MIDDLE-DISTANCE runner Lori Durward prepares for running with stretch exercises. The North Vancouver resident has been shortlisted for Sport B.C.’s university athlete of the year. Durward, 19, has hed an impressive career as a junior athlete in her track and field specialities of the 1,500 and 800 metres. = NorWesters win medals at meet TWO LOCAL Track and Field club NorWesters members, Warren Barker and Erin Bell, picked up bronze medals at the recent Senior Indoor Nationals held in Saskatoon. West Vancouver’s Barker, 21, Tan an outstanding 3,000 metre race to come in third with a time of 8:23:56, The gold went to Toronto’s Harvey Mitro with a time of 8:17:08 and silver was won by Toronto’s James Stafford, 8:21:19. North Vancouver’s Bell re- corded a bronze-winning triple jump of tim:29, Bell, 17, jumped ona knee that had been injured in soccer and she failed to reach her personal best of 1im:48 set the week before in Seattle. Bell usually competes as a hep- tathlete and last year was the B.C. high school champion. She also placed first in western Canadian juveniles and third in Canadian juniors. This is the first year Bell has seriously competed as a triple jumper. During the senior indoor na- tionals, Regina’s Tracy Dalmage received the gold for a 12m:07 jump and silver went to Saska- toon’s Carla Giles who jumped 11m:47, Both Barker and Bell plan to take part in Olympic trials this year and compete for future berths on national teams. Runner Lori Durward sets sights high UNLIKE MOST people, North Vancouver’s’ Lori Durward likes to run flat out for 1,500 metres. By Anna Marie D’Angelo News Reporter And unlike most other 1,500- metre sprinters, the 19-year-old UBC student does this middle- distance running extremely well. So well that she became the na- tion’s top-ranked junior (under 19) woman in the 1,500 metres. And she earned a gold medal in the event at the Pan-Am junior championships held in Jamaica last year. “T have long legs, and I think I am mentally tough enough to do well. | fell in love with the sport, and when you get the rewards, it helps you go on,’’ said Durward. Some of the rewards Durward racked up last year include top B.C. junior woman track and field athlete and Candian junior champion in the 1,500 and silver medalist in the 800 metres. She is the B.C. gold medallist in cross-country running despite her assertion that cross-country is not something she especially likes to do. And after her Pan-Am_ gold performance, Durward achieved a personal best time of 4:15:40 in the 1,500 metres in Quebec. This result put her in the top 10 in the world in 1,500 metres at the junior level. “*I set goals like getting certain times for the summer and indoor seasons. Sometimes 1 get them, sometimes I don’t,’’ said Dur- ward. The Handsworth grad and member of the local NorWesters Track and Field club recently received her second best track and field junior award from B.C. Athletics. Durward is also up for Sport B.C.’s top university athlete in the province. The result of that com- petition will be announced March 7. Durward’s NorWesters club- mate, Lindsey McLaren, who also lives on the North Shore, picked up the best cross-country junior woman award from B.C. Athletics this year. Since turning 19, Durward is now in the senior category of track and field competition, but NorWesters president, Dawn Copping, says Durward is not starting at the bottom again. “Lori is right up there at the tailLend of the athletes on the na- tional team. We expect her to go to the Commonwealth Games,” said Copping. Durward credits her parents, Don and Sheila, for being great motivators in helping her to do so well. “My parents said I must men- tion them and say how important they are,’’ laughs Durward. ‘‘But they do keep me going when things aren’t going good, if my races are off or whatever.”’ Durward said B.C. doesn’t have any indoor tracks to train in dur- ing the bleak, rainy winter months. She trains usually out- doors at Minoru field in Rich- mond or at West Vancouver Sec- ondary School’s track. During the approximately four competitions she takes part in during the indoor season (January to March), Durward must travel to Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Cen- tral Canada. “Track and field is not a popu- lar sport in B.C. I guess it is a matter of funding and also the weather here is not that drastic (to justify building indoor tracks) as in Winnipeg,’’ said Durward. She trains six days a week for one to two hours. The outdoor season (April to August) involves more intensive training and com- petitions almost every weekend. The cross-country season is from September to November. ‘Runners. don’t train eight hours a day, and it works out well with school because the two hours 1 train is sometimes a good stress relief from school,’’? said Dur- ward, who is in second year nutri- tional sciences. She joined the NorWesters in Grade 8 and ‘“‘got more serious goals’? in Grade 10 when she began training and competing seriously. . Durward goes through four $120 pairs of running shoes each year, which makes her sport one of the least expensive to outfit. Athletes competing in middle distance running are sometimes prone to stress fractures; Durward has had a slight problem occa- sionally with shin splints which have kept her inactive for about a week. Among her current goals are training well for the Olympic trials this year. North Shore skiers shine at weekend races YOUNG SKIERS from the North Shore once again displayed their strength and tal- ent in two Clearly Canadian- sponsored races held last weekend. Ina Clearly Canadian J3 slalom event for 11 and 12-year- olds heid at Cypress Mountain, West Vancouver's Jonathon Coleman, skiing for Whistler, brought home the silver medal on both Saturday and Sunday. In the girls’ event, North Vancouver’s Jordanna Aboussafy, from Blackcomb, skied to a gold medal victory on Saturday while Grouse Mountain Tyee Brenda Rawcliffe of West Vancouver snatched the gold on Sunday. Jane Emerick, who lives in Squamish and carries Blackcomb colors, recorded bronze medal finishes on both Saturday and Sunday. Meanwhile on Mount Washington, Clearly Canadian sponsored a J2 slafom race for 13 and 14-year-olds. West Van- couver’s Michael Perretin, skiing for Blackcomb, recorded both silver and bronze medal finishes. On the girls’ side, Grouse Tyee Aimee-Noel Hartley of North Vancouver brought home both a gold and a silver Clearly Cana- dian medal, while Whistler’s Sofia Oberti of West Vancouver secured a bronze medal in Sun- day’s event. J3. skiers have one race weekend remaining at Mount Washington, hoping to secure a berth at the provincial champi- onships to be hosted by the Red Mountain Racers in March. A strong contingent of coast zone J2s are off to Smithers this week, skiing to qualify for the Canadian juvenile champion- ships to be held in Quebec.