The Good Spirit School Division (GSSD) held their annual mandatory qualifying outdoor track and field meet this past Thursday with over 400 students from seven different schools taking part in a full day of what the teachers see as an 鈥榚xtended phys. Ed session鈥�.
鈥淎s teachers, we kind of look at this day as if it鈥檚 a full day of Physical Education,鈥� said Mark Schendel, a teacher at Yorkton鈥檚 M.C. Knoll school and one of the event organizers for the track meet. 鈥淭his is a mandatory track meet for kids in grades six to eight, so all of our kids are out here being physically active.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e running, jumping and throwing for the entire day and they鈥檙e keeping active and we as teachers are really proud of that fact.鈥�
Another fact that Schendel says generates pride in the teachers is that the track meet isn鈥檛 just a mandatory one; it鈥檚 also a qualifying track meet for the more dedicated athletes. 鈥淪o in addition to getting kids out and active, we also end up dividing the kids into two different teams,鈥� explained Schendel. 鈥淲e take the seven participating schools and we divide them up into two teams. Columbia, Dr. Brass and M.C. Knoll will form the Yorkton Urban Middle Years team and for the other four schools (Calder, Springside, Saltcoats and Yorkdale) they will be forming the Yorkton Rural Middle Years team.
鈥淏asically we can send 50 athletes per team to the East Central track meet at the end of the month on May 26 and 27, so we get 100 students from the area advancing to compete at the next track meet.鈥�
However Schendel believes that advancing to the East Central track meet, while great, should not be the main goal for all of the children taking part in the track meet.
Instead he feels that all the competitors should simply be competing with themselves to set their own records, or P.B.鈥檚 (Personal Bests). 鈥淪o the emphasis for us as coaches is P.B. 鈥� Personal Best,鈥� mentioned Schendel, continuing, 鈥淚 know that whatever that might be for those kids, as long as they do their personal bests and have fun doing so, that was our ultimate goal of putting this event on.鈥�
Records fall
Records are made to eventually be broken and that was the case once again at the 2015 GSSD mandatory outdoor track and field meet as four new records were posted while one old record was tied.
Columbia鈥檚 Kaleb Weinheimer shattered the 3000m Pee Wee Boys record, dusting 1:10 off of the previous record set last year by Josh Haczkewicz (12:20), finishing the race in an impressive 11:10.
Gavin Oystrick, also of Columbia, smashed the 13-year-old Bantam Boys Triple Jump record set in 2002 by Carlin McKay. Oystrick鈥檚 leap of 11.15m rewrote the record book, besting McKay鈥檚 jump of 9.86m from 2002.
Yorkdale鈥檚 Sarah Novakowski was the only athlete to set two records on the day as she knocked Avery Westberg鈥檚 2007 records out of the book in both the Bantam Girls 800m and 1500m events, running the 800m in 2:36 (Westberg ran it in 2:40) and the 1500m in 5:31 (Westberg鈥檚 run was 5:43).
Sarah wasn鈥檛 the only Novakowski to put her name in the record books on Thursday, however. Her sister Paige Novakowski tied the Bantam Girls 400m record with a 1:11 time, joining Alexandria Flaman, who did it in 2013, as the fastest Yorkton area girls in the Bantam 400m event.
And while it wasn鈥檛 exactly a record, M.C. Knoll Knight athlete Josh Haczkewicz competed in all six Pee Wee Boys running events (100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m and 3000m), placing first or second in all of the events and qualifying for the East Central competition in all events.
Unfortunately Haczkewicz will have to select his four favourite events as an athlete is only eligible to compete in a maximum of four events at East Centrals.
Girls鈥� results
100m Pee Wee 鈥� Katya Andersen(Saltcoats, first), Aubrei Diaz (Columbia, second), Makayla Prince (Columbia, third). 200m Pee Wee 鈥� Katya Andersen (Saltcoats, first), Makayla Prince (Columbia, second), Haley Desnomie (Columbia, third). 400m Pee Wee 鈥� Randi Jones (M.C. Knoll, first), Zoe Flaman (Yorkdale, second), Makenna Zimmer (Yorkdale, third). 800m Pee Wee 鈥� Zoe Flaman (Yorkdale, first), Makenna Zimmer (Yorkdale, second), Bess Maksimow (Yorkdale, third). 1500m Pee Wee 鈥� Bess Maksimow (Yorkdale, first), Zoe Flaman (Yorkdale, second), Hannah Allary (Yorkdale, third).
High Jump Pee Wee 鈥� Vanessa Asika (Columbia, first), Reanna Prychak (Yorkdale, second), Kennedy Koshman (M.C. Knoll, third). Long Jump Pee Wee 鈥� Katya Andersen (Saltcoats, first), Samantha Thompson (Columbia, second), Ashten Miller (M.C. Knoll, third). Triple Jump Pee Wee 鈥� Katya Andersen (Saltcoats, first), Rylee Sperling (M.C. Knoll, second), Alexis Repsch (M.C. Knoll, third). Shot Put Pee Wee 鈥� Thea Valstar (Springside, first), Cassidy Lake (M.C. Knoll, second), Abby Fichtner (Springside, third). Discus Pee Wee 鈥� Thea Valstar (Springside, first), Jessica Farquharson (Saltcoats, second), Katie Morgan (Saltcoats, third).
100m Bantam 鈥� Bryn Nystrom (Yorkdale, first), Ashley Buenneke (Yorkdale, second), Emma Rusnak (Yorkdale, third). 200m Bantam 鈥� Emily Hansen (Yorkdale, first), Kaila Haas (M.C. Knoll, second), Valeri Recinos (Saltcoats, third). 400m Bantam 鈥� Paige Novakowski (Yorkdale, first), Kaila Haas (M.C. Knoll, second), Billie-Jo Baumung (Calder, third). 800m Bantam 鈥� Sarah Novakowski (Yorkdale, first), Paige Novakowski (Yorkdale, second), Billie-Jo Baumung (Calder, third). 1500m Bantam 鈥� Sarah Novakowski (Yorkdale, first), Kaila Haas (M.C. Knoll, second).
