The Royal Canadian Legion Dominion Command held their annual National Track and Field Championships
and clinic recently (August 4-11) at the University of Alberta’s Foote Field in Edmonton.
The Manitoba/Northwest Ontario team finished 7th in the 11 team field by capturing three gold, three silver and two bronze medals.
Leading the way was Winnipeg’s Stephanie Romanson.
Romanson had personal best performances for gold medals in the 400 and 800 metre runs. Romanson won the 400 in 57.01 and the 800 in 2:13.70.
“I was really motivated for this meet and the crowd helped a lot too,” said Romanson, 15, in an interview. “In the 400 I was hoping to get into the 56 second range but I’m close now. In the 800, I ran a smart race by tucking myself in early on in the pack and making my move with about 200 metres to go.”
McCreary's Nathan Labbe, 17, was sky high in men's 17 and under long jump with a gold medal distance of 6.67 m. Labbe also jumped to a silver medal finish in the triple jump with a measurement of 13.60.
Winnipeg's Deondra Twerdun, 17, placed second in women's 17 and under triple jump with a leap of 10.79 m. Teammate Kim Richardson of Thunder Bay, 16, was close behind at 10.57 m for the bronze medal.
Winnipeg's Lucas Rodewald, 15, also jumped into the spotlight with a bronze medal in men's 15 and under high jump clearing 1.80 m.
Alex Arndt, 17, of Peirson, claimed second in the men's 17 and under octhalon with a total of 4544 points.
The Legion event is regarded as the national youth championships in track and field and is an event where future track and field stars make their first big impact nationally. More than 330 athletes are competing here.
Many Canadian track and field stars who have participated in the Legion program have gone on to world and Olympic glory. Approximately 80% of Canada's national track and field team have participated in the Legion program including 2004 Olympic team members Émile Mondor and Kevin Sullivan.
Past Olympic and world championship medallists who have gone through the program include middle distance runners Angela Chalmers and Charmaine Crooks, decathlete Michael Smith and sprinters Atlee Mahorn, Glenroy Gilbert and Robert Esmie.
The Legion’s involvement dates back to the 1950’s and today its annual commitment of $1 million helps to sponsor thousands of young male and female athletes across the country.
Full results are available at: http://www.athleticsalberta.com.
Alex Arndt 
Justine Strongberg
Kristen Mackie 
Lisa Dziver
Miranda Lajoie 
Tom Jansen
Royal Canadian Legion, Dominion Command - 2005-08-06 to 2005-08-07
2005 National Track and Field Championships
Foote Field, Edmonton, Alberta
Final Results
Medal Count
Combined: Men + Women
Team Gold Silver Bronze Total
Ontario 21 18 11 50
British Columbia/Yukon 19 18 13 50
Province de Québec 13 4 14 31
Alberta Northwest Territories 6 9 13 28
Nova Scotia/Nunavut 4 7 6 17
Saskatchewan 4 5 7 16
Manitoba/Northwest Ontario 3 3 2 8
New Brunswick 1 5 2 8
Alberta Canada Summer Games 1 1 0 2
Prince Edward Island Command 1 1 0 2
Newfoundland Labrador Command 0 0 1 1
