Pacers on track during recent national meet
Track and field championships were held at Montreal’s Claude Robillard Sports Complex last weekend
The Peterborough Legion Pacers boast a national champion and produced three, top-six finishes at the Canadian National Indoor Track & Field Championships at Montreal’s Claude Robillard Sports Complex on the weekend.
Gavyn Small won the gold medal in the 60 metre dash of the boys U18 division in a blistering personal best time of 6.99 seconds. It came after he also led all runners in Sunday morning’s heats with a time of 7.06, which was also personal best prior to his time in the final. Small also placed fourth in the 200 m timed final with a time of 23.16 seconds, just two one-hundredths shy of his personal best.
Harrison Booth competed in the Open Division for pole vault and easily tied his season best with a 4.15 m jump, placing him sixth against vaulters from as far away as Florida and British Columbia.
Pole vault coach Graham Booth says he is pleased with his son’s performance.
“Harrison has really committed himself to vaulting. Last year, he was the U20 Indoor national champion. This year, he moved up to the Open Division where the competition was much stiffer. It is nice to see that he is still one of the country’s best,” said Grahame Booth. “I’d like to mention and thank all the Pacer coaches as they have dedicated so much time as volunteers, just for the love of track. We are lucky to have such strong coaching talent in Peterborough.”
Sophie Cuthbert competed in both the 60 m and 200 m U18 girls events. In the 200 m on Saturday, a timed final, she navigated a tight track having a Lane 1 assignment.
She placed 29th in one of the largest fields of the day with over 49 competitors. Her time was 27.55 seconds, not far off her personal best. On Sunday, she competed in the 60 m, where she posted a personal best time of 8.20 seconds which ranked her 12th.
“We are extremely proud of all our athletes who competed and trained with us this season,” said Pacers head coach Eric Sutton. “The commitment from our athletes and their parents is truly remarkable. The team trained out of the two Millbrook arenas as well as York University in order to train at a proper track and field facility. And yet even with the lack of facilities in the Peterborough area, our athletes were still able to find success on the national stage. The success of our athletes is a testament to their dedication and passion toward the sport. To become a national champion like Gavyn or place in the top 10 like Harrison without having proper facilities, you have to recognize that this is something special.”