Rain can't stop high school athletes setting records on meet's final day

SELKIRK -- The show must go on.

It was this type of attitude that reigned supreme among organizers on the final day Saturday of the 2012 Milk High School Provincial Championships in Selkirk.

Despite pockets of heavy downpour throughout the day and the constant threat of thunderstorms from looming grey skies, in was business as usual.

"In spite of the weather, the weekend has been great," said Mick Krewiak, former president of the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association and one of more than 250 volunteers at the event. "I just wonder how much better the meet could have been if we would have got dry weather."

For 17-year-old Julia Zrinyi, the three-day event couldn't have been planned any better.

The Grade 12 student from Vincent Massey Collegiate set a new provincial record Saturday for the varsity girls 800 metres with a time of 2:09 and took a gold medal in the 1,500-metre event.

"My goal was to break the provincial record, and I'm really happy I was able to do it," said Zrinyi, who will head south come fall on a full track scholarship at the University of Connecticut.

"I was a little worried because my first lap was really slow, but I ended up coming through, so it's all good."

Since joining Vincent Massey three years ago, Zrinyi has gone undefeated in the 800- and 1,500-metre events at the provincial championships.

"She set some lofty goals this year," said Andy Tough, who has coached Zrinyi for the past seven years. "She's a real committed runner and she's worked very hard."

Scheduled to graduate at the end of the month, Zrinyi envisioned a strong finish this weekend.

"I felt like this weekend was really important and I wanted to end it on a real bang," she said.

The same sentiment was felt by 18-year-old Levi Neufeld.

"It is kind of sad (to finish his last high school event), but it's a part of life," said Neufeld, who will attend Trinity Western University on a track scholarship come September.

"You got to end stuff sometimes, and this was a good note to end it on."

Like Zrinyi, Levi dominated the 800- and 1,500-metre events, claiming top spot in back-to-back years.

"I really enjoyed the weekend. The facilities were great. Racing here, you get a team atmosphere where people stay and cheer you on."

Over the weekend, the event attracted more than 1,500 athletes from 120 schools competing in 70 different events.

It's the first time the meet has been held in Selkirk, making its success mean that more much to convenor Scott Gurney.

"I've been really happy with how the meet's been run," said a tired Gurney. who's been logging a minimum of 14-hour days throughout the event.

"The performances from the athletes have been just awesome. There's been an energy in the stadium, it's been fun, and I've enjoyed it."

He plans to reward himself tonight with some much-needed rest and relaxation.

"I'm going to go home, take off my wet socks and shoes, make a big plate of nachos and sit in front of the TV."

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

They raised the bar

Curtis Urniezius was the second athlete of the weekend to set a provincial record by throwing for 15.63 metres in the varsity boys shot put (5kg), snapping the old record of 15.15 metres set by Terrell Weik of Arborg Collegiate in 2006. Urniezius also won gold in the varsity boys' javelin and discus events.

Alhaji Mansaray (at right), a Grade 12 student from River East Collegiate, completed a trifecta Saturday, capturing the gold in the triple-jump event to go with winning the 100-metre and high-jump events earlier in the meet.

Wyatt Eyford of Warren High School set a new provincial record in the varsity boys' 100-metre hurdles with a time of 13.70 seconds, erasing his previous mark of 13.76 from last year.

Scott Flagel, a former Blue Bomber, still holds the junior varsity boys' high-jump record of 1.96 metres, set in 1978.

Sami Jo Small, Canadian women's hockey goalie and Olympic gold medallist, still holds the varsity girls' provincial records in discus and javelin, set in 1994 while a student at Collège Jeanne Sauvé.

A total of 11 coolers worth of ice were handed out by event trainer Alice Dennis. Documenting each visit, Dennis rubbed down and taped up more than 100 athletes over three days.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 10, 2012 B12