The weather might have been less than ideal with cool and breezy conditions throughout the day at Gutheridge Field, but that didn’t stop high school athletes from breaking a handful of records at the Moose Jaw Invitational Track and Field meet on Saturday, May 14.
Leading the way was a familiar name to anyone who followed the sport two years ago: Cornerstone’s Aliyah Block, who picked up right where she left off in her Grade 9 year and smashed a pair of senior girls throws records.
First up was the discus, in which Block set a record of 30.21 metres back when she was an Intermediate in the spring of 2019. Two pandemic-cancelled seasons later, and Block unleashed a throw of 38.17 metres to claim gold by more than 16 metres over runner-up Tory White of Bruno.
It was much the same story in the shot put. After setting an intermediate girls mark of 10.95 metres back in 2019, it was an 11.79-metre effort that reset the senior girls record book and gave Block the win by nearly four metres over Swift Current’s Veda Gotteselig.
A trio of records also fell in on the track, first with Peacock’s Arianna Wakeford putting down a time of 12.96 seconds to set a new mark on her way to easily winning gold in the senior girls 100 metres.
Not long after, Tornadoes teammate Aria Swanson was able to outduel Swift Current’s Paris Appel down the stretch in the senior girls 200 metres, and having that extra push paid dividends as Swanson crossed the line in 27.28 seconds to set a new record of her own. Appel finished in 27.90 seconds.
Swift Current’s Olami Akinfiresaye showed off some blazing speed of her own in the junior girls 200 metres, and she needed every stride of it, as she crossed the line in 26.95 seconds to barely edge Briercrest Christian Academy’s Danae McCroy and her time of 27.08.
For full results from the meet, you can click right here.
High school track and field season continued with the Moose Jaw city championship meet on Wednesday, May 18, and be sure to check back for results soon!
