Without the standard provincial pathway competition in
place for the summer of 2022, it was tough to know exactly
what to make of the Legion District Track and Field meet
that was staged over the weekend in Sudbury.
Yes, numbers were down a
little as the sport, like so many others, battles its
way back to some semblance of the pre-Covid era.
But the truth is that Legion
Nationals (National Youth Track & Field Championships)
remain on the calendar, with Sherbrooke (PQ) hosting from
August 5th to the 7th. As well, the first Ontario Summer
Games since 2018 are set to take place in Mississauga
from July 21st to the 24th.
And to top things off, there
were a solid handful of noteworthy performances on Saturday
at the Laurentian University Track Complex, with a few
records broken and a glut of kids entered in the U11 and
U13 divisions, for a change.
Perhaps the answer lies in
the fact that the event itself is as difficult to pigeon-hole
into a simple single theme as it is to try and group all
of the athletes in a single fashion, with everyone looking
to walk away with something a little different from Legion
District Track this year.
Now several months into her
training, Manitoulin Secondary junior Maren Kasunich looked
to the meet as perhaps the icing on the cake, capturing
the girls 17 & under 1500m race (5:10.84), as well
as the 3000m (10:55.47) and the 2000m steeplechase (7:41.75),
setting new records in both of the latter two distances.
“The season has been
kind of long and I’m ready to settle down for the
summer,” said Kasunich, who mixed in a little volleyball
and gymnastics and a healthy approach to academics during
her 2021-2022 school year in M’Chigeeng. “When
we get into the season, I start jogging for fun and then
doing light interval workouts two or three times a week.”
“I do weight resistance
workouts and training on my own – and intervals
with my coach (Gerry Holliday).”
Earlier in June, the talented
middle distance runner competed at OFSAA for the first
time, sharing a story that is reminiscent of so many northern
athletes who have gone before. “It’s so different,”
said Kasunich, who cracked the top ten by finishing 9th
in the 3000m in a time of 10:23.70.
“In my 1500m and 3000m,
I got like eighth and ninth – and I ran even faster
than I ran today. There are some insane runners there.
It’s a blow to the ego, for sure.”
That said, some teens find
themselves able to simply go with the flow a little better
in the intense environment that is OFSAA, including Marymount
Regals grade nine thrower Kayiesha Thomas, who swept the
15 and under girls javelin (30.91m), shot put (11.08m)
and discus (17.50m) on Saturday.
“At first, it was super
intimidating (at OFSAA), but as soon as I made my first
throw, it was okay and I got into it,” said Thomas,
who qualified for two of her three events following the
NOSSA meet in Sault Ste Marie. “I got a new PB in
the javelin (25.19M) but didn’t do as well as I
believe that I could have done in the shot put –
but still did pretty well.”
Still, it’s all pretty
heady stuff for a 14 year old who had really only a short
crack at the softball toss a few years back prior to being
encouraged by teacher/coach Tina Trudeau to give these
new throws a shot this spring. Keep in mind that for as
much as there is a strength component to all three, there
is also plenty to differentiate the trio of field events.
“In the javelin, you
have a run up which gives you momentum,” explained
Thomas. “As soon as you get to the line, you have
to do crossovers which force you to twist and pull over.
With the shot put, I start backwards, so I twist and then
I turn and then I have to push outwards instead of throwing
it up.”
“With the discus, I
have to wind up and start with my legs further apart and
have to fling my arm which gives me the momentum to throw,
and then flick it off my finger to make it spin. Miss
Trudeau taught me that.”
One of several members of
the Air Blastoff contingent coached by Robert Esmie on
hand on Saturday, Mélina Doiron will have a few
options at her disposal as she prepares to start high-school
at Lo-Ellen Park Secondary in the fall, walking off with
first place ribbons in the 15 and under girls 100m dash
(13.05 seconds – new record), 200m dash (27.48 seconds)
and the triple jump (9.59m).
“Honestly, I am not
sure what I want to do, but I do really like the triple
jump,” said the grade eight student at LOE Intermediate
School. “I just got a new highest record today (PB)
– but I really think I will keep doing the 100m
and 200m in high school.”
“They are very good
races for me.”
Joining Air Blastoff earlier
this year, the triple gold medal winner at the Rainbow
Champions meet last week noticed an immediate change to
her practice routine. “He (Esmie) makes you train
a lot more and stuff,” she said. “It’s
really difficult, but it’s really fun.”
“You get a lot more
of a push.”
Other local multiple event
winners on the girls side on Saturday included Ava Bebawy
(U11 – 200m and HJ), Adrielle Charette (U13 –
100m/200m/300m), Megan Pineau (U13 – 800m/1200m),
Maggie Polischuk (U13 – HJ and shot put), Aimie
Remillard (U17 – 100m/200m) and Lucia Salmaso (U15
– 800m; U17 – 400m).
On the boys side, the potential
for the future is easy to see with first place finishers
Nehemiah Esmie (U11 – 100m/200m and LJ), Drew Herranen
(U11 – HJ and TJ), Janssen Fransen (U13 –
100m/200m and LJ) and Liam Lacroix (17U – 400m/800m).
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