VICTORIA—The return of the Victoria Track Classic to Centennial Stadium on June 9 gave University of Victoria track athletes the much-needed opportunity to taste live competition for the first time since the U SPORTS National Track and Field Championships in March of 2020.

Despite training hard all season, intersquad competitions and running time-trials, there is nothing quite like setting up on the start line against a field of competitors waiting for the gun to fire. The only thing missing this time around was a crowd of cheering fans as the meet faced various restrictions due to Provincial Health Restrictions.

"It was great to be back even though this event looked different than years past. It was interesting because our athletes weren't used to the seriousness of the officials and the clock, but it was such good practice for them and really got them back in the mode of racing," said Vikes head coach, Hilary Stellingwerff. 

Highlights for the Vikes included a head-to-head battle between Jack Boden and Vaughn Taylor in the men's 800 metres, with Boden taking the event win. With 300 metres left, Boden turned on the jets, finishing with a time of 1:52.87, just tenths of a second off his Personal Best (PB) and 2.5 seconds faster than Taylor.

"You know there is that point (in the race) where you don't want to go, but you have to? I felt really good at 400 metres, and with 300 metres to go, I made the move and just sent it," said Boden.

Vikes Georgia Ginther ran a PB as she faced the toughest race of the night in the women's 1,500-metre. Despite lining up against a field of world-class athletes in what would be the highlight event of the evening, Ginther kept her composure while earning valuable experience. Genevieve Lalonde, who is qualified for the Tokyo Olympics in the women's 3,000-metre steeplechase, took the win with a time of 4:11:01.

In another good race, Vikes Gabe Van Hezewijk led the pack for most of the men's 3000-metre before getting outpaced on the last lap by UBC Thunderbird and Mount-Douglas Secondary-graduate Liam Dwyer. Dwyer, who has been training with the Vikes as of late, bested his personal best time by eight seconds, winning the men's 3,000 metres in 8:29.32.

"Gabe had a bit of a low season last year, so it's great to see him out racing again and running well," said Stellingwerff.

The Victoria Track Classic launched in 1988, and over the years, the event has played host to many Olympic, Paralympic and future international stars on their way to running success. After a hiatus, the event made its return this year, and despite the many challenges, it went off well, providing an excellent base to work off of when it returns in full capacity next year.

"Hopefully, this was a good trial run and a good practice to do it again next year, said Stellingwerff. "This was like a dress rehearsal, and it will look very different in the future, but it's a great opportunity for our athletes who may not normally get into a meet of this calibre to race against the best."