The word was out trackside Monday evening at Prime Ministers' Park.
"Watch out for that Skylar kid," said Connor Craig, one of Skylar Koroluk's opponents in the peewee boys' 1,500-metre race.
"He's an amazing runner."
Sure enough, Koroluk was the clear winner in that event as the Prince Albert and Area Athletic Association (P4A) elementary school track and field meet got off the ground.
The Grade 7 student from Spruce Home School won his race in five minutes and 22.71 seconds, while runner-up Seth Lundell of Wild Rose finished in 5:30.28 and bronze-medallist Reed Gunville of Arthur Pechey clocked a time of 5:36.87.
Fourth place went to Craig, who was representing Vickers School.
"It was pretty windy today, so that made it a lot harder," Koroluk said. "I was exhausted, but I'm proud of how I did."
He led for most of the race.
"There was one guy that was pretty close, but the rest were a little farther back," he said.
"This is my third year for (track) and we've been practising quite hard for it since the snow has melted."
Koroluk warmed up for Monday's race with his younger brother, Jake, who won the novice boys' 1,500-metre event.
"Me and my brother were stretching before the race," said the older Koroluk. "We did a couple of laps, and then just waited for a while to cool off."
Skylar plans to run the 800-metre today and the 200 on Wednesday.
"It's a lot of fun," he said with a smile. "You get to miss a lot of school, too."
Gunville, a natural athlete best known for his hockey prowess with the peewee AA Prince Albert NAPA Ice, made a run for a second-place finish Monday, but settled for third.
"He passed me right at the end," Gunville said of the lanky Lundell.
"There was a pretty strong wind going against us, so we had to go hard there and get through the wind.
"I was around seventh after the first lap. Then I got into third, and then second."
Gunville will be a busy boy today, with the 800-metre and the triple jump.
He's used to a full plate, with hockey, lacrosse and running on his athletic calendar.
Along with fellow Prince Albertans Matthew Campese and Lochlan Morrison, the 13-year-old Gunville is part of the Junior Raiders spring hockey team that's bound for a season-ending tournament in Winnipeg within a couple of weeks.
jmacneil@paherald.sk.ca
