On Saturday June 14, about 120 athletes from Niagara, Brantford, Brampton and everywhere in between competed at a meet at Oakes Park in Niagara Falls.

The Niagara Regional Athletics Track Club hosted the meet, with clubs coming from all over District B in hopes of making it to the provincial competition.

One Grade 11 student from Lakeshore Catholic High School was confident he will qualify.

Jeremy Rae won bronze at OFSSA and holds the fastest juvenile time in Canada for the 1,500 metre race.

"My PB (personal best) is 3:51," Rae said, using the track lingo meaning personal best.

He said he has been competing since Grade 9, but has been running for fun since he was in Grade 4.

The 1,500 is his best race and he admits that he can dominate the track during the 1,500 because, "I don't have enough speed for the (800), but I don't have enough endurance for the 3,000 metre," he said.

In high school he has only been beaten twice this year and Rae said he owns the third lap.

"That's when my coach tells me to take off," he said.

Usually track athletes participate in two events, but Rae didn't race the 800 metre because he wanted to save some energy for an invitational race Saturday evening in Cambridge.

He said that racing in two events increases the odds of qualifying for the District B team, because if you get two second-place finishes you can still make it.

But Rae opted out and decided to save his energy for the invitational because it's on an old gravel-like track and he enjoys the atmosphere of an old-styled race.

About 40 athletes from this meet will go on to the provincials, which are held in Kitchener July 18-19.

Selected athletes from provincial competition will make the provincial team, which is Rae's goal for the summer.

He said that you can go on to compete at the national level if you have a fast enough time, but he said he prefers to make the team, because of the jackets the team gets, among other things.

Rae said he would like to go to the United States on scholarship and has already received a letter from Notre Dame, which said the school is watching him.

He came in fourth at provincials in Grade 9 and after that he began to train. But the athlete said he gets tired after a race.

"I am usually pretty dead at the end of the races," Rae said.

The nationals take place is Sherbrooke from August 6-10.

The Canadian Legion pays for the costs of the meet and the competitions in order to stay involved in the community and athletics, said David Trotter, president of the track club.

Bill Poland, the district chair for Legion Division B, said usually the district does very well.

Poland said that out of the 40 athletes that qualified at provincials last year, 10 came from District B.

More information about the Niagara Regional Athletics Track Club can be found at www.niagararegionalathletics.com.