On May 18, Spitfires Donna Ntambue and Roxane Tedga proved their worth as high draft picks, opening their CTFL career at the Coupe Excellence in Montreal with record breaking runs. Ntambue ran a CTFL record, clocking in at 11.36, and Tedga recorded a new personal best.

Before the season began, Ntambue was a highly rated prospect entering the draft pool with a noticeably better personal best than the rest of the discipline. Drafted fourth overall, the 23-year-old currently competes at Mcgill University after spending time as a two-sport athlete – basketball and track – at Northeastern University and the University of Utah.

Ntambue beat the record – previously 11.38, held by Crystal Emmanuel – in the qualifiers before comfortably winning the final heat with an equally impressive time of 11.38.

Not only is this a CTFL record, but a personal one for Ntambue, who smashed her previous wind-legal best of 11.54. The run ties for the second-fastest run in the country this season, behind Audrey Leduc’s new Canadian record of 10.96. 

With her times well ahead of the competition before entering the league, such a significant improvement this early in the season will be celebrated by the reigning CTFL Champions who selected her with their first pick in the draft.

 As many athletes have yet to compete, it is hard to situate Natmbue’s time within the discipline, but she has started the season with a statement mark that will be hard – if not impossible –  to beat. 

Ntambue currently sits atop the discipline with the fastest time in both the free and preliminary category, and her dominance looks likely to continue. 

Fellow draftee Tedga, selected eighth, is looking like the right selection, running a personal best of 11.65 in the qualifier and 11.71 in the final heat. The 2006-born athlete was the next best behind Ntambue and ahead of third-placed Jorden Savoury by nearly two-tenths of a second.

The young runner now has 40 CTFL points, split evenly between two second placed marks. Picked just below Ntambue, Tedga’s early results are sweetened by her age and possible longevity in the league. While Tedga may not be able to shave off three-tenths of a second off her time this season to meet the newly set record, she will surely challenge Ntambue as the season moves on, with their free marks separated by one-tenth of a second. 

Many who have yet to compete will run at the second CTFL meet of the season – the Bob Vigars Classic – on May 26 in London, Ont., and fans will see how the rest of the discipline stacks up to the Spitfires’ speedy pair.