Farrugie, Fredericks finished tied for 13th at Ontario Mid-Amateur
Mikayla Hartnett is an example of how a little hard work can go a long way.
In two previous years, the Grade 6 pupil at St. Catherine School had never won a race at the Holy Cross Family of Schools track and field meet. On Thursday, she blazed her way around the track at Holy Cross Secondary School to victories in both the junior girls 400 and 800 metre runs.
“Last year I worked hard but I didn’t work hard enough and my foot started hurting which slowed me down a bit,” Hartnett said, following her 400m race.
The foot was fine this year and so were her results which she admits were a bit of a surprise.
“I didn’t expect to come first,” she said.
When she crossed the line first in the 800m, she said the first thought that came to mind was “How did I do this?”
When asked how did she do it, Hartnett replied “I just focused on myself and I worked hard.”
In addition to practice at school, she ran a bit with her father Jamie and says her mother Kelly used to run in school so she thinks she’s inherited some running ability.
“Mikayla is a student who has good work habits at school and wants to do well all the time,” said St. Catherine coach Richard Masse. “She puts the effort into it and tries her best to improve. When possible, she asks for what she can work on to improve. I’m assuming she did a lot at her house as well as practising with us. With that extra practice she moved up.”
The junior age group includes Grades 4 ti 6 so athletes tend to improve their results as they get older, said Masse.
“When you see someone like her improving that much it’s because they work hard to do well and do a little extra at home,” he said.
There were more than 300 athletes from six local schools competing in 10 events. The family of schools meet is the only one of the season for the separate board’s elementary athletes. The St. Peter’s Family of Schools event was held on Tuesday.
St. Patrick School Grade 6 pupil Dennis Flanagan also had an outstanding day both on the track and in the field. He won the junior boys 200 and 400m runs as well as the running long jump.
Flanagan has won some events in past years but never put together St. Patrick School's Dennis Flanagan competes in the boys 400 metre heat during the Holy Cross Family of Schools elementary track and field meet on Thursday at the Holy Cross Secondary School track. See more photographs from the meet in the online gallery at www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com. a day like this before.
“I’ve been trying out and practising a lot more,” he said. “I sometimes run around my neighbourhood and race people. I do stuff at school like playing tag and soccer which involves a lot of running which helps.”
Flanagan also plays hockey, soccer and baseball so he’s active. He hoped to do well at the meet but admits he wasn’t expecting three first place ribbons.
“There are lots of schools here and some pretty fast kids,” he said.
Flanagan also believes his roots might play a role in his success. The Caribbean islands are known for producing track stars and Flanagan was born on St. Vincent island before moving to Peterborough at age three. Steve Fredericks Peterborough's Mike Farrugia slipped off the pace on the final day of the Golf Ontario 2017 Investors Group Ontario MidAmateur Championship at Deerhurst Resort on Thursday. Farrugia entered the third and final round sitting in third place, three strokes behind the leaders. Farrugia fired a 79, after rounds of 72 and 73, to finish with a +8 total of 224 to tie for 13th place. Coincidentally, the Peterborough Golf and Country Club member tied with Peterborough's Steve Fredericks, of Kawartha Golf and Country Club. Fredericks climbed 20 spots in the standings with a final round 71 to go along with rounds of 77 and 76. One year after losing in heartbreaking fashion, Kitchener's Ryan Kings returned to the Mid-Am looking to claim the title that eluded him. Kings, from Deer Ridge Golf Club, entered the final round with a share of the lead. After a back-and-forth round with London's Charles Fitzsimmons, Kings drained a birdie on the 18th hole to win the championship. Kings was even on the day when he made the turn and then made his move on the last five holes. He ended the round with back-toback birdies to claim the title. Kings finished the day two-under to end the tournament four-under (72-70-70-212).