Speed on display at AABHN track championship

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Gabe Hamilton of Assumption College may not have been the fastest runner at the AABHN track and field championship on Thursday at Kiwanis Field but he did solidify himself as Brant County’s fastest wide receiver.

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Competing in the senior boys 100-metre final at the Athletic Association of Brant, Haldimand and Norfolk championship, Hamilton finished the race in 11.45 seconds. That placed him second just behind winner Roshaun Ducille of McKinnon Park Secondary School, who was timed in 11.29.

Hamilton, a Grade 11 student, said running is a way to increase his stock as a football player.

“My (football) coaches at practice really push me to run as fast as I can,” said Hamilton, who helped the Lions capture an Ontario Federation of School Athletic Association football championship last fall. “I feel like that translates to track.

“I like running, it’s fun, but I’m a football player. This is more practice (for football).”

A week ago Hamilton captured the 100 at Pauline Johnson Collegiate competing in the Debbie Miller Classic. This week he was just looking to do his best.

“I wanted to do the same as usual, run as fast as I could and qualify for the next (event),” he said of his goal, which he achieved, of making it to the Central Western Ontario Secondary Schools Association championship May 22 and 23 at PJC.

Hamilton, who does not belong to a track club, finished just ahead of Zagham Syed, a track and football teammate at ACS. Although there is a rivalry between the two, Hamilton said he was looking forward to running with Syed in the 4X100 relay.

“There is obviously a competition factor,” he said. “We love pushing each other at practice all the time.

“We’ve been practising our relay team. It’s going to be pretty good. It’s going to be a fun show.”

Later on Thursday they did put on a show by winning the relay.

Brantford Collegiate Institute’s Philly Van Nooten won a tightly contested senior girls 400-metre race, crossing the line in 59.54. That was just ahead of North Park Collegiate’s Kelis Daye (1:00.51) and Paris District High School’s Kelly Mantel (1:00.57).

“I knew what I was going into was going to be difficult because they’re also very good 400 runners and they pushed me,” Van Nooten said of the competition in the race. “It was difficult.”

The Grade 11 student, who also runs the 200, had a goal in mind before the race started.

“I was hoping for a good time and that I could run more consistent 59s or a bit lower than that,” she said. “I was really excited to run today.”

Van Nooten started in Lane 1 and had the advantage of tracking the runners in front of her down but the race came right down to the home stretch.

The recent Brantford Track and Field Club Expositor Trophy winner as the club’s athlete of the year said having a tight race will get her ready for CWOSSA.

“It’s a good warmup to show me a bit of my competition,” said Van Nooten, who hopes to run track at university.

Normally the senior boys 1,500 metre race features a very fast runner lapping the field but that wasn’t the case on Thursday.

In what was a tight race up until the final lap, Paris District High School’s Gavin Stafford captured the event in 4:18.52. Gavin Mathieson of Cayuga Secondary School was second in 4:24.52 and Eytan Mirie of Valley Heights Secondary School was third in 4:25.56.

“It felt very good,” to have a competitive race, said Stafford. “It helps with confidence.

“The guys in second and third, we paced each other pretty well.”

A week ago Stafford won the 1,500 at the Debbie Miller Classic up against the same tandem. Knowing the competition and realizing there would be some less experienced runners at AABHN, Stafford had a plan for Thursday’s race.

For most of the race he held back, waiting to use his strong kick at the end.

“Most people who aren’t used to racing will go out super hard,” he said.

“If you try to pace with them, you’ll burn yourself out. What I do is hang back . . . and if you feel good on the last lap, lap and a half, you can kick it.”

Stafford now moves onto CWOSSA where he has set some goals for himself. He knows they won’t be easy to achieve.

“I want a new PR and to qualify for OFSAA West,” said Stafford, whose personal record is 4:18.25. “And of course, once I get to OFSAA West, OFSAA is next.

“There’s a lot of really competitive guys who put in a lot of work and work hard. It will be a good experience nonetheless.”

The AABHN track and field championship wraps up on Friday at Kiwanis Field.

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