Complete Results
Many top performances would rank high in DyeStat Elite
by Bonnie Holowchuk
coach, Barrie Ontario
Some outstanding performances from the recent All-Ontario (OFSAA)
Track and
Field Championships may be of interest to Dyestat followers, since
many of
these athletes will be competing within the NCAA program over the
next few
years.
Andrew Ellerton from Confederation High School in Val Caron, Ontario
ran
1:49.82 in the 800m, which would put him in the top three on Dyestat.
Ashley Purnell from St. Mark High School in Manotick, Ontario ran
11.54 in
the girls 100m, a new Canadian high school record, and would rank
in the
top 10 on Dyestat.
The Mary Ward High School girls 4 by 400m relay set a new Canadian
record
in 3:47.35, which would rank in the top 15 on Dyestat.
The girls 1500m event featured defending champion and Canadian
World Cross
Country representative Amy Kohlmeier from Sarnia, newcomer Diane
Nukuri who
ran for Burundi at 5000m (finishing 27th in the world) in the Sydney
Olympics, now running for an Oshawa school, and last year’s
silver
medallist Laura Maludzinski from Barrie.
An expected early fast pace did not develop, as Amy Kohlmeier,
who normally
runs from the front and has experienced a lot of success doing that,
decided to hold back as she had only recently returned to training
after
suffering stress fractures. Sasha Henry, an outstanding freshman
three
years ago now struggling to return to that form, took the early
lead and
the rest of the field was content to have her hold the lead through
the
first 700 m, as they averaged a leisurely 76 seconds per quarter
through
the 700. As expected, as they entered the last two laps, Amy followed
by
Diane and then Laura surged past the early leader, and as they entered
the
bell lap, Diane followed by Laura moved past the struggling Amy,
and a
two-person race developed as Laura stayed with Diane through the
backstretch. As they rounded the final turn, Laura started to apply
pressure on the front runner, then moved strongly into the lead
at the top
of the stretch, and hung on for the victory in 4:32.76 to Diane’s
4:34.48,
with Amy hanging on gamely for third in 4:37.15. The final 800 averaged
69.5 per quarter.
The next day featured an outstanding girls 800m final, with overwhelming
early favorite and defending champion senior Danielle Abraham from
Mary
Ward High School in Toronto, facing Harvard – bound Melissa
Chittle from
Aurora, third place finisher from last year, and 800 newcomer Laura
Maludzinski, running the event for the first time in her high school
career, in this her final year.
As expected, Patricia Mayers from Eastdale High School took the
early lead,
taking the field through a blazing 61 second opening quarter. She
was
closely followed by Danielle Abraham, who then took command early
in the
bell lap. Coming into the final turn, Laura, running in fourth,
moved
quickly past two of the now-fading early pacesetters and moved into
contention, 5 metres behind Danielle as they turned into stretch.
Then a
battle ensued, as Laura inched up on the leader throughout the final
80
metres, and ran out of track as Danielle hung on for the victory
in 2:12.03
to Laura’s 2:12.16, followed closely by Melissa Chittle’s
2:13.03.
the 800 finish
After catching her breath, Danielle’s first words to her
close competitor
were “Thanks for pushing me!” For Laura, the time was
a vindication,
proving she could have run the sub-4:26 she had been training for,
in the
1500 the previous day, and a possible top prep North American time
for the
year, if the competitive conditions had been there. But she was
satisfied
with the small improvement in her PB for the 1500m, and the huge
jump in
her 800m PB. With the realization that her fine prep career had
just come
to an end, her next words were “See you in the NCAA’s
in Sacramento next
year!”, as both she and Melissa are now moving onwards to
Harvard and what
they hope to be outstanding college careers.
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