CHARLOTTETOWN – Drew Erskine didn’t waste any time showing the other competitors he brought his A-game Sunday at the Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships.
The 15-year-old member of the Truro Lions stepped into the hammer throw pit in Charlottetown and calmly sent the four-kilogram ball and wire 53.02m, breaking the previous mark of 51.35m set last year by Richard Mirkiewicz Jr.
He wasn’t done there. His final throw went 53.94m and earned him a gold medal, adding to the gold and silver he already won in discus and shot put respectively a day earlier.
“It felt pretty good. I was pretty proud,” the Truro resident said of setting a new standard.
Erskine, who has been throwing the hammer for four years, was pleased to achieve his two goals for the event: break the legion record and finish first. He finished third in the event last year in Ottawa.
This is only the second year the hammer event has been featured at under-16 legion nationals.
Erskine’s performance capped what was a strong showing for Colchester County athletes at the event as they accounted for eight of Nova Scotia’s 15 medals at the event.
Ontario’s Noah Rolph finished second in the hammer at 49.65m and Erskine’s teammate and Truro resident Gregory McCarthy captured bronze with a 46.13m throw.
Andrew Gibson, also of Truro, placed fifth in the seven-athlete field with a throw of 42.62m.
Erskine threw the discus 48.51m to beat Rolph (47.85m) and McCarthy (44.09m). Gibson placed sixth at 41.97m.
Erskine threw the shot 15.37m to finish second behind Ontario’s Joseph Maxwell, who broke the legion record with a 19.24m toss. The previous mark was 19.02m set by Kyle Helf in 2001.
Erskine has two years of eligibility left at the under-18 level and hopes to return and compete in all three events.
Following are other Colchester County athletes’ results from the weekend:
Javelin
Youth Girls
3. Jessica Bartlett 40.38m PB
5. Madison Munro 37.28m
Youth Boys
4. Josh Rector 55.63m PB
Discus
Midget Boys
1. Drew Erskine 48.51m
3. Gregory McCarthy 44.09m PB
6. Andrew Gibson 41.97m
Youth Girls
4. Sarah Colborne 38.03m
13. Sarah Millman 29.68m
Shot Put
Midget Boys
2. Drew Erskine 15.37m
7. Gregory McCarthy 11.86m
Hammer
Midget Boys
1. Drew Erskine 53.94m**
3. Gregory McCarthy 46.13m
5. Andrew Gibson 42.62m
8. Jesse Colborne 30.52m
Youth Girls
3. Sarah Colborne 48.58m PB*
6. Sarah Millman 43.39m
400m
Youth
15. Lucas Watson 52.26
4x100m Relay
Youth
3. Team Nova Scotia (Lucas Watson)
*– Provincial Record
**– National Record
