A good number of the competitors
at the 2024 Black Flies Track Meet Friday afternoon at
Laurentian University looked to be in mid-season form.
Given that the track has been opened for
outdoor practices for roughly a month now and that we
are already just over two weeks away from the city track
& field championships, this is a very good thing.
In the ultra-abbreviated schedule that
is high-school track in Sudbury, there honestly isn’t
much of a “mid-season” to speak of anyways.
With his sights set on the 800m novice
boys school record (2:09 – 2016 – Lucas Mrozewski),
Lo-Ellen Park freshman Narayan Shukla knows that time
is of the essence in this pursuit.
A 2:14.88 clocking on Friday might not
seem all that close, but given that there was a limited
push (second place finisher Wyatt Williamson-Wright was
at 2:17.20 in this heat) and that conditions were certainly
not ideal (wet and soggy), it’s certainly not a
completely unrealistic target for the well-spoken newcomer
to high-school track.
“My end goal this year would be
to break my school record but I have to shave off five
seconds to do that,” said Shukla. “It’s
going to be hard, but hopefully I can get there. If not,
I’m looking at 2:10, 2:11. My long-term goal is
to get as fast as I can in high-school and then continue
running after high-school.”
An accomplished basketball talent as well,
Shukla is clearly predisposed to races that are 800 metres
or less, recognizing that they likely tap into two very
different strengths in the make-up of the young runner.
“I feel like the 400m has more of
a physical toll – it hurts your body – but
the 800m is more of a mental toll,” explained Shukla.
“You’ve got to run it (800m) smart. With the
400m, you just have to hope that your body can keep up
with how fast you want to go.”
Given his relative inexperience at the
high-school level, small wonder that this early stretch
is still providing learning opportunities for the talented
14 year-old. “I noticed at a practice with my school
that I was going out too slow (in the 800m),” said
Shukla. “I had to pass everyone to try and get a
good time.”
“Today, I got out quickly into lane
three and then just went at my own pace.”
Yet another multi-sport talent, Lo-Ellen
Park / Sudbury Jr Spartans receiver-slotback Carson Huzij
is at very least contemplating the possibility of competing
in both football and track at a post-secondary level.
His recent in-roads in the latter, taking top spot in
the Men’s Open 100m dash with a nearly half-second
win, suggests that the 18 year-old is getting closer and
closer to making it happen.
“This winter, me and my coach (Robert
Esmie – Air Blastoff Lions) really focused on the
drive phase,” said Huzij, breaking the finish line
at 11.44 seconds on Friday. “In analyzing my footage,
we noticed I was coming up vertically after the first
three steps. All winter, we practiced drive phase, drive
phase, drive phase, holding it for 30 yards or more.”
“That’s really where the speed
comes from.”
Already having drawn football interest
from a pair of Canadian schools (Bishop’s and St
Mary’s), Huzij is committed to circling back for
one more year of high-school in the hopes of catching
the eyes of scouts south of the border. As he continues
to get faster, it’s obviously important to understand
exactly how he wants to translate that extra speed on
the football field.
“When it comes to route running,
I act like I am running 100% but I am really only running
70%,” said Huzij. “When I make my move, that’s
when I go up to top speed. Making a cut at 100% speed
can be very dangerous for your ankles.”
And like Shukla, Huzij enters the 2024
track season with at least one very aggressive goal.
“I’m striving to break 11
seconds this year,” said Huzij (the SDSSAA senior
boys record is 11.07 seconds set by Eric Roque in 2008).
“I think come NOSSA, with a good block start, I
can definitely do it.”
Daniel Cova won’t be setting any
SDSSAA records any time soon – though he certainly
has the talent to do so.
With the former Black Flies Relay Meet
now converted over to what amounts to an Athletics Ontario
sanctioned open event, the Ottawa native who attends E.S.C.
Louis Riel took advantage of a planned trip to Sudbury
to visit family to sneak in an appearance at the L.U.
track, recording the fastest time in the Men’s 3000m
at 8:59.85.
Given that this is comfortably off the
time of 8:46.67 that he posted last August in winning
gold at the Ontario U14/U16/U18 Championships –
a time that is roughly ten seconds faster than the SDSSAA
record held by Ross Proudfoot – it only made sense
that Laurentian varsity coach Darren Jermyn would also
coordinate a campus recruitment tour for the 17 year-old
grade 11 student at the same time.
“Honestly, that wasn’t my
best race – I’ve run a lot faster,”
Cova confessed. “But I was sick last week, so it’s
good to get back out. It went alright.”
“I was visiting my family in Sudbury
and had a few connections with the coaches here (at L.U.),
so I came by to visit the school.”
A bronze medal winner in the junior boys
1500m at OFSAA 2023, Cova is looking to qualify for Legion
Nationals in the 3000m this summer, hopefully hitting
the podium.
Following are the top three finishers
from all of the open events that were hosted on Friday:
Open Women
100m – Melina Doiron (12.76); Annabelle Richardson
(13.10); Maija Potvin (13.36)
200m – Annabelle Richardson (27.68); Milena Kulik
(28.26); Leah Serre (28.28)
400m – Barbara Ceccon (1:03.44); Lucia Salmaso (1:04.54);
Karly Kero (1:04.61)
800m – Barbara Ceccon (2:27.06); Lucia Salmaso (2:27.09);
Mackenzie Green (2:33.09)
1500m – Georgia Lepage (5:17.46); Charlotte Grenier
(5:23.13); Megan Pineau (5:27.36)
3000m – Charlie Borak (11:30.89); Lauren Pineau
(11:32.77); Valérie Vaillancourt (11:52.19)
Long Jump – Saraya Eshkawkogan (4.65m); Nadia MacDonald
(4.53); Kali Clement (4.45m)
Open Men
100m – Carson Huzij (11.44); Darren Joiner (11.84);
Abdul Abiodun (11.92)
200m – Carson Huzij (23.59); Christian Hodgins (23.70);
Darren Joiner (24.26)
400m – Brandon Radey (51.35); Jacob Paille (52.35);
Christian Hodgins (52.88)
800m – Nolan Kuhlberg (2:00.87); Jacob Paille (2:07.53);
Shiloh Sauve (2:07.87)
1500m – Brodie Pennie (4:14.32); Sam Rice (4:32.44);
Jesse Daniw (4:37.01)
3000m – Daniel Cova (8:59.85); Brodie Pennie (9:00.22);
Sam Rice (9:26.29)
Long Jump – Zidain Allen (5.60m); Jesse Plante (5.45m);
Will Mackay (5.44m)
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