The elongated Sudbury winter may have slowed down the training for the local track & field community, but if it did, it sure didn't show Saturday at the 2018 L.U. Black Flies Meet at Laurentian University.
A handful of record setting performances showed the way, with plenty of other athletes demonstrating mid-season form as the SDSSAA contingent prepare for both the city championships, as well as NOSSA, both to be hosted in Sudbury this year.
A pair of sprinters were particularly effective as Zach Mainville (senior - Collège Notre-Dame) and Christina Robert (senior - Lo-Ellen Park) both established a pair of new records.
Mainville lowered the standard in the boys 100m and 200m to 10.97 and 22.64 seconds respectively, with Robert doing the same with clockings of 12.27 and 26.02 in the senior girls' sprints.
"Luckily, we have good indoor facilities, so we practiced a lot at the indoor track, tried to take advantage of that," said Mainville, whose sub-11 time would put him in contention to reach an OFSAA final in the event.
In spite of his quickness in the shorter distance, it's still the 200m dash that he favours. "I just love being on the bend, passing people that are on the outside when I'm on the inside. It gives me motivation, and that stretch is then what everyone is looking at."
Other local record setters included:
Lo-Ellen Park - MG + JG - 4 X 100m relay - 55.14
Amy Connelly (Confederation) - JG - high jump - 1.61m
Jaclyn Groom (Lockerby) - SG - long jump - 5.05m
Kurtis Wennerstrom (Lo-Ellen) - JB - long jump - 6.39m
Kurtis Wennerstrom (Lo-Ellen) - JB - triple jump - 13.00m
Max Mahaffy (Lo-Ellen) - JB - 400m - 56.84
Callum Bruser (Lo-Ellen) - SB - triple jump - 13.10m
The meet also attracted an interesting mix of out of town talent, including solid representation from Ecole Secondaire Theriault in Timmins, both Elliot Lake and Espanola Secondary Schools, as well as a future Laurentian Voyageur, just preparing for one final run at OFSAA.
"I used to be a 400m/800m guy, in grades nine and ten, and now I find that I've moved up to 800m and 1500m," noted 18 year old Eric Gareau of Ecole Secondaire Monseigneur Bruyère in London.
"I think the 800m will be my go to race. It's never a slow race, always a speed race, compared to the 1500m, where sometimes you just sit and kick." Gareau eclipsed the previous mark in the senior boys 1500m race, covering the distance in 4:08.98, well ahead of second place finisher from Sault Ste Marie.
"I thought I ran pretty good," said Gareau, who begins his studies in the Forensic Science and Chemistry programs in Sudbury come September. "If I hadn't run the 800m this morning, it might have been better. My legs are a little shot."
Other non-SDSSAA athletes establising new records were:
Macy Turcotte (Theriault) - MG - 1500m - 5:12.05
Annika Jozin (Wawa) - MG - high jump - 1.51m
Hillary Clark (Elliot Lake) - SG - 800m - 2:26.18
Jordyn Bartolomucci (Theriault) - SG - 3000m - 10:53.82
Owen Piché (Espanola) - MB - high jump - 1.66m
Rounding out the complete listing of event winners at the 2018 Black Flies Meet are:
Midget Girls Division
100m - Amanda Jozin (Wawa) - 13.58
200m - Janae Hardware (Widdifield) - 28.00
400m - Janae Hardware (Widdifield) - 1:03.61
800m - Alison Symington (LOE - elementary) - 2:30.09
80m hurdles - Isabelle Maki (Lo-Ellen) - 14.72
Long Jump - Ava Lamothe (unattached) - 4.22m
Triple Jump - Allie Weiler (Marymount) - 8.37m
Junior Girls Division
100m - Jadyn Zeppa (Korah) - 12.91
200m - Jadyn Zeppa (Korah) - 27.60
400m - Erika Brown (Lo-Ellen) - 1:05.12
800m - Alexa Caron (Theriault) - 2:32.75
1500m - Alexa Caron (Theriault) - 5:34.17
80m hurdles - Hanna Smith (Lo-Ellen) - 14.14
Long Jump - Jadyn Zeppa (Korah) - 4.45m
Triple Jump - Arianna Radey (Lasalle) - 8.49m
Senior Girls Division
400m - Kate Dambremont (St Benedict) - 1:04.05
1500m - Maxine Dupuis (Theriault) - 5:08.79
100m hurdles - Jaclyn Groom (Lockerby) - 17.33
4 X 100m relay - Lasalle Secondary - 57.07
High Jump - Meghan Laframboise (St Benedict) - 1.29m
Triple Jump - Emma Weltz (O'Gorman) - 10.16m
4 X 400m relay - Lo-Ellen Park Secondary - 4:30.32
Midget Boys Division
100m - Xander Bagnell (Widdifield) - 12.39
200m - Xander Bagnell (Widdifield) - 26.12
400m - Tyson Belland (Lasalle) - 1:03.74
800m - Ethan Scott (Widdifield) - 2:15.71
1500m - Ethan Scott (Widdifield) - 4:48.54
100m hurdles - Bryce Dasahais (Lo-Ellen) - 17.17
Long Jump - Will Fabbro (Lo-Ellen) - 5.17m
Triple Jump - Rodney Wilcox (Lasalle) - 10.07m
Junior Boys Division
100m - Connor MacNeill (Confederation) - 12.16
200m - Nathan Fok (Scollard Hall) - 25.95
800m - André Larocque (Notre-Dame) - 2:11.35
1500m - Vincent Chenier (Theriault) - 4:29.93
High Jump - Laydon Bursey (Lo-Ellen) - 1.66m
4 X 100m relay - Lasalle Secondary - 50.77
Senior Boys Division
400m - Lucas Mrozewski (Lo-Ellen) - 53.33
800m - Eric Gareau (Msgr Bruyere) - 2:00.33
3000m - Vincent Chenier (Theriault) - 9:42.87
110m hurdles - Brendan Fabbro (Lo-Ellen) - 19.42
4 X 100m relay - Lo-Ellen Park Secondary - 46.95
Long Jump - Callum Bruser (Lo-Ellen) - 5.83m
A number of these athletes are back in action this coming weekend as North Bay plays host to the 2018 Nipissing Invitational.
