New Records Set at YMCA Track Meet

‘Hogs, Frogs and Dogs’ was the theme for this year’s YMCA/Optimist Youth Track Meet and the clever acronyms were only fitting to describe the events and the atmosphere surrounding the last Sunday’s event. Hogs throw, frogs jump, dogs run and records fall at the annual event. Thirteen, in fact, at this year’s 34th annual event. On an overcast day, 156 athletes between the ages of 3 and 15 showed up at Palisades High’s Stadium by the Sea for a friendly afternoon of competition and fun. ‘We didn’t have our P.A. system working, so my voice is hoarse right now,’ said Jim Kirtley of the Palisades-Malibu YMCA, one of the event coordinators. ‘Other than that, it was a great event. We had contingents from Our Lady of Malibu and Paul Revere Middle School and a ton of local kids participate.’ Perhaps the day’s biggest winner was four-year-old Ezekiel Haigh, who set meet records in three events in his age division. He won the 25 meter dash in 7.08 seconds, the 50 meter dash in 14.45 and the 100 meters in 29.16. Haigh’s Carl-Lewis like performance had fellow competitors and spectators alike oohing and aahing at his speed. ‘We tested him for steroids afterwards to make sure he wasn’t juiced up, but he was clean’ Kirtley joked. ‘That young man put on quite a show.’ In the boys’ 5 & 6 age division, Michael Carner set a meet standard in the long jump with a mark of nine feet, three inches. The Chapus sisters also enjoyed their share of success. In the 5 & 6 age category, Claire won her heat of the 50 meter dash in 10.07 and won her heat of the 100 meters in 19.9. Caroline Chapus, competing in the 7 & 8-year-old division, won her heat of the 50 meter dash in 9.26 while older sister, Camille, broke two meet records amongst 9 and 10-year-olds. She won the 400 meters in 1:18.47 and won the 800 meters in 2:45 flat. Kendall Gustafson won the girls’ 9 & 10-year-old long jump, setting a meet record with a distance of 13-9. Erika Martin won the girls’ 11 & 12 division of the 100 meters in a record 13.50.