Logan’s run ends with trip to top of podium

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This article was published 08/06/2023 (924 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BRANDON — Logan Harz had no one to follow and almost couldn’t believe it.

Rounding the final turn of the varsity girls’ 1,500-metre final at the high school track and field championships in Brandon, she glanced over her shoulder and saw the competition wasn’t far behind.

“I kicked myself because I looked back so I did know where they were,” the Springfield Collegiate Sabre said. “I was like ‘Oh, I got to kick.’ But it helped me kick so that was good.”

While Harz prefers following and passing opponents, she ultimately raced herself on Thursday, finishing in four minutes 54.91 seconds to capture the gold medal.

A hint of frustration lingered as she crossed the finish line since her goal was sub-4:50, but Harz realized that lofty goal drove her to victory.

“I usually have pretty high expectations for myself. I’m kind of a perfectionist so I try to make a standard and go for it,” Harz said.

“It definitely makes me more nervous for a race but during the race, it helps me focus on hitting a certain split, rather than how tired I am.”

The Grade 12 student sure feels better than a year ago, however, when she missed a 1,500m medal by less than a second behind her best friend and Winnipeg Optimist Athletics teammate Lena Klassen. The two train together and have shared a few provincial cross-country podiums, including in 2022 when Klassen won and Harz claimed bronze.

Harz started track in Grade 9 with shorter races and worked her way up to the 800m and 1,500m.

They’re taking her to North Dakota State University next year, where she hopes to add the 3,000m to her repertoire.

First, Harz looks to add a second gold in the 800m. The preliminary heats are today and the final is on Saturday.

Civetta cruises to boys’ gold

Alejandro Civetta led wire-to-wire and blew the varsity boys’ 1,500m field away.

The Vincent Massey (Winnipeg) Trojans senior, who was previously without a provincial gold medal and desperately wanted one, finished in 4:04.59, more than seven seconds ahead of silver medallist Carson Kroeker of Edward Schreyer School (Beausejour).

“Coming in, I knew quick times were going to come and just took it out, stayed relaxed and started to move around the end,” Civetta said.

“You’re running, you know when you’re in the lead it feels good but you’re still concentrating like ‘I need to close.’ Whether you have 500 metres, 700 metres, you still need to work because you can easily lose a lead if you stop working the arms, legs.”

Civetta’s confident in his ability to close, so a healthy lead turned the last lap into a victory lap.

“Coming down the home stretch,” he said, “it was a great high.”

The majority of Thursday’s events were heats and semifinals on the track and exclusively qualifying rounds in the field. The championships continue today and wrap up on Saturday.

— The Brandon Sun