Another Ontario team title for Thorold Elite
The Thorold Elite Track Club added another team title to its collection at the Athletics Ontario U16 and U20 Championships last weekend at the Toronto Track and Field Centre.
After winning the provincial U18 title last month, Thorold Elite took home the U16 team crown after a series of dominant performances.
Thorold Elite founder and head coach Steven Fife credits the success to the community and the culture that the club has built up over the years.
“We haven’t gone in with the intention of winning all of these championship titles but by creating an environment that is first of all positive, supportive, and inclusive and second of all, demands excellence, then success is going to be a by-product of that,” he said. “And it is the result of a sum of combined efforts from coaches, athletes, parents, and our extended support system. We always say we have a great program but a great program is nothing if athletes aren’t following it and invested in it. Fortunately we have both.”
Highlighting the boys team title was a new provincial record set by the U16 boys sprint medley team consisting of Nixson Scarlett, Muscab Mohamed, Alan Tirop and Deagen Hallett. A sprint medley is a relay combination of sprints and distance events contested in the order 200-200-400-800.
Also winning gold medals from Thorold Elite were: Jordan Gillen, U16 boys weight throw and shot put; Nixson Scarlett, U16 boys 60-metre hurdles; Alan Tirop, U16 boys 300 metres and 200 metres; U16 Boys 4×800-metre relay (Ryder Savage, Dante Pietrangelo, Sam Garbes, Deagen Hallett); and, U16 boys 4×200-metre relay (Shimroy Dallas, Alan Tirop, Anderson Heidman, Tyrique Woodside).
Silver medalists from Thorold Elite were: Keaton Bokma, U16 boys shot put and weight throw; Deagen Hallett, U16 boys 800 metres and 2000 metres; Adele Kushner, U16 girls 800 metres; Savannah Rogers, U16 girls shot put; Tyrique Woodside, U16 boys long jump; U16 Girls 4×800-metre relay (Aaliyah Henry, Camila Melendez, Evynne Root, Adele Kushner); U16 girls sprint medley (Amalynn Berardi, Sarai Kelly, Sanaa Chesney, Adele Kushner); U20 women 4×400-metre relay (Meena Van Grieken, Sydney Jeffery, Madison Kwofie, Amara Van Grieken); and, U20 women sprint medley (Meena Van Grieken, Amara Van Grieken, Maeva Scipio, Katelyn Perri).
Bronze medalists from Thorold Elite were: Adele Kushner, U16 girls 1200 metres; Leah Sandel, U16 girls weight throw; Nixson Scarlett, U16 boys 60 metres; U16 girls 4×200 metre relay (Koko Dennis, Sophia Tzvetkov, Sanaa Chesney, Amalynn Berardi); and, U16 boys sprint medley (Shimroy Dallas, Anderson Heidman, Colby Craig, Sam Garbes).
The championships involved almost 1,300 athletes from across Ontario.
There are a few indoor meets remaining but Niagara’s track community will be training with an eye on outdoor competitions in the spring.
“We’ve done a great job of keeping kids training at a high level through the winter and of giving them many competition opportunities,” Fife said. “This is really just a stepping towards outdoor season so when it comes time for school meets these athletes who have put in the work through the winter will be better prepared and will have a major leg up.”
