If indoor track and field medals are the new crack, the Dinos had to lose the po-po after their weekend spree in Edmonton. The University of Alberta hosted the Golden Bear Open Jan. 20-21 and the Dinos track and field squad were out in full force.
To no one’s surprise, Jessica Zelinka, one of the most decorated Dinos athletes in recent history, cleaned up at the event. However, she is not competing as a Dino this season due to commitments for her upcoming trip to the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia. She competes on the University of Calgary Athletic Club team.
The lady Dinos proved that out-pacing those pesky Calgary coppers is no problem with a strong showing in the 60-metre hurdles finals. Zelinka won the event by 0.6 seconds in a time of 8.43. Diana Gruber, Samantha Anderson (UCAC) and Carolyn Tom took the next three spots while Melissa Van Hal (UCAC) and Tricia Palmer took sixth and seventh.
Our ladies were no slouches in the 60-metre dash finals either. Zelinka, in 7.58 seconds, was again first with Gruber and Adele Smigelski not too far behind in sixth and 10th.
Now that the Dino ladies were confidently out-running the 5-0 with their medals while hurdling picket fences, they tested their abilities to jump taller fences and ponds. The high jump was another golden event for Zelinka who cleared 1.74 metres. Rachelle Nelson placed fourth with Karen Baerg and Van Hal tying for fifth.
The long jump was Dino dominated with gold, silver and bronze going to Gruber, Palmer and Anderson respectively. Kim Tse grabbed fifth in the event with a jump just over 30 centimetres short of Gruber’s winning 5.45-metre jump. The Dinos triple-jumped their way to victory as well. The first four spots in the event went to Palmer, Tse, Nelson and Baerg respectively.
Once these sprinters and leapers had lost the tail, it was time to pass the buck onto the closers to leave the pigs in their dust. The 4X400-metre relay team snuck the baton through customs, taking the gold without setting off the metal detector in a time of 3:53.03.
Now that the package was with the distance runners, the fuzz were left panting and hopeless. Holly Ratzlaff and Ariana Binotto were fourth and fifth respectively in the 300-metre dash, just over a second off the winning pace. Ratzlaff went on to win the 600-metre dash in 1:35.59 with Renee Kaylor and Binotto hot on her tail in second and fourth place respectively.
Shannon Popowich continued to take the heat off, finishing less than a second behind the victor to earn silver in the 1000-metre run. Riley McQueen placed fifth in the event. Popowich pulled it together to take the gold in the 1500-metre run in 4:36.70 while Lindsay Winter was less than 10 seconds back in fifth place. Hilary Johnston, with her second-place finish in the 3000-metre run, was almost home free when her route took her past a doughnut shop.
With Krispy Kreme-injected super strength, the long arm of the law would, this time, thwart the Dinos. This shut all doors but one: Zelinka shot-putted all four kilograms of evidence as far as humanly possible. For her 12.69-metre effort, she was awarded a silver medal and the Dinos will receive no jail time.
The Dinos men may not have as easy a time with their getaway, though there were still many strong performances. Dave Crittenden and Greg Maidment were fourth and sixth in the 60-metre hurdles finals. Jay O’Lain and Mark Baerg were third and fifth in the high jump with O’Lain’s jump being just three centimetres off the winning jump.
The 4X400-metre baton runners were just over two seconds off the pace, managing second. Trent Ratzlaff was fourth in the 300-metre dash and less than a second slower than the winning pace in the 600-metre dash for second place. Michael Saizew was fourth.
The longest events were Geoff Kerr’s specialty. He placed second in the 1000-metre run and won the 1500-metre run by more than three seconds. Jared Fletcher (UCAC) was fourth and fifth in the respective events. Grant Burwash managed fourth in the 3000-metre run.
The Dinos take to the indoor track and field… uhhh… field again Sat., Jan. 28 right here in the Jack Simpson Gymnasium. Events begin at 10 a.m.