Barrhead Composite High School sent a team of student athletes to compete against more than 25 schools in the 2011 North Central Zone Final on May 26 at Foote Field Athletic Park in Edmonton.
Hundreds of athletes competing in more than a dozen track and field events took up residence at Foote Field.
Events included discus, shot put, javelin, long jump, triple jump, high jump and a range of track events such as the 100-metre sprint, 4x100-metre relay and a grueling 3,000-metre race.
The track meet began with an overcast sky hanging over the athletes, but it did little to dampen their spirits. The clouds dissipated for the second half of the meet, allowing for a sunny close to the North Central Zone Final.
“It’s been very fun and relaxing. There isn’t a whole lot of pressure, which is nice,” said Hayley Gottschalk following her fifth-place finish in the junior girls’ one-kg discus.
There were three classifications for each event at the meet. Boys and girls were lumped into junior, intermediate and senior. Competitors were limited to competition in one classification.
Although the meet was highly competitive, for many of the participants it was a day to meet and mingle with other student athletes from within the north central zone.
“The competition is friendly but tough. You get to know a lot of other people from other schools. It’s fun,” said Heather Voight prior to competing in the senior girls triple jump event, in which she place second overall with an average distance of 9.79 metres.
The athletes from BCHS stood out in the crowd with their team spirit and athletic ability by finishing fourth with a combined team score of 141 points, two points behind Frank Maddock High School from Drayton Valley.
The participating schools were clumped together by student population size. BCHS competed in the 3A division, which is for schools with a student populas of 300 to 799. Morinville (1st), RF Staples (2nd) and Frank Maddock (3rd) rounded out the top three in the division. St. Thomas Aquinas finished 10 points behind BCHS to claim fifth place.
“It’s great to see the kids doing well here. A lot of them have come through my program over at Barrhead Elementary and go straight into Gayle’s athletic program at BCHS. We’ve gotten to know our athletes really well,” said Barrhead Elementary School teacher Laurin Lamothe. Lamothe fired the starter pistol for the track events.
The most exciting part of the day was the 4x100 relay, which concluded the meet. Those not participating in the relay were quite vocal in their support for their teammates running the relay. Cheers and encouragement rang out from the stands and grassy knolls that surrounded the track field.
Top athletes from each event will have an opportunity to participate in the sr. high provincial track and field meet scheduled for June 3 at Foote Field in Edmonton.
“I’ll hopefully do pretty good. I can only give it my best,” said Glen Anderson following his first-place finish in the senior boys’ discus throw, with a distance of 30.71 metres.
