Oakville athletes took part in the first track and field meet of the year on Jan. 21, travelling to the Toronto Track and Field Centre at York University for the 2023 Ontario Indoor Track and Field Showcase.
Four awards came west, resulting from eight personal record (P.R.) performances by the four that attended.
Representing Oakville Track and Field Club Athletiques International, Pine Grove P.S. student Rosalie White, eight, surprised a few people by making the Final in all three of her races.
She opened the day with a silver medal over 400m, with a time of 1:35.31 in the Under-9 category. She followed that by clocking 11.81 seconds over 60m to qualify for the Final, where she sliced a full tenth of a second from that time to finish seventh. She closed out the day over 200m, with her 41.66 clocking placing her fifth.
In the Under-11 girls, Julia Paterson out-distanced all but two of her competitors to claim the bronze medal over 800m in 3:18.96
Freya White, 11, one of the younger athletes in the Under-13 girls category, brought home no awards but managed to record P.R.s in all three of her events. Her 60m time was 10.45 seconds. Her one-lap clocking was 36.69 seconds and over 400m; she stopped the clock in 1:25.52.
In the Under-13 boys, Jacob Paterson, at 11 in the lower half of his age group, managed to get into the awards, placing sixth with a 5.61m effort.
This meet marked the beginning of a busy indoor season for the locals. Meta Konijn, 15, of St. Thomas Aquinas, will be testing the waters in the triple jump this Saturday in a Prep meet, while Caitlyn Thompson, 16, will be meeting all challengers in the Under-18 girls Pentathlon on Sunday.
The veteran portion of the club takes part in the Ontario Indoor Masters Championships on Feb. 5, followed the next weekend by the Ontario/Quebec Dual Meet for Under-16 athletes on Saturday, and the Under-18 Indoor Championships on Sunday.
The club is currently training on Mondays and Wednesdays at the velodrome in Milton. Anyone interested in joining is invited to contact them by phone or text at 289-400-8725 or by e-mail at "[email protected]".