Humboldt’s Teijon Abel-Douglas continues to make strides in the track and field community despite this being just his second track and field season.
The Humboldt native recently returned home from Brandon, Man. where he competed at the 2018 National Legion Track and Field Championships.
The national trip was the second for Abel-Douglas in the last month after traveling to Sherwood Park, Alta. in July for the Tri-Provincial meet.
For the 15-year-old Humboldt native, it was an especially meaningful pair of trips given that he is just two years into his track career, he says.
“It feels good to know that everything I did leading up to it, everything I’ve done the past year actually meant something and it wasn’t just me doing it just to do it.”
Abel-Douglas’ Tri-Provincial meet resulted in hardware for the Humboldt native as he finished the meet with a medal in the 800m and another in the relay.
“It feels good to get a team medal, help other people medal and getting a medal in the 800m was a really good confidence booster heading into nationals.”
After meeting the time standard in both in the 300m and 800m races, Abel-Douglas attended nationals.
Being able to attend nationals in just his second season of track was a surprise admitted Abel-Douglas, saying the national championship was more of an end goal than a middle one.
“It’s good to see everything progressing so fast and hopefully it will just keep rolling over like it has been.”
At the national meet, the second-year track athlete enjoyed a solid competition, finishing first in his 800m heat, while shattering his personal best (PB) by three seconds.
“The plan was to go out fast. It was going to be a fast race no matter what. We just had to do it because being in the slow heat it was sort of about how fast you could go and just holding it.”
Abel-Douglas was in the first of two heats, and while the Humboldt native managed to win his heat, by four seconds, he finished just eighth overall.
Abel-Douglas managed to finish the 800m with a time of 2:04.63.
The start was critical, said Abel-Douglas, noting he managed to run the first 400m in just 58 seconds, three off his 400m PB.
By the time Abel-Douglas reached the 600m mark his time reached 1:30, and he said at that point he knew if he could hold the pace he would have a real good shot at breaking his PB.
“Watching the clock tick to 2:04 when I crossed the line was a huge feat.”
Abel-Douglas added a ninth place finish in the 300m, posting a time of 38.16, marking his second PB of the meet.
Getting to nationals and winning medals at the tri-provincial meet will be huge for the future, says Abel-Douglas because he now has added experience, which he can use at other meets.
“It shows that anything’s possible. Considering how fast I’m going to have to run next year to go to nationals it helps that I have the experience of going to nationals. So maybe I won’t get as nervous for other races just because I know I’ve been at a stage bigger than this. I’ve just got to settle everything down and run.”
Looking ahead, Abel-Douglas knows it will be a challenge to get back to nationals next year, but says he remains focused on that goal.
“I’ll be a first year youth and the standard’s a 1:58 so it will be interesting. But I feel like I just need to keep focused and focus on that main goal before we start setting new ones.”
Outside of the track, Abel-Douglas added a provincial medal in cross-country, Humboldt Collegiate’s first ever, but says he is looking forward to new challenges in the fall and will not be returning to the trails.
Instead, Abel-Douglas says he is looking forward to hitting the football field.
“I never really felt I molded into a distance runner role. I think I did decent in it with the help of seniors from last year. Our coach was great, loved all the students last year that I ran with and just want to try new things with football. It’s all about being young and I can always go back to it next year, which who knows it could happen, but I just want to try something new.”
Once the football season ends Abel-Douglas says he will be right back on the track for track and field.
