For the last 25 years students from Barrhead Elementary School have been participating in the Edmonton Journal Indoor Games, the premier track event for elementary aged athletes in the province. This was the case once again on the morning of Saturday, March 15 as the teams pulled out of the school parking lot in the early morning gloom. The difference was that for the first time in 35 years the sponsorship of the games was now in the hands of The Running Room who had been passed the baton of corporate sponsorship from The Journal.
The Indoor Games involves over 6000 athletes and over 250 elementary boys and girls 8 x 200m relay teams in each division. Competition began on February 19 when the first elimination rounds were held. From that point teams were invited back to attend the final competition that involved quarter final, semi-final, consolation and medal finals.
After the elimination round the girls team sat in a disappointing 44th place based on the time of their run. After a month of rigorous training the ladies improved an astounding eighteen seconds to finish with the 6th fastest time in the entire competition which garnered them 1st place in the consolation final. Their amazing results were a testament to the work ethic and desire to improve that they displayed.
The boys were a different story as they came into race day as the third fastest qualifying team building on the strength of the core of athletes that remained from the silver medal winning teams from the two previous years.
After advancing with wins in the quarter final and semi-final races the boys went into the final ranked number one with the fastest time of the day belonging to them.
The team followed the same format that they had in previous races, maintaining close contact with the leading teams then pulling away with the final three runners Ricky Yarrow, Seth Hladilo and Robert Kincaid putting dust and distance between themselves and the competiton.
The race was following pretty much the same plan as Kolby Miller, a grade four student competing in his first Indoor Games final, received the stick and set off in hot pursuit of long time rivals Muriel Martin and Centennial School that at that time occupied first and second place.
As Kolby honed in the two teams ahead tangled up and both went down. Dodging the debris and devastation Kolby seized the opportunity to burst past the fallen runners as they scrambled to their feet in an adrenalin charged dash after the new leader.
As the baton was passed to Yarrow the same script as had been played out in the two previous races of the day was repeated. Yarrow to Hladilo to Kincaid proved to be to much for the competition as the boys brought home their fastest time of the day en route to a well deserved gold medal.
This was the sixth time in the last 25 years that either the Barrhead boys or girls teams have come away with the gold medal in the elementary 8x200m relays. Both teams now can lay claim to three titles each. Previous winning years were girls in 1992, 1997 and 2005. Boys teams have won in 1993, 1995 and 2014.
Since 2005 teams from Barrhead including elementary, junior high and high school athletes have won 10 medals in relays at the Indoor Games.
Congratulations go to the athletes, coaching staff, Dale Erickson, Brent Weirenga, Gayle and Laurin Lamothe and thanks to the parents and family that attended and cheered on the Barrhead athletes to another successful year.
