Just imagine if track and field was the primary sport for some of these kids.

As is ritual, the Champions Meet closed off the Errol Gibson Memorial series of elementary track and field meets, a gathering of all Rainbow District Board schools as well as those within the purview of the Conseil scolaire du Grand Nord.

Given that array of eligible athletes, it only stood to reason that the single day event that brings together top finishers from the preliminary meets leading up to this sporting crescendo was marked by a good number of memorable performances – including several by youngsters for whom track and field is a pastime on the side, and not their main pursuit.

A proud long-time member of the Sudbury Lady Wolves' organization, Jordyn White was one of only three athletes who went three for three on Tuesday at the track, capturing gold in three separate events. The 13 year-old grade 7 student at Valleyview Public School was joined by hockey teammate Olive Simon (R.L. Beattie) and Lo-Ellen boys’ standout Chidube Elendu.

Ironically, the trio were also the lone record setters on the day, with White taking a little over a quarter of a second off the mark in the grade 7 girls 200 metre race, crossing the line 89/100th of a second ahead of Julia Forigo of Lasalle.

Earlier this month, the young woman who is keeping busy with a pair of spring hockey teams and some individual sessions with Chiseled Hockey and coach Rob Dmytruk etched her name into the record books in the long jump, soaring 4.60 metres.

For as much as a leap of 4.25 metres might not match her personal best, it was enough to take top spot in the event. “I’ve already started to throw my body forward when I do long jump so that I don’t put my hands back – and then that’s my mark,” said White, who added a win in the 100m dash to round out her day.

“I used to always put my hands back and it would take a metre off my jump. Now I try and get the furthest jump I can.”

Yet for as much as there has clearly been some fine-tuning on the technical side when it comes to the long jump discipline, White is still running the sprints largely on natural athleticism and a burning desire to cross the line in first place.

“I’m a pretty competitive person and track is like my second sport (to hockey),” admitted White. “It just comes pretty easy for me to go out there and do my thing.”

“I’m kind of busy but when I have time in my schedule, I try and lift weights, do plyometrics, stuff like that. After school, me and my dad will go to my school – I live just five minutes away – and I can practice my races to get in the groove for meets.”

For his part, Elendu shaved just under a tenth of a second off the grade 7 200m boys mark, registering a time of 27.18 seconds to go along with his triumphs in both the 100m (13.26) and 400m (1:02.57).

Competing in the Atom Division of grade five and six students, Olive Simon also shone in the sprints (80m – 11.63; 100m – 14.36) in addition to extending the standard in the triple jump by a couple of centimetres, recording a jump of 9.45 metres.

Still with jumps, it really doesn’t seem to matter whether to Carter Larochelle whether he is propelling himself vertically or horizontally – though the former is certainly his preference. A 14 year-old grade 8 student at Ecole publique Hanmer, the basketball-first athlete outlasted GSBA Storm teammate Zayden Contois in the high-jump (1.64m vs 1.61m) to close out the day after capturing gold in the long jump thanks to a 5.30 metres effort.

“I am pretty good at jumping,” understated Larochelle. “I jump a lot in basketball and I like jumping high.”

Still, as others who have come before and starred in both can attest (Noah LaPierre certainly comes to mind), the jump pattern for a layup or dunk doesn’t quite follow the same route as the high-jump.

“Here, you have to jump more with you back to the bar – and the speed is important,” he said. “It’s all your momentum – and at least 50% mental.”

Other athletes who captured individual aggregate honours in their age bracket included:

Nick Rice (Lasalle) – Grade 8 Boys – 25 points
1st – 100m – 12.61
1st – 200m – 26.16
4th – 1500m – 5:06.76

Julia Cecutti (Lo-Ellen) – Grade 8 Girls – 26 points
1st – 200m – 28.85
2nd – 100m – 13.81
2nd – long jump – 4.34m

Tejada Gieselman (Hélène Gravel) – Atom Boys (5/6) – 26 points
1st – 100m – 14.45
1st – 200m – 29.31
3rd – long jump – 4.31m

Rudy Bazzard (Lasalle) – Tyke Boys (3/4) – 28 points
1st - long jump – 3.73m
1st – high jump – 1.21m
2nd – 60m dash – 9.54

Olivia MacDonald (Hélène Gravel) – Tyke Girls – 23 points
1st – long jump – 3.15m
1st – standing long jump – 1.94m
6th – 60m dash – 10.27

Following are the remaining Grade 8 event winners:

Grade 8 Girls
100m – Chloe Robichaud (Northeastern) – 13.79
200m – Julia Cecutti (Lo-Ellen) – 28.85
400m – Lexi Dubreuil (Lo-Ellen) – 1:05.45
800m – Violet Sutherland (A.B. Ellis) – 2:38.67
1500m – Violet Sutherland (A.B. Ellis) – 5:36.64
Long Jump – Audrey Miller (MacLeod) – 4.35m
Triple Jump – Sophie Rancourt (Lasalle) – 9.49m
High Jump – Sophie Marshall (C.R. Judd) – 1.34m
Shot Put – Taiga Mahon (R.H. Murray) – 8.41m

Grade 8 Boys
100m – Nick Rice (Lasalle) – 12.61
200m – Nick Rice (Lasalle) – 26.16
400m – Angus Rayburn (Lo-Ellen) – 59.55
800m – Dax Hester (Algonquin) – 2:16.10
1500m – Dax Hester (Algonquin) – 4:40.83
Long Jump – Carter Larochelle (Hanmer) – 5.30m
Triple Jump – Aaron Flanagan (Lo-Ellen) – 11.18m
High Jump – Carter Larochelle (Hanmer) – 1.64m
Shot Put – Noah Gilbeau (Hanmer) – 10.23m