Breckels on fast track
Thorold Elite Track Club runner Fenway Breckels has the perfect name for a baseball player.
“My dad really likes baseball and my mom’s side of the family is from Boston so they kind of combined the two,” the 15-year-old St. Catharines resident said.
But even though the Grade 10 student at Governor Simcoe is named after the iconic Boston ballpark, Breckels’ passion is running.
He started running the 800 metres in Grade 3 and came second at his school meet. In Grade 4 and 5, he came first in the 1,500 metres at his school and he usually finished near the top of the pack at District School Board of Niagara cross country and track and field meets.
In the summer going into his Grade 9 year, Thorold Elite Track Club head coach Steve Fife messaged him and asked if he wanted to train with the club.
It has turned out to be great decision.
“The atmosphere is kind of nice and I like all the people. I really enjoy it,” Breckels said.
Fife and the club’s other distance coaches, Cheryl Rosts, and Tammy Gaspich, have been impressed by Breckels.
“He gives 110 per cent at every practice and completes every rep of every workout,” Fife said. “He is quiet but has really come into his own on the track and become a force to be reckoned with as he has developed his confidence and started to unlock his potential.”
Breckels agrees with that assessment.
“When I started I wasn’t that fast and I was probably one of the slowest people out of all the people in my club. But then I started getting faster and was coming top three in the workouts when we are doing our intervals and stuff. That has really helped my confidence.”
Breckels has run a personal best in every single race so far this season and running has gone from being a hobby to a full-fledged passion.
“I used to go on three 5K runs a week as a hobby but now I go a lot more than that,” he said. “I run 50 to 60 K a week and I care about it a lot more now that I did before.”
Success has bred success for the runner.
“I think it started when I realized that I was faster and it feels really good to win races and stuff,” he said.
The personal-best times are just part of the process.
“I have a lot of time to progress and get faster for every race,” he said,
He has already set long-term goals for the sport.
“I am hoping to get a scholarship at a university somewhere.”
Breckels has made significant progress in the sport.
Last fall, he placed 20th overall and was part of the Thorold Elite under-16 boys team that earned silver medals at the Athletics Ontario Western Ontario Cross Country Championships. The Merritton Bulldogs hockey player ran a time 5:21.75 in the 1,500 metres at the DSBN Championships in Grade 7. In April 2021, he opened up with a 4:40.78 in his first 1,500 in almost two years. On his birthday, his latest personal best in the 1,500 metres was 4:25.77.
In the 3,000 metres , he opened at 10:20.64 in April 2021 and achieved his personal best of 9:47.14 at the NXT CHAMP invitational in Toronto on July 18.
Below are results from recent Athletics Ontario provincial championships.
U20 CHAMPIONSHIPS
At the under-20 championships: Callan Saldutto of York University Track Club won gold in the men’s javelin; Gwendolyn Cudmore of Thorold Elite Track Club won silver in the women’s high jump; and, Denis Tzvetkov from Thorold Elite, earned bronze in the men’s decathlon.
OPEN/PARA CHAMPIONSHIPS
At the Open and Para Championships, Erik Kuchemann of Athletics Niagara won gold in both the men’s 100-metre and 200-metre ambulatory races; and, Nicole Beach of the Niagara Olympic Club won gold in the women’s 3000-metre steeplechase.
U18 CHAMPIONSHIPS
At the under-18 championships, Thorold Elite’s Carson Gauthier, competing up an age group, won gold in high jump and silver; Nathan Kowcun of Thorold Elite took silver medals in high jump and long jump; Sophia Saldutto, who competes for the York University Track Club, earned a silver in javelin and a bronze in discus; unattached athlete Kalista Elliott captured bronze medals in long jump and the 100-metre hurdles; Owen Munnings of Thorold Elite won bronze in the 2000-metre steeplechase; Thorold Elite’s boys 4×800 relay team (Sonny Leblanc, Owen Munnings, Hayden Molnar, and Sammy Tonnies) placed second; and, Runners’ Edge’s 4×800 relay team (Lachlan Nelson, Walker Rollo, Rian Wilson, and Marco DiFelice) took bronze.
