A pair of Red Deer Polytechnic track athletes were recognized for their accomplishments by the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC).
Queens Jenica Swartz of the indoor track team was named the ACAC Female Runner of the Year and Kings Ethan Duret was selected as an ACAC All-Star.
Most recently, Swartz had a crucial part in the Queens winning their first-ever gold medal at the ACAC Indoor Track Championship winning three individual gold medals, a silver and first place in both relays.
The second-year athlete won the gold medal for the Queens’ soccer team in the ACAC Championship earlier in the year and on the same weekend won the bronze at the Cross Country Championships.
“She leads by example in her training and competing in both cross-country and indoor track, along with being an integral part of the Queens Soccer program,” said head coach Doug Spicer in a media release.
“It was a great pleasure working with Jen this year and watching her dominate the competition in her quiet, humble way.”
In his final season with the Kings, Duret had a season to remember.
The Red Deer native started the 2022-23 season at the first Grand Prix with two first place finishes followed by a gold and a bronze in the relay events. At the ACAC Championships, he did not reach the podium individually but won bronze in the 4X200 metre relay.
“Although he did not finish in the top five in cross-country, he trained hard and developed a solid aerobic base which we refined during indoor track,” Spicer said.
“This added more speed and endurance which suited his 600m and 1000m races in particular. Ethan is a goal-setter who asks a lot of himself and works hard to achieve his goals.”