It’s not something you see every day in high school athletics.
Two Okotoks schools representing two grades were represented on the provincial podium with a trio of Foothills Falcons and one Holy Trinity Academy Knight working together to race to a bronze medal finish in the 4x400m open relay at the Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association Provincial Track & Field Championships, held June 2-3 at Edmonton’s Foote Field.
Foothills’ Heuver brothers, Josh and Nathan, joined forces with fellow Grade 10 Falcons ace MacKendrick Weber and Holy Trinity Academy Knights senior Leon Spatz, a friend and colleague from club track.
“Normally the rivalry is pretty intense between HTA and Comp,” said Josh, a Grade 12 student, with a laugh. “But Leon is a friend and we really thought this would be our best chance to move forward and possibly medal at provincials.
“For the sake of that, we were willing to be friends with HTA for a weekend.”
The South Central Zone team held the best time in the first heat at 3:36.95 and had to watch nervously to see if it would stand.
“I was a little anxious and nervous watching the second heat,” said Nathan, a Grade 10 student. “We didn’t quite know where we were going to place, going into it we were seeded fifth and I think we all surprised ourselves and we all ran a pretty good race.”
The 4x400m open relay, uniquely, is open to all high school ages and is run over separate heats rather than a preliminary and final round typically seen.
“We know Leon from (club track) and he’s a really good athlete and we knew he would be a really good addition to the team and help us get to where we got,” Nathan said. “Mack is a phenomenal athlete and a really great runner and one of my good friends from school.
“This was the only chance I had to compete at provincials with (Josh), as a team. It was a pretty good opportunity, it was really fun and I hope to do the same with my younger brother Noah, the next two years.”
Josh Heuver added a pair of fourth-place finishes at provincials in the gruelling 1,500m race, in which he shaved nine seconds of his personal best time, and in the 300m hurdles.
The Falcons as a whole had a stellar meet with 13 top-10 finishes in individual events, finishing 11th in the standings amongst 4A schools.
Weber won silver in the junior boys 3,000m race, in 9:23.38, to claim Foothills’ lone individual medal finish in Edmonton and was fourth in the 800m event.
In the senior girls ranks, Tia Glazier sprinted to sixth-spot in the 100m, Danielle Linkletter was seventh in long jump and eighth in triple jump, Katrina Michel raced to a seventh place finish in the 400m and Brynn Holditch was ninth in the 1,500m.
Grade 11 Sydney Neukom was fifth in the 800m with teammate Fraser Halbert sixth in intermediate boys 1,500m and seventh in the 3,000m.
In the intermediate boys ranks, Nate Selmser was 12th in triple jump and Blake Robinson 13th in the long jump with Grade 10 Owen Andrews eighth in the discus.
“This has definitely been one of the bigger years for Foothills Composite in track, at least that I’ve been a part of,” Josh said. “And I was really glad to see that result and that the efforts of everyone paid off.
“It was a great weekend altogether for Foothills and HTA as well.”
The Knights saw a defending champion reach the podium once again and a number of first-time qualifiers impress on the provincial stage.
Knights senior Nathan Weiss made it two provincial medals in as many years with a silver medal leap in the long jump with a 6.05m distance in the finals.
“It was exciting to be able to do well in long jump, last year I didn’t even make it to provincials in long jump,” said Weiss, who attributed his success to joining the Calgary Spartans club and training sprinting. “I’m proud of it, it’s just a cool accomplishment. Medalling last year was completely unexpected for me and I think it’s just the product of joining a track club and continuing with the talent I already had.
“And it just shows that my effort paid off.”
Weiss added a seventh-place finish in the triple jump, the event in which he topped the podium last year.
Spatz notched a fifth-place performance in the senior boys 400m in 52.29 seconds, Grade 11 Ife Talabi was eighth in the 100m sprint in 13.35 seconds and Kira Bartos was seventh in the junior girls javelin with a 28.52m throw.
“It was definitely a big jump from (divisionals and zones),” Bartos said. “I felt like we all connected a bunch and it was really fun to hang out with everyone.”
In the relay events, the 4x100m intermediate girls team of Talabi, Sapphire Friesen, Sidanee Bowers and Jean Lim were fifth place finishers.
The 4x400m mixed relay squad of Kate Pettersen, Madison Maksymich, Peter Wonderham and Jeremy Cieplak crossed the finish line in tenth place, the same position of HTA’s 4x100m junior boys relay featuring Seth Poelzer, Cayden McCullough, Thomas Rowan and Michael Makowsky.
“I felt like we became a family,” said Pettersen, a Grade 11 student. “I felt that last year, but even more this year and it’s fun to just go and cheer each other on.”
The Strathcona-Tweedsmuir Spartans earned 28 points at provincials, good for 23rd among 2A schools.
Grade 10 Kaya Singha powered to a fourth-place finish in the junior girls shotput with fellow junior Rahman Anifowoshe seventh in the triple jump and 12th in the long jump.
For more information on the provincial meet, visit asaa.ca/championships.