High Jump Bantam聽 -聽 Bryn Nystrom (Yorkdale, first), Shelby Gibson (Springside, second), Paige Novakowski (Yorkdale, third). Long Jump Bantam 鈥� Cassidy Boychuk (Columbia, first), Bryn Nystrom (Yorkdale, second), Emma Rusnak (Yorkdale, third). Triple Jump Bantam 鈥� Sarah Novakowski (Yorkdale, first), Bryn Nystrom (Yorkdale, second), Emma Rusnak (Yorkdale, third). Shot Put Bantam 鈥� Morgan Kirby (M.C. Knoll, first), Shelby Gibson (Springside, second), Madison Rohatynsky (Yorkdale, third). Discus Bantam 鈥� Taylor Nagy (Saltcoats, first), Kelly Cole (Saltcoats, second), Olivia Gordon (M.C. Knoll, third).
100m Midget 鈥� Tierra Goodwin (Dr. Brass, first), Rebecca Pollock (Yorkdale, second), Courtney Carroll (Yorkdale, third). 400m Midget 鈥� Tierra Goodwin (Dr. Brass, first). High Jump Midget 鈥� Tierra Goodwin (Dr. Brass, first). Long Jump Midget 鈥� Rebecca Pollock (Yorkdale, T-first), Courtney Carroll (Yorkdale, T-first).
Boys鈥� results
100m Pee Wee 鈥� Josh Haczkewicz (M.C. Knoll, first), Val Declines (Columbia, second), M.J. Saracho (Columbia, third). 200m Pee Wee 鈥� Josh Haczkewicz (M.C. Knoll, first), Jackson Berezowski (M.C. Knoll, second), Austin Dycer (Yorkdale, third). 400m Pee Wee 鈥� Josh Haczkewicz (M.C. Knoll, first), Tyler Buenneke (Yorkdale, second), M.J. Saracho (Columbia, third). 800m Pee Wee 鈥� Josh Haczkewicz (M.C. Knoll, first), Jackson Berezowski (M.C. Knoll, second), Connor Watrych (Yorkdale, third). 1500m Pee Wee 鈥� Kaleb Weinheimer (Columbia, first), Josh Haczkewicz (M.C. Knoll, second), Tyler Buenneke (Yorkdale, third).
High Jump Pee Wee 鈥撀� Kelvin Harris (Columbia, first), Austin Dycer (Yorkdale, second), Brady Bjornerud (M.C. Knoll, third). Long Jump Pee Wee 鈥� M.J. Saracho (Columbia, first), Kelvin Harris (Columbia, second), Devon Musey (Calder, T-third), Garrett Ellis (Yorkdale, T-third). Triple Jump Pee Wee 鈥� Kelvin Harris (Columbia, first), Brad Heskin (M.C. Knoll, second), Brady Bjornerud (M.C. Knolll, third). Shot Put Pee Wee 鈥� Brad Heskin (M.C. Knoll, first), Austin Derbowka (Springside, second), Andrew Yeadon (Columbia, third). Discus Pee Wee 鈥� Andrew Yeadon (Columbia, first), Brad Heskin (M.C. Knoll, second), Austin Derbowka (Springside, third).
100m Bantam 鈥� Zach McIntyre (Yorkdale, first), Gregor Farquharson (Saltcoats, second), Daniel Balysky (Yorkdale, third). 200m Bantam 鈥� Zach McIntyre (Yorkdale, first), Shane Scharf (Yorkdale, second), Dylan Lepowick (Yorkdale, third). 400m Bantam 鈥� Jordin Rusnack (Yorkdale, first), Hazzard Friskie (M.C. Knoll, second), Wesley Palamar (Columbia, third). 800m Bantam 鈥� Tasso Stamatinos (Columbia, first).
High Jump Bantam 鈥� Garion Miller 鈥� Columbia (first), Dylan Lepowick (Yorkdale, second), Gavin Oystrick (Columbia, third). Long Jump Bantam 鈥� Gavin Oystrick (Columbia, first), Jordin Rusnack (Yorkdale, second), Dylan Lepowick (Yorkdale, third). Triple Jump Bantam 鈥� Gavin Oystrick (Columbia, first), Jordin Rusnack (Yorkdale, second), Shane Scharf (Yorkdale, third). Shot Put Bantam 鈥� Jordan Stewart (Yorkdale, first), Bryant Jones (Springside, second), Ryder Langan (Columbia, third). Discus Bantam 鈥� Ryder Langan (Columbia, first), Tanner Washington (Columbia, second), Terrence Shingoose (Dr. Brass, third).
100m Midget 鈥� Hunter Thompson (Saltcoats, first), Cody Strutynski (Saltcoats, second), Juan Gonzalez (Saltcoats, third). High Jump Midget 鈥� Hunter Thompson (Saltcoats, first), Einar Sigurdur (Dr. Brass, second), Juan Gonzalez (Saltcoats, third). Long Jump Midget 鈥� Cody Strutynski (Saltcoats, first), Hunter Thompson (Saltcoats, second), Juan Gonzalez (Saltcoats, third). Shot Put Midget 鈥� Cody Strutynski (Saltcoats, first), Einar Sigurdur (Dr. Brass, second). Discus Midget 鈥� Einar Sigurdur (Dr. Brass, first), Hunter Thompson (Saltcoats, second), Juan Gonzalez (Saltcoats, third).
