Passtrak competes at first track-and-field meet of 2023
Thirteen Passtrak members successfully competed in their first track-and-field meet of the year Jan. 8 in Calgary.
Many competitors put up personal bests and top-three performances racing in their respective groups, ranging from U10 boys to the 40-44 master division.
In his first official meet, Finnley Hay was the lone U10 competitor racing for Passtrak. The young athlete competed in the 60-metre, 150-metre and 300-metre races, placing third in each.
Representing the club in the 10-year-old girls category was Norah Smith, who competed in three races and reached the podium each time. This included a 60-metre race where she achieved a personal best time en route to a first-place finish.
The 11-year-old boys division featured two representatives of Passtrak in Declan Sutherland and Aiden Aasen.
Declan put on a dominant showcase, taking first in the 60-metre and 300-metre races while additionally posting a Passtrak record time in the 1,200-metre race, placing second.
Aiden placed second in both the 150-metre and 300-metre races, and first in the 1,200, setting a club record at four minutes 29.56 seconds.
The club’s 12-year-old competitors were Cammy Hays in the girls division and Jasper Smith in the boys division.
Cammy competed in the 60-metre, 150-metre and 400-metre races. She placed seventh, ninth and sixth, respectively. Her time of 25.47 seconds in the 150 was a new personal best.
Jasper achieved new best times in the 150-metre race, where he placed seventh, and in the 400, where he placed fourth. He placed second in the 1,200-metre race, clocking in at 5:06.96, while demolishing the previous Passtrak record in his age bracket.
Ella Peebles and Eli Bailey were the club’s 13-year-old representatives.
Ella competed in three races in the girls division, achieving career highs in all three. She placed eighth in the 60-metre race and seventh in both the 150- and 400-metre races.
Eli registered multiple career-high times in the 13-year-old boys 60- and 150-metre races, placing third and fourth. Additionally, Eli came in third place in the 400.
Cohen Folkard, Colton Sutherland and Carson Hay represented Passtrak in the 14-year-old boys division in three races a piece.
The trio dominated in the 60-metre hurdles race, sweeping the podium as Cohen, Colton and Carson placed first, second and third, respectively.
Cohen and Carson proceeded to take part in the 400-metre race, placing second and fourth while both establishing new bests.
Carson placed ninth in the 150-metre race while posting a new best time.
The trio reunited for the 1,200-metre race, as Cohen placed second, Colton placed fourth and Carson placed sixth.
Longtime Passtrak athlete Jack Bailey raced in the under-20 division, participating in the 60-metre hurdles and 600-metre race. Jack was disqualified from the 60-metre hurdles for a rule infraction, but would put up a new personal-best time during the 600 for a sixth-place finish.
Craig Hay raced twice in the 40-to-44-year-old masters division. Competing in 300- and 1,500-metre races, Craig placed second and set club records in both events.
The day ended with a second-place finish in the four-by-200-metre relay race. The team consisted of Eli, Aiden, Jasper and Declan.
Congratulations to Passtrak’s athletes on these hard-fought results and achievements.
Passtrak is a competitive track-and-field club operating out of Crowsnest Pass for area athletes aged nine and over. In its 20th year of operation, the organization is a member of Athletics Alberta as well as Athletics Canada.
