Six Springbank students attended the provincial championships at Foote Field, which wrapped up Alberta's high-school track season and featured the best athletes from across the province in grades 10 through 12.
Despite a depleted roster due to coinciding commitments, Springbank Phoenix student-athletes were able to soar their wings at the Alberta Schools Athletic Association (ASAA) track-and-field provincial championships in Edmonton on June 2 and 3, finishing eighth overall among schools of a similar enrolment size.
Six Springbank students attended the provincial championships at Foote Field, which wrapped up Alberta's high-school track season and featured the best athletes from across the province in grades 10 through 12.
According to Katie Frauts, a Springbank Community High teacher and track-and-field coach, the west Rocky View County school could have possibly sent more to Edmonton, but the provincial track meet took place the same weekend as Springbank's convocation ceremony.
“I had several athletes who unfortunately had to pick and choose,” she said. “I had one girl who could have raced Friday and Saturday, but could only go up on Friday because of our grad. Then, I had another kid who couldn’t come at all because of grad, because her events were all on Saturday.”
Even with that adversity, Frauts said the Phoenix contingent made their school proud at provincials, producing a series of podium placements and personal best (PB) performances. In terms of the overall team rankings, Springbank finished the ASAA meet ranked eighth among the province's 3A schools, with 95 points.
“I think it was a first-time experience for many of them, and really good learning,” Frauts said. “There were a lot of PBs, and to be honest, I think that’s even more important than winning a medal. They were so excited to take seconds off their time and to compete at that level.
“We don’t even have a track at Springbank, and we don’t have proper long-jump pits, so it’s pretty amazing [how we did considering] what we have to work with in practice. These kids are versatile, so it’s great.”
Some highlights included Grade 11 athlete Alex Eremenko, who Frauts said wrapped up her weekend with a silver, bronze, and fourth-place finish in her events. Eremenko finished fourth in the intermediate (Grade 11) girls' 200-metre (m) dash with a finals time of 26.04 seconds, third in the 400-m dash with a time of 58.99 seconds, and second in the 300-m hurdles with a time of 44.75 seconds in the finals.
In addition to her individual success, Eremenko ran anchor for the Cochrane Cobras' 4x400-m relay team in her age group, and helped that team secure silver in their race.
Another Springbank athlete who reached the podium at provincials was Addison Berry, who won gold in the junior (Grade 10) boys' 100-m hurdles. Berry's speedy time in the final, 14.13 seconds, was more than 0.2 seconds faster than the runner-up competitor in that race.
“His time was outstanding,” Frauts said. “It was a personal best, and I think it was the top time in Alberta this year [for junior boys].”
While Berry's and Eremenko's medal hauls contributed significantly to Springbank's overall points total, Frauts said the team's MVP for the weekend was selected as Alexis Newell, a Grade 12 who finished fourth in the senior girls' 800-m race with a time of 2:25.96.
Frauts said it was impressive that Newell, who was at the graduation ceremony on June 3, was able to still make it up to Edmonton the day before.
“She was one of those kids who his graduating and had to forgo two of the races she would have done quite well in, had she not been at grad,” Frauts said.
The other three Springbank athletes who competed in Edmonton were Rosie Housman, who finished ninth in the 1,500 m; Alina Carbol, who finished 10th in the 800 m, and Ethan Young, who finished eighth in the senior boys' javelin.
According to Frauts, this year's track and field program at Springbank showed a resurgence in terms of dedication from the participating student-athletes compared to recent years.
“Honestly, I think the kids were definitely more dedicated to practice this year than I’ve seen in the last few years,” she said. “Since COVID, I think things are getting back on track. Kids are more motivated to get back to sport and extracurricular activities. I thought our Grade 9s did quite well competing at zones. Had they been older, they would have made it to provincials, but they’re in Grade 9 so we don’t have that.”
Full times, scores, and results are available at mail.ellistiming.ca
