Barrhead’s track and field athletes are gearing up for a jam-packed next few weeks, with no fewer than six meets on tap for elementary, junior high and high school athletes wanting to show their stuff.
“It’s a big season,” said coach Gayle Lamothe. “There’s six meets in the span of only 30 days.”
Track and field in Barrhead is a special experience, with students of all levels given the chance to take part in most of the major events that can be found at an international track meet.
Perhaps the most significant sector of the team is the track component, run jointly by Gayle and Laurin Lamothe. This is a dedicated group of students ranging in age from Grade 5 all the way to Grade 12, Gayle said, many of whom have been running since their days on the Edmonton Journal relay team. They start their practising indoors in the winter, before taking a brief break after the Journal relay before starting up again closer to track season.
At the high school level, the remaining field athletes are under the watch of Kyle Becker. These are athletes who signed up in the spring to take part. Their practices run alongside the relay every Tuesday and Thursday.
The junior high teams hold their practices Tuesdays and Wednesdays under the coaching of Warren Warehime and Colin Erickson, Lamothe said.
Once competition gets underway, it’s a quick sprint to the finish at all levels.
The senior high zone meet is May 24 at Foote Field in Edmonton. The top two athletes or teams in each event qualify for the provincial meet, slated for June 1-2 at Foote Field.
For the junior high athletes, Lamothe said BCHS is hosting the divisional meet on May 28. From there, the top two finishers advance to the zone meet in St. Albert on June 5.
At the elementary level, the first meet of the year is a Hershey meet May 27 in St. Albert. The top qualifiers advance to take part in the Edmonton International Athletics Festival June 16-17 at Foote Field.
