Rafuse Breaks Tommies 60m Club Record in Saint John

Rafuse Breaks Tommies 60m Club Record in Saint John

[SAINT JOHN, NB] The St. Thomas Tommies Track and Field team was in action Friday January 31st and Saturday February 1st at the Irving Oil Field House for the New Brunswick Indoor Provincials. With over 300 athletes registered, this meet was the biggest indoor competition in the Maritimes in the past several years and the Tommies rose to the occasion.

On Friday evening, the events started with a warm-up session in the 60m. Women’s team captain Grace Baker ran a season best time of 8.73 while first year Santanna Rafuse narrowly missed tying her personal best with a 8.50. Tristan Sutherland ran a personal best of 7.68 and Kirklin Robichaud broke his school record with a time of 7.48.

Our women’s 4x800m relay team of Jensen Elliot, Alaina Mejia, Jessica Kenny, and Priya Bhutani ran a solid time of 12:07.90 in the first relay of the night. Lars Schwarz ran a season best time of 9:17.70 in the 3000m to round out the individual events of day one. Our women’s 4x200m relay team of Santanna Rafuse, Andrea Bell, Grace Beaulieu, and Grace Baker finished in a great time of 2:00.35, while our men’s team of Tristan Sutherland, Ravtej Singh, Alexander Gallant, and Kirklin Robichaud were unfortunately disqualified in a passing lane violation after a good race.

Saturday’s events for the Tommies began with the 60m preliminaries, where Grace Baker ran an 8.90 and Santanna Rafuse broke the school record with an 8.41 to both qualify for their age category finals. Tristan Sutherland ran a 7.89 and Kirklin Robichaud ran a 7.66. In the 1500m, Priya Bhutani set a new school record of 5:13.26 as well as a new personal best. In a crowded men’s 1500m, Lars Schwarz ran 4:24.65 and men’s team captain Ryan Terry set a new personal best of 4:19.72.

The 600m was next on the track, with five Tommies taking part. Alaina Mejia set a new season best of 2:27.47, Iricia Flint-Downey ran her first race of the season in 2:25.71, Jessica Kenny set a personal best of 2:11.44, and Jensen Elliot just missed her season best with a 2:02.11. In the men’s race, Ravtej Singh put in a solid performance of 1:37.17.

After lunch, the sprinters were back in action with the 60m finals. Grace Baker finished her day with a 9.01 and Santanna Rafuse won the 18-19 age category in a time of 8.45. Tristan Sutherland ran a 7.85 in his event immediately after tying his school record of 1.55m in the high jump.  Four runners in the 1000m all turned in great performances: Alaina Mejia set a new season best of 4:29.10, Jessica Kenny and Jensen Elliot with new personal bests of 4:03.83 and 3:46.97 respectively, and Priya Bhutani with her second school record of the meet in 3:18.76.

Ravtej Singh set a personal best in 300m with a 39.41, while Santanna Rafuse ran a new personal best and finished third overall in the 200m in 29.17. Alexander Gallant ran the 200m in 27.78 and Kirklin Robichaud ran 24.60 as the third place finisher.

The Saint Thomas Tommies Track and Field team will be back in action for a final exhibition at the Twilight Meet in Saint John on Wednesday February 12th before the 2020 Subway AUS Track and Field Championships on February 21st and 22nd.