For the first time in five years, the Boyle School Huskies track and field team are the top dogs in the 1A North Central Division, outscoring the second place team by 17 points.
The 30-member track team brought home a total of 28 medals from Foote Field in Edmonton on May 19. The medal count – along with some top ten finishes – made for a combined team score of 170, meaning the 1A North Central Division banner is going to hang in the rafters of the Boyle School gymnasium.
“They were ecstatic. They were super excited,” said Huyana Turner, coach of the Boyle School track and field team. “They were trying to remember … the last year it was won, and whether if any of their older siblings had maybe earned the banner at any point. So when we got back to the school, we went to check right away when the last year was – and it was 201l.”
“It’s a big deal for them to get a banner up there in the gym,” Turner added. “They sign it and their name stays on it forever, and it’s up on the wall, something they can come back to in later years.”
A total of 18 individual members helped bring home the 28 medals from both male and female categories. Boyle School’s all-female team was ranked first among the 1A division collecting 95 points, while their male team was ranked second with a total of 75.
Happy with the way everyone performed individually, Turner said her highlight was the performance of Boyle’s relay teams. The junior girls relay team won gold in both 4x100 and 4x400 metre relay races, while the senior boys team finished second in 4x100 and third in the 4x400 metre races.
“The relays our always kind of our group favourite, because even though you don’t participate everyone comes down to make sure they’re cheering for them,” Turner said.
The 2016 season might be over for some of the Boyle athletes, but 15 members get another shot at the provincial level, also being held at Foote Field on June 3-4.
“It’s great – they’re very thrilled,” she said. “You only get those three years of high school to possibly get to that level, so they’re all very excited. It even could be more (than 15). We had a couple people finish in third, so if the person in first or second decides not to go then they’ll get bumped into that slot.”
