Pitt Meadows' Shania Payne finished fifth in Canada with a 100metre personal best time of 12.22 at the Legion Canadian Youth Track & Field Champions held in Prince Edward Island recently.

Payne earned a bronze medal anchoring Team BC in the 4X100metre relay.

She also placed seventh in the 200-metre sprint.

"It was an amazing experience competing against some of the best sprinters in Canada," Payne said.

The sprinter is a Grade 12 student at Pitt Meadows Secondary.

She was a member of Golden Ears Athletics, but switched to the Coquitlam Cheetahs, coached by Tara Self, this past year to take advantage its sprint program.

It has been a long and arduous year for Payne starting with cross country training last September, and eventually switching to the track to begin intensive training.

In addition to the Canadian ranking of fifth and seventh, Payne ended her season ranked number one in B.C. for 100-metre and number two for 200-metre.

smclaren@mrtimes.com