-OP Auburn 519-526-7262 Begins with a visit to Auburn Co-op Our greenhouse is filled to the brim with beautiful flowers, shrubs, trees and more to delight every gardener. Be sure to check out our beautiful garden décor, patio sets and so much more SportsMadill conquers at Huron Perth track and field meet The track and field team from F.E. Madill Secondary School continued its relentless pursuit of excellence at the Huron Perth Championships last week. With an all-out team effort by runners, jumpers and throwers the Madill athletes set four new Huron Perth records, powered their way to three new school records, won seven championship titles (Midget Girls, Junior Girls, Senior Girls, Senior Boys, Overall Girls, Overall Boys and Overall), claimed four individual trophy winners, and set 49 ‘personal best’ performances en route to massing nearly 650 points. Forty-four athletes and 12 relay teams have qualified for the Western Ontario Secondary School Athletics Association (WOSSAA) meet to be held next week at TD Waterhouse Stadium at the University of Western Ontario in London. Midget Girls won the division title with a team effort of several athletes. Leading the way was Jayden Anderson-Johnston who won both the 100-metre and 200-metre and leaped to a second place finish in long jump. The “A” 4x100-metre relay team of Lauren Thompson, Natalie Spanswick, Laura Souch, and Jayden Anderson-Johnston blazed their way to a first place finish. The Junior Girls also worked as a team in accumulating points towards the team title. Brianna Bird outdistanced her opponents in both the 800-metre and 1,500-metre to win first places in both. Her teammate, Holly Howson also claimed two firsts in 300-metre hurdles and triple jump. Again, the Junior Girls relay team of Holly Howson, Naomi VanStuyvenburg, Tristin Cook, and Brianna Bird sprinted around the 400-metre track to win first in the Junior Girls 4x100-metre relay. The Senior Girls proved that years of practice and hard work pay off as they amassed a large number of points towards their win of that division. The two day meet got off to an exciting start as Julie-Anne Staehli won the girls 1,500-metre steeplechase while also setting a new meet record of 5:26.81. On the second day, she eclipsed the school 800-metre record set in 1980 by Janet Wood (2:21.6) running the distance in 2:21.35. Staehli was not alone in her pursuit of distance running records. Madeline Yungblut broke another of Wood’s 1980 records in the 1,500-metre (4:50.3) event running well ahead of the field with a 4:50.16 performance. On the second day of the meet, Yungblut again outran the field winning the 3,000-metre event shattering the former school record (Janet Wood, 1980, 10:50.2) with a time of 10:29.28. The distance runners were not alone in outstanding performances. Kayla Smith won both the 100-metre and 200-metre and leaped to a second place finish in long jump. Both Smith and Yungblut won top individual honours claiming Huron Perth individual championships. The Senior Girls also distinguished themselves in the 4x100-metre relay with the “A” and “B” teams clinching first and second places. In Midget Boys, Justin McKague cleared the high jump bar at 1.60 metres to win the event and then leaped 11.37 metres to earn second place in triple jump. Team\mate Stuart Cameron had an outstanding improvement in the discus event with a throw of 34.35 metre to win second place in the event, missing first by only 10 centimetres. Blyth’s Alex Peters dazzled the field in Junior boys when he blazed down the track to set a new Huron Perth record and win first place in 100-metre with 11.17 seconds. The next day he once again clinched first place this time in the 200-metre event with a time of 23.74 seconds. His leap of 1.70 metres in high jump was equal to his opponent but he settled for second place because of misses during the competition. The Senior Boys also showed their strength winning their division with a substantial point advantage. The fact that the two individual winners in Senior Boys both came from Madill (one a sprinter and the other a thrower) speaks to the talent base of this group. Luke Dailleboust set the early pace in the Senior Boys 110- metre hurdles to win the event and set a new Huron Perth record. Dailleboust also won the 100-metre (11.17) and 200-metre (23.87). In the throwing events, Mitch Kuik hurled the javelin 45.77 metres to clinch first. In discus he threw the implement 41.07 metres and again won first. Then in shot put he heaved the 12 pound implement 13.81 metres to win his third gold of the meet. Both Dailleboust and Kuik won top honours as individual Senior Champs. In the jumping pits, Madill dominated with the boys placing first, second and third (Brayden Pellett 6.28 metres; Tyrell Smith 5.92 metres; Jesse Fortier 5.67 metres). The 4x100-metre relays were exciting as the Madill “A” and “B” teams, like the Senior girls won first and second places. The “A” team of Brayden Pellett, Mike Ballagh, Alex Peters, and Luke Dailleboust sprinted the baton around the track in Huron Perth record time, finishing in 44.22 seconds. The Madill team continues to enjoy success. Over the last 22 years Madill has won the Huron Perth championship 19 of those years. This success can be attributed to the ability and hard work of athletes over their four or five years of high school. It also speaks to the team effort by a large number of coaches, both teachers and community volunteers. This year the team has nine coaches who work hard with the athletes in different events (Sandy MacIntyre and Maureen Lisle - throws; Gary Lisle - horizontal jumps; Karen Dailleboust - sprints and hurdles, track coordinator; Gregory C.N. Smith - sprints; Mark Yungblut - distance running; Steve McKague - high jump; Julie McDonald - hurdles and Linnea Cameron - middle distance). Without the dedicated effort of athletes and coaches working as a team, it would be impossible to achieve the successes enjoyed by the team year after year. This year as the team heads to WOSSAA and Ontario Federation of School Athletics Association (OFSAA) Regionals and OFSAA, many Madill athletes are hopeful of continuing to improve and excel. Many have realistic aspirations of getting to OFSAA and doing well at that level. Whatever the goal, every athlete on the team contributes in their own way and enjoys success at their individual level. The WOSSAA championships are held May 24 and May 25 at the University of Western Ontario in London. Taming gravity Blyth’s Alex Peters wasn’t having any of this gravity nonsense during the Huron Perth track and field meet last week. Peters took first place in the 100-metre and 200- metre races and tied for first in the high jump event, but, due to misses earlier on, was awarded second place. (Vicky Bremner photo) Holiday action The Blyth U18 Boys, who weren’t sure whether they would get to play this year due to a lack of teams in the area, joined a different league and had their first home game on May 21 when they faced off against St. Columban. (Vicky Bremner photo)