Andrews caps high school career with double-gold effort

Although the spectacular high school track and field career for Acton resident Kaitlyn Andrews is now officially over, the seven-time OFSAA gold medalist is just beginning a hectic summer schedule that will hopefully culminate with a trip to Beijing, China. "I think I have one weekend off later this month, but other than that, it's go, go, go," Andrews said Monday. The 17-year-old Andrews won both of her specialty events, the senior girls' shot put and discus, in her usual dominant fashion at last week's Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations championship meet at Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke. The Grade 12 Acton District High School student had set a goal of breaking the standing OFSAA records in her events, but came up a metre short in the shot put and four metres behind the 20-year-old mark in the discus. Had Andrews been able to achieve those distances, she would have automatically qualified for the World Junior Track & Field Championships in China in early August, so instead she'll have to finish in the top two at the Canadian junior meet set for Sherbrooke, Que. July 22-23. She can also earn a spot at the worlds by surpassing certain qualifying standards at meets in Ottawa and London later this month. "I think I put a little too much pressure on myself (at OFSAA) and I tensed up a bit," she said. "But I can't complain. The medals are great and it's an honour to be able to say you're an OFSAA champion in any sport." Andrews competed in the shot put and discus at OFSAA in all four of her high school years with the Bearcats and only once did she not claim a gold medal, when as a junior, she placed second in the discus. Her throwing prowess has landed her a full scholarship at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, and if her distances continue to improve, she'll likely be representing Canada at international events in the near future. If Andrews does make it to Beijing, there won't be much time to rest afterwards, either, as she'll have to fly from China to Vancouver to Houston in order to start up her kinesiology classes at SFA. "The worlds won't have as much pressure in them because I'll be going up against girls who are a lot farther ahead than I am, so there won't be that expectation to win and I can just go out and compete and have fun with it," she added. Also at OFSAA this past week, Christ the King's Brittney Mortimer placed 12th in the junior girls' discus with a throw of 26.83m, while Chelsea Jensen of Georgetown District High School was 19th in the midget girls' javelin after a toss measuring 23.04m. Acton's J.D. Hartnagle, a first-year senior, finished 21st in the discus at OFSAA, recording a throw of 28.94m.

Acton District High School's Kaitlyn Andrews (centre) collects one of her two gold medals earned at last week's Ontario high school track and field championships in Etobicoke. No stranger to the OFSAA podium, Andrews tossed the discus 43.04 metres to win the senior girls' competition by nearly four metres over runner-up Danielle Horvat of Barrie Eastview (right) and bronze medalist Caitlin Vandodewaard from Renfrew (right).