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Rainy second day of action at NWT Track and Field Championships

It just wouldn't be the NWT Track and Field Championships in Hay River without precipitation of some sort.

It just wouldn't be the NWT Track and Field Championships in Hay River without precipitation of some sort.

Day two on Thursday featured rainy conditions for most of the day, but that didn't stop the action on what's traditionally the busiest day of the meet. Heats for the sprint events took place with the finals happening on Friday, while field events peppered the venue at Diamond Jenness Field.

High jump is always a popular discipline and there was a good battle in the U19 boys division. Cash Rewega of Hay River ended up winning out after he managed to clear 1.70 metres to take the title.

He said high jump was the one event he had in his sights for the week.

"I'm doing long jump and the 1,500 metres and javelin, but high jump is my favourite out of all of them," he said.

Rewega could've kept on going for as long as wanted after confirming his win. The record for the division is 1.85 metres, which was set in 1987 by Chris West. 

He said during practice, he found his limit right around where his winning height was.

"I hadn't been practicing proper form - I was doing scissoring," he said. "It's a little more awkward getting over. I even tried a Superman jump during practice."

As the meet comes to its close, co-organizer Tim Borchuk said there were no expectations going in following a five-year absence, especially when it comes to those who have been helping to make it run as smoothly as possible.

"No pre-conceived ideas or notions at all," he said. "We had a lot of new people volunteering and in new places, so we knew we would be doing some training on the fly. I guess I'm not surprised."

In reality, it was just like getting back on the bike and learning how to ride it again, he added.

"There are always things that happen behind the scenes, something doesn't work or what have you," he said. "You can't predict everything that's going to happen, but you can respond to it and you have to make sure it's positive. But getting back to it, it just feels right. It feels like it's normal."

Friday is the final day of action with the finals in the sprint events along with the medal presentations for each of the age group winners. The banner will also be handed out, including the grand aggregate champions and the overall champs of the meet.



About the Author: James McCarthy

I'm the managing editor with NNSL Media and have been so since 2022.
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