Ever since NEAT (Northeast Alberta Track and Field Club) was established in 1989, the St. Albert Challenge has been an annual part of its competition schedule for outdoor track and field.
“Our athletes always seem to do well when they go to the St. Albert Challenge,” says Reg Green, the club’s head coach.
The local club fared very well at the 2015 incarnation of the event.
NEAT earned 16 first-place finishes, 12 second-place finishes, and 15 third-place finishes at the May 30 to 31 meet at St. Albert’s Fowler Park.
These results were significantly better than last year. There were more top three finishes from the club this year (43) than there were top five finishes for the club last year (28).
“I am really pleased with what our team has been able to accomplish,” says Green. “We have a young group this year. As a coaching staff, we’re fortunate that these kids are so keen in wanting to work hard and get better every day.”
Leading the way in impressive performances was midget boys competitor Daniel Hebert who earned five golds, two silvers and one bronze. Three of his first place finishes came virtue of winning three events as part of a two-athlete pentathlon contest against fellow NEAT member Joshua Foote.
Hebert also earned an additional first place by finishing as the overall points leader at the completion of the pentathlon. Foote also finished on top with 1,807 points.
“I have never seen two players finish with the same amount of points after a pentathlon before,” says Green. “These are two really good friends that put on a good competition against each other. Since these boys are good at a lot of different events, we thought it would be a good idea if they did this pentathlon.”
Hebert won three out of the five pentathlon events, but the events that Foote won earned more points.
In addition to earning a handful of golds and silvers from doing the pentathlon, Foote also earned bronze in the midget boys’ javelin throw. Hebert finished first in the javelin competition.
In addition to Hebert and Foote, Jocelyn Laramee earned multiple first place finishes. The 18-year-old won the women’s discus throw and women’s javelin throw.
Christian Laramee won the youth triple jump; Timi Akindele won the bantam boys shot put; and Payton Smith won the bantam girls javelin throw.
Green was pleased that the relay teams did so well, especially considering that with “most events, there are not enough members to make a team of four.”
The bantam boys and youth girls’ 4X100 teams earned gold, while the bantam girls finished with silver.
The next event featuring NEAT members will be this Saturday and Sunday at the Alberta Tyke, Pee Wee, & Bantam Championships in Sherwood Park.
The first, second and third place finishes earned by NEAT at the St. Albert Challenge were:
Timi Akindele - Boys Shot Put Bantam – 10.71m
Joshua Foote - Outdoor Pentathlon 1000 Metre Run Midget – 3:12.59
Joshua Foote - Outdoor Pentathlon Shot Put Midget – 7.75m
Joshua Foote - Outdoor Pentathlon Overall Points Leader – 1,807
Daniel Hebert - Men Javelin Throw Midget – 34.14m
Daniel Hebert - Outdoor Pentathlon 100 Metre Hurdles Midget – 18.27
Daniel Hebert - Outdoor Pentathlon High Jump Midget – 1.42m
Daniel Hebert - Outdoor Pentathlon Long Jump Midget – 4.62m
Daniel Hebert - Outdoor Pentathlon Overall Points Leader – 1,807
Christian Laramee - Men Triple Jump Youth – 11.50m
Jocelyn Laramee - Women Discus Throw – 28.97m
Jocelyn Laramee - Women Javelin Throw – 28.45m
Payton Smith - Women Javelin Throw Turbo Bantam – 18.00m
Bantam Boys 4x100 Metre Relay
Youth Girls 4x100 Metre Relay
Gideon Abedayo - Boys High Jump Bantam – 1.45m
Gideon Abedayo - Men 80 Meter Hurdles Bantam – 14:43
Bantam Girls 4X100 Metre Relay
Alycia Cole - Women 2000 Metre Run Midget – 8:23.31
Joshua Foote - Outdoor Pentathlon 100 Metre Hurdles Midget – 18.54
Joshua Foote - Outdoor Pentathlon High Jump Midget – 1.39m
Joshua Foote - Outdoor Pentathlon Long Jump Midget – 4.27m
Daniel Hebert - Outdoor Pentathlon 1000 Metre Run Midget – 3:20.35
Daniel Hebert - Outdoor Pentathlon Shot Put Midget – 7.09
Matthew Hurtubise - Men Javelin Throw Bantam – 22.85m
Courtney Hebert - Women Long Jump Youth – 5.05m
Nicole Kitt - Women 3000 Meter Run – 11:22.28
Gideon Abedayo - Boys Shot Put – 10.36m
Brittney Cole - Women 60 Metre Dash Pee Wee – 9.80
Brittney Cole - Women 150 Metre Dash Pee Wee – 23.34
Courtney Cole - Women High Jump Youth – 1.30m
Sarah Faucher - Women Long Jump Youth – 3.90m
Joshua Foote - Men Javelin Throw Midget – 25.00m
Courtney Hebert - Women 200 Metre Dash Youth – 28.72
Courtney Hebert - Women Triple Jump Youth – 9.32m
Daniel Hebert - Men Triple Jump Midget – 9.97m
Matthew Hurtubise - Boys 80 Metre Dash Bantam – 11.20
Matthew Hurtubise - Boys 150 Metre Dash Bantam – 19.94
Matthew Hurtubise - Boys 800 Metre Run Bantam – 2:21.47
Matthew Hurtubise - Boys High Jump Bantam – 1.40m
Christian Laramee - Men Javelin Throw Youth – 36.35m
Sadie Mudryk - Women 80 Metre Hurdles Midget – 16.68
