THUNDER BAY – In order to be the best, you have to beat the best.
That was the approach that Grade 9 Hammarskjold Vikings student Jason Turek had as he arrived at Fort William Stadium for his first Northwestern Ontario Secondary Schools Athletics Association (NWOSSAA) track and field meet on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“This is a big meet and I think a lot of people underestimate just how good the people are that compete here,” Turek said.
“I like to have that mentality that you are in first place all of the time. If you really think that, you have a chance to end up being in first.”
That mindset paid off for Turek as he finished in first place in the novice boys’ 200-metre and 400m dash, and finished second to Westgate’s Krew Sampson in the 100m dash.
“I would have loved to have won that race too, but I’m still really proud to finish second,” Turek said.
“This is one of the highlights of the year for me. I’m happy to have so many great people to race against.”
In addition to earning regional bragging rights, the NWOSSA meet also served as a qualifier for next week’s Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) track and field championships.
The top two finishers in each division earned the opportunity to travel down to London for the event, which runs from June 6-8 in London.
“It’s definitely a goal for the athletes to try to accomplish that feat of finishing at the top in the province,” said Matt Steele, who is the activities director for the Superior Secondary Schools Athletic Association.
“With all of the hard work that they’ve been putting in, especially with their schools and their local clubs, we’ve seen a great deal of growth in our athletes in terms of their participation and their achievements.
“Hopefully, that will pay off down the road at OFSAA.”
While the Thunder Bay athletes often lead the charge, the NWOSSA meet features competitors all the way from Kenora to Wawa.
“I love to compete against everyone,” said Mary-Angela Galle of St. Ignatius after winning the gold medal in the senior girls’ 200m dash.
“There’s a lot of great athletes from across the whole district and it makes things really competitive for all of us.”
The meet itself belonged to Hammarskjold, as the Vikings won the overall team title and finished first overall in four out of the six divisions.
Avery Martin of St. Ignatius set a new meet record in the novice girls’ long jump. Her leap of 5.21m broke the previous mark of 5.16m that was set by Christiana Collins of St. Patrick in 2018.
Martin was also part of the Falcons’ record-setting run in the novice girls’ 4x100m relay.
The team, which also included Sofie Lacaria, Lakelane MacKenzie and Hannah Palko, sped around the track in a time of 52.41.
That smashed the previous mark that was set all the way back in 1984 by the Sir Winston Churchill Trojans.
Jadyn Warren of Hammarskjold also etched his name into the record books with a time of 1:56.72 in the senior boys 800m race.
The previous record was a 1:57.50 performance by St. Patrick’s Josh Potvin in 2007.
The Hammarskjold 4x100m senior girls relay team of Kate Clouthier, Lyndsay Gerry, Sara Clouthier and Susan Schumacher-King captured the gold with a record time of 51.17 seconds, which beat the prior mark of 52.00 that was set by the Trojans in 2008.
The Vikings also set a record in the 4x400m boys open relay as Jadyn Warren, Simon Holenstein, Maddox Holmes and Gabe Stieh joined forces for a 3:32.43 performance
That broke the old record of 3:33.50 which was achieved by a Hillcrest Colts squad in 1982.
