St. Paul’s HS sprinter fastest in Manitoba

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This article was published 08/06/2018 (2904 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

No, it wasn’t senior skip day, but when you look at Friday’s results in the 100-metre dash at the Manitoba high school track and field provincials, you might have thought it was.

Trae Tomlinson, a Grade 9 student from St. Paul’s High School, claimed the title as the province’s fastest high school sprinter.

The 15-year old crossed the finish line in the junior varsity boys 100m final at 11.43 seconds to earn himself a provincial gold medal. Steven Koniuck of Sisler High School finished second in the junior varsity 100m final at 11.82 secs. Tomlinson’s performance in the 100m was the best time run by any sprinter in any grade on Friday. It may have been a surprise to many to see a freshman take the crown as Manitoba’s faster high schooler, but it wasn’t to Tomlinson, who represented Manitoba at the 2017 National Legion Track and Field Championships where he finished the 100m in fifth place.

“I had a second gear and I was determined to win it by lots,” said Tomlinson, who also plays football at St. Paul’s as a defensive back. “I was happy, I felt like I pushed hard and finished strong. This was my goal.”

Despite his success on the track, Tomlinson’s main athletic goals are to make it in football. Tomlinson played this past season on the school’s AA team, but next year, he will be making the leap to the Crusaders’ AAA team.

“The goal is to play football and track and field at a university, some place down in the States,” said Tomlinson, who registered 20 tackles and one interception for the Crusaders this season. “I have already talked to coaches.”

Tomlinson wasn’t the only young student to impress on the track, as a pair of Grade 11 students won the varsity boys and girls 100m final races.

Jordan Soufi, 17, from Miles Macdonell Collegiate, won the varsity boys 100m race with a time of 11.54. It was an impressive turnaround for Soufi, as he failed to reach the podium at last year’s provincial’s junior varsity final. Soufi said he’s been taking his training more seriously since November, as he joined the Winnipeg Optimist Athletics club and began lifting weights at the Peguis Trail Fitness Centre with his dad.

“Last year, I was in the finals, but I was really skinny,” said Soufi, who hopes to run for the University of Manitoba Bisons’ track team after he graduates high school. “I didn’t go to the gym and only went to school practices. I was just happy to be in the finals, but this year, I really wanted to win.”

Soufi was not only one of younger competitors in the varsity final, he was also the shortest, as he stands at 5-5. He said although sprinters are traditionally taller, he finds his size helps him reach his top speed quicker than most. Soufi edged out Taine Middleton from Neepawa Area Collegiate by 0.6 secs. to win the race.

“Going into the 100m, I was just reminding myself to do everything right. I knew it was going to be a close one,” Soufi said.

Daniele Dyck of Vincent Massey (Brandon) can say she’s the fastest high school girl in the province, as the 17-year-old won gold in the varsity girls 100m final by finishing the race at 12.87.

“It’s pretty exciting, I would’ve been pretty happy if one of my teammates got the title, but I can’t complain. It’s pretty great,” Dyck said.

To train for track, Dyck makes a one-hour drive from Brandon to Neepawa twice a week, so she can train with the Prairie Storm Athletics club. Dyck, who didn’t qualify for last summer’s Canada Summer Games in Winnipeg, hopes her gold-medal performance will open the door for her to compete at the university level and at the next Canada Games. Dyck said she first noticed her speed when she played ringette and hockey growing up.

“I could always get to the puck or ring faster than other people. In middle school track, I always did pretty well — I just didn’t think much of it until I got to high school and began to compete outside of Brandon,” Dyck said.

Morgan Ramsay, from Rivers Collegiate, finished closely behind Dyck at 12.94 to put her in second place.

But the closest 100m final of the day was the junior varsity girls race, as Grade 10 student Reese Lange of Murdoch Mackay won gold with a time of 13.16. It was a classic photo finish, as Jorja Hoad of Vincent Massey (Brandon) was clocked at 13.19 to claim silver.

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31