BOW VALLEY – The Bow Valley’s exceptionally fast trio of track athletes is getting ready for the year-end, winner-takes-all meet – the ASAA Provincial Track and Field Championships in Medicine Hat.
Having just blown away the zones competition at Foothills Athletic Park, Canmore Collegiate High School’s Tabitha Williams and Kahlen Anderson will show strategy and endurance in the senior and junior female 3,000-metre distance races, and Banff Community High School’s Anson Minty tests speed and power in the junior male 100 m and 200 m sprints.
Rising prospects in soccer, cross-country skiing and triathlon, running is naturally a part of all three local athletes' sports lives.
“I’m expecting a lot and one of my expectations is to go in and win everything,” said Minty, 15. “But you can never get too confident, so we’re going to have to find out.”
At zones in the 100 m dash, the fast-footed Minty rocketed to first with a hard-charging approach, clocking in at 11.45 seconds and 11.55 seconds in two heats.
The ASAA junior male 100 m record is an absolutely scorching time of 10.68 seconds set in 2015 by Chuba Hubbard, who's now a running back for the NFL's Carolina Panthers.
In the 200, the Banff Bear crossed the finish line in second place at 23.4 seconds.
It will be Minty’s first time attending provincials for track and he’ll be the lone Banff Bears representative. He previously attended provincials before for club soccer.
“It’s an honour to represent where I’m from and represent my area. That’s always cool,” he said.
From speed to endurance, the 3,000 m run at zones grouped all female athletes together including Grade 12 Williams and Grade 10 Anderson.
About halfway through the seven-and-a-half lap race, Anderson shot out to the front and never looked back, claiming first overall at a time of 11:34.
“I’ve been doing triathlon for five years, so that’s how I got into running,” said Anderson, who’s on the Triathlon Alberta junior provincial team. “I started with a running coach in Calgary over a year ago.”
The ASAA’s junior female 3,000 m record is a fast paced 10:18.56 set in 2012.
Anderson is confident and excited for Medicine Hat and thinks she can shave off some time among the province’s top juniors.
“Hopefully I can be in the top five,” she said. “And I think I definitely can run faster than I did at zones.”
Williams finished third overall and first in the senior category at zones, stepping over the finish line at 11:42.
In her final year of high school, it was Williams's first track and field meet ever – and she loved the experience.
“Because of COVID, I haven’t been able to do track and field at all throughout my high school career, so it was my first real race and it was really fun,” said Williams.
“My background is mainly in skiing, but we do tons of running as cross-training in the summer and the fall.”
The ASAA’s senior female 3,000 m record is 9:49.07 set by Ellen Pennock, a former U23 World Championship silver medallist in triathlon.
Next season, the English-born Williams is going to Norway to train with the British Nordic Ski Team. For now, she wants to end her high school career with at least one school sport under her belt.
“I want to have a good last high school sport experience,” she said, “where I can push herself and get a PB.”
