Led by a piper from the Trail Pipe Band and flag-bearing members of local Legions, the opening ceremony welcomed would-be track stars anxious to run, jump and throw their way onto the podium.
Close to 60 athletes gathered on a sun-soaked Haley Park field Saturday for the Royal Canadian Legion Track Meet.
With a limited number of participants, many events were completed without running heats, but some outstanding performances were turned in with 19 track records set in the over 150 events.
Trail Track and Field Club’s (TTFC) Elizabeth Mayer dominated the 10-year-old female division winning the 60-metre hurdles and sprint, 100-metre dash, 600-m run, the shot-put, high jump and the long jump, setting records in five of the events.
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Her closest test was in the 100-metre dash where she eclipsed her rival by two-tenths of a second, finishing in 16 seconds flat.
“The Mayer girl did really well, for it being her first year with the club,” said organizer and TTFC coach Dan Horan.
In the 10-year-old boys, Nathan Baldwin from Fruitvale Elementary took home first-place ribbons in the 100-metre dash and 60-metre hurdles with a second in the high jump.
Other track club notables included Hanna Shulze who finished first in the nine-year-old 60-metre hurdles, and shot put, outdistancing even the 11- and 13-year olds.
Along with Shulz and Mayer, “Nadia Pettigrew did really well, she’s a pretty quick little runner,” said Horan.
Pettigrew owned the girls 12-year old division with wins in the 80-metre hurdles, 100-metre dash, and long jump.
TTFC 12-year-old boys athlete Griffin Tatangelo also excelled with second place finishes in the 80-metre hurdles, long jump, 100-metre dash and shot put.
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The 12-year-old age group is a difficult group as results depends a lot on development.
“You can do well or you can run into someone who has matured earlier and is that more competitive,” said Horan.
For Tatangelo, his nemesis proved to be Creston’s Scott Griffioen who finished first ahead of him in three events, setting track records in the 300-metre run and the high jump.
The 13-year-olds and older age groups were comprised solely of East Kootenay athletes where Daniel Anikina of Fernie led the competitive 16-17-year age group.
Anikina, a member of the provincial track team, broke the 100-metre dash record, 11.55 seconds, and the 400 metre record with a speedy 54.9 seconds.