OLDS — Three local throwing athletes made the top three in competitions during the CALTAF Classic meet, held June 16-18 in Calgary.
Two athletes – Alexis Johnson and Liam Banks – competed in the senior category, for people aged 20-24.
Johnson took first place in shot put with a throw of 11.97 metres (m), beating the second place competitor by just one centimetre. She also finished third in discus with a toss of 36.91m.
Banks took first in discus with a 42.33
m toss in the rain and third in shot put with a throw of 14.63 m.
U16 athlete Natalie Harrison “had a great performance over the weekend,” coach Rachel Andres wrote in an email.
“In shot put she crushed her previous PB (personal best) by nearly a metre, throwing 9.27m for third place.”
Harrison also had a very solid throwing day in the discus. She finished in fourth place, with throw of 21.65 m, just 15 centimetres off of her PB.
U18 athlete Abigail Ripco had a tough day in the javelin, missing out on finals by only one place and finishing in ninth place with a toss of 24.18m.
However, “she found her stride in the rain for discus and PB’d by a metre-and-a-half, throwing 23.59 m for fourth place," Andres said.
Fellow U18 athlete Jorja Schroeder made her club meet debut that weekend and PB’d in discus with a toss of 19.14 m in the rain for an eighth-place finish.
Schroeder threw the javelin 14.07 m. However, Andres anticipates there’ll be “much more coming (from her) during the rest of this club season.”
U18 athlete Jett Rosch finished in 10th place in discus with a toss of 26.53 m after struggling to get a throw in the sector.
“His normal throwing range would have put him in the top three. We know what he can do and the work continues,” Andres wrote.
Two of the athletes Andres coaches – Liam Good and Audrey Veilleux – were unable to compete due to injuries.
