Paige Zinger has a tough yet exciting decision to make in the not-too-distant future.
The multi-talented 16-year-old will select which post-secondary institution she’ll attend beginning in the fall of 2025 on a track and field scholarship.
Zinger has become one of the top heptathlon competitors in the country despite getting into the sport just over a year ago.
“I got into it just prior to the (Legion Youth) Nationals last year,” she explained. “I tried most of the events before, but not combined.”
The heptathlon consists of seven events — 100—metre hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200m, long jump, javelin and 800m.
Zinger finished in the medals in the high jump and 4x100m in the U16 division at the 2022 nationals. Two years later, she was second in the U18 heptathlon.
“The first time I went I didn’t know there were these kind of events,” she said. ” I qualified and made the team but didn’t know what to expect … didn’t realize how big of a deal it was. At the time just thought it was another meet.
“But it was a cool experience, competing against all the other provinces and it worked out well.”
Paige got into track and field in middle school.
“I got interested in the sport after competing in a few meets in middle school. I then joined the track club (Red Deer Titans) and fell in love with it.”
Paige attends Notre Dame High School and competes for their track team, competing at the provincials the last two years in the long jump, 100m, relay and this year pole vault.
She got interested in pole vault after her sister, Sydney, 18, received a scholarship at the University of Alberta in the event.
“It was fun to try,” Paige said. “I may do a few training days this fall, just to try it again.”
An interesting side to Sydney’s scholarship was that Paige took up track and field before she did.
“She didn’t start until a couple of years ago, but she’s done well and she’s influenced me into trying pole vault,.”
The U of A is one of a number of schools offering Paige a scholarship. Others include the University of Calgary, Manitoba, Trinity Western and Minnesota.
“I’d need a full ride to Minnesota, as it’s expensive,” she said. “I still have some time to decide but I plan on making the decision this fall.
“Still, it would be cool to compete with my sister.”
Paige has progressed quickly since taking up the multi-event sport. Her meet totals have jumped from 4,532 points to 4,772 at this year’s Nationals.
This year, despite being only five-foot-four, she set a meet record in the high jump, clearing 1.71m.
“I’d say high jump is my strongest event,” she said. “It worked out well this year … I peaked at the right time.”
Paige has a strong influence with the Titans, training with two-time Canadian U20 champion Tricia Madourie, who just returned from the World U20 champions in Lima, Peru.
“It’s good. When she’s here, we train in the same group. It’s good to work with her,” Zinger said.
Paige also enjoys the 200m and hurdles.
“I need to continue to put work into them, but I enjoy them the most.”
The one event she doesn’t like is the 800m, which is always the final event in the heptathlon.
“It can be the most challenging,” she said. “It’s the final event and not my strongest so I have to make sure I push through it.”
Overall, Paige finds the toughest aspect of heptathlon to be the mental side.
“It’s very challenging, you have to keep going even if something goes wrong in one event.”
But she also enjoys the challenge.
“It’s a lot more practice, fitting all the events together, but I like doing it.”
Living in Red Deer does have it challenges when it comes to the winter. They train in the Collicutt Centre, which lacks the space to train in several of the events.
“We do a lot of conditioning, a lot of weights, which is something we do all year,” she explains. “We do a lot of work on indoor events as the first meet is in January in Edmonton (at the U of A’s Butterdome).
Paige will also compete in a number of school sports. She tried out for the volleyball team and will play tennis and possibly handball.
Paige comes from an athletic family. Outside of Sydney, her dad Dan played baseball while her first cousin, Presley plays hockey at UBC.
As for her future, besides competing at the post-secondary level, Paige would like to make the Canadian team. beginning at the younger level and working her way up.
“That’s definitely another one of my goals,” she said.
Looking at how quickly she’s progressed over the past year, that’s not out of the realm of possibility.
Danny Rode is a retired Advocate reporter and member of the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame who can be reached at danrode@shaw.ca
