From The St. Catharines Standard:

By Bernie Puchalski, St. Catharines Standard, Monday, January 7, 2013 11:41:09 EST PM

In his first trip to the North American, Central American and Caribbean cross-country championships, Troy Smith didn’t have the result he desired.

The 17-year-old Grade 12 student at Grimsby District Secondary School was slowed by lingering effects to his training from leg surgery.

He’s looking for redemption and a top five individual result when he makes his second trip to the NACAC championships Jan, 26 in Jamaica.

“I’m looking forward to competing with the team and doing well as a team,” the Niagara Olympic Club member said.

A strong finish at the NACAC championships will give Canada a berth at the world championships in Poland in March.

“Our team has to be top two but usually that is something that we do each year,” Smith said.

It would be his first trip to world championships.

Training for the NACAC championships isn’t easy in Canada.

“It’s going to be a lot warmer in Jamaica than here, so it’s going to be a shock to the system.”

The former Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations 800-metre bronze medalist qualified for the Canadian team at the end of November by placing fifth overall and fourth among eligible athletes in the junior men’s division at the Canadian cross country championships in Vancouver.

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