Thankfully, almost no one has surprised the local track & field community more over the past twelve months than Ecole Secondaire Hanmer sprinter Ashley Huard.

It was roughly a year ago this time that the shy teenager representing a school of some one hundred students or so competed in the city final, without spikes, without starting blocks, with loose-fitting shorts that she adjusted mid-race on her way to an impressive second place finish in a time of 13.24.

And while the past twelve months have seen Huard display the trademark signs of training with the Track North Athletic Club crew, the fact was she entered the 2011 competition with a personal best time of 12.50, not fast enough to crack the Senior Girls 100m final once you've gathered the best runners in Ontario.

"I was thinking just to get a personal best and maybe make the finals - that's about it," Huard said on Saturday. That was some 24 hours after she blew away her previous PB, not to mention local track fans, blazing her way to a Bronze medal in a time of 12.01 seconds.

Her podium was made possible by an equally astounding 12.00 flat time in her heat on Friday, earning the Grade 11 speedster the number four seed heading into the finals.

"I think I was able to push myself, because there's a lot of fast girls here and that's maybe what made me run the 12.00," she said. Although it is true that many local athletes will see an improvement in their performance once they pit themselves against the elite competition that OFSAA provides, runners in the 100m dash simply don't lop off a half second from their personal best times on a regular basis.

After running times of 12.50 and 12.71 to win the SDSSAA and NOSSA crowns respectively, all of the hard work in mastering the form of a sprinter came together at OFSAA.

"At first, it was a little challenging getting the technique down, but it didn't take me too long," Huard said. "Keeping up my speed at the end is most challenging."

For the young lady who stands at the start line wanting simply to run fast, the future appears bright. "I just want to keep working at it and hopefully one day, make it to the Olympics, or World Juniors maybe, and go from there."

Mind you, Huard wasn't alone in the department of "pleasant surprises from Sudbury and area athletes." Lasalle junior high jumper Brandon Mask also established a new personal best height, clearing 1.88 metres in nabbing fifth place on Friday.

"I just really had to focus on the bar, where to jump, and really bend my back a lot," Mask said shortly after his event was completed. Like a good chunk of the younger track and field athletes in the region, Mask has benefitted from the training provided by multi-sport participation, as very few locals commit completely to track prior to grade 11.

"Since I play a lot of sports, like basketball and volleyball, I get a lot of "hops", so high jump is one of the sports in track and field that I do good in," said the young man who has added three inches to his frame in the past year or so. "I think I can make it far in it (track), but I have to start training more."

Although he does not represent a SDSSAA school, Manitoulin Secondary senior Jeremy Cooper has garnered the attention of "one of our own", by virtue of training constantly with the local club.

After crossing the line well off his personal best time in the 1500m Thursday evening, Cooper seemingly targetted all of his efforts into a better performance in the 3000m. Mission accomplished and then some as the silk-smooth distance runner earned a 6th place finish in an impressive time of 8:31.78.

"Distance favours me," Cooper said after running the 1500m. "There's a lot more speed in the 1500. You're going to be kicking that last lap and that kick is where it differs for each person."

Benefitting from the additional laps encompassed in the 3km event, Cooper warmed up for his next big competition with a solid race in Sudbury. "I have Junior Trials in Winnipeg coming up and that's the big one that I'm shooting for," said the young man who has qualified to run in the 5000m race.

The awe-inspiring setting that is OFSAA track & field clearly affected (negatively) the performance of some locals, though others were able to rise above. Cray Roberge, a grade 9 student at Collège Notre-Dame, picked up a fifth place ribbon in the midget boys high jump, leaping 1.75 metres, well above the 1.66m height needed to secure first place at NOSSA.

>After being absolutely convinced that she had missed out on a chance to return to the 1500m steeplechase final this year, Katie Wismer of Lockerby made the most of her second chance. Qualifying with the 12th and final entry of the race, Wismer improved her heat time by five seconds in finishing 6th in the final, more than satisfied with her time of 5:16.09.

Other local athletes who advanced to the final eight included Grace Thomson (Lockerby) in the Senior Girls 100m hurdles (7th - 14.46 seconds) and John Kosar (Lo-Ellen) in the Senior Boys Pole Vault (8th - 3.75 metres).

Meanwhile, four athletes managed to crack the list of record breakers, including junior phenoms Christian Brennan (St Mary's - Hamilton) and Andre Azonwanna-Ford (J.Cardinal McGuigan - Toronto).

Brennan obliterated the old mark in the 400m, lowering the standard from 56.04 seconds to 53.66, then took it only slightly easier (tongue in cheek) in setting new records for the 100m (11.77 seconds) and 200m (23.87 seconds) as well.

One might want to keep an eye out for this young lady in future Olympics. Azonwanna-Ford enjoyed his success on the track as well, throwing down the gauntlet for future junior sprinters with times of 10.53 seconds (100m) and 21.40 seconds (200m).

Alysha Newman of Mother Theresa in London (Sr Girls Pole Vault - 3.80m) and Jaimie Phelan of St Mary's in Kitchener (Jr Girls 1500m - 4:32.03) managed the remaining two record-breaking performances as Sudbury played host to the OFSAA track & field championships for the first time in more than a decade.

Following is a complete list of individual performances by SDSSAA athletes over the final two days of competition: