Every high school sports program has to start somewhere, but the track and field team at Holy Cross has hit the ground running.

The new Catholic high school in Strathroy has to have some kind of per-capita participation record as a quarter of its student population of roughly 130 came out for the team. Twenty-two qualified for the two-day WOSSAA meet that ended yesterday at TD Waterhouse Stadium.

Not only that, the Centurions qualified five athletes for next weekend's Ontario West Regional meet at LaSalle Sandwich. Leading the way is Grade 9 runner Andrina Slegers, who won silver in the midget girls' 400 metres and 300-metre hurdles and was fifth in the 200 to advance.

"I'm surprised we've done this well," said Slegers, who combined with Vanessa Jansen, Lisa Willan and Laura Van Aert to finish third in the midget girls' 4x100 relay.

"It's good to show the schools that are a lot bigger than we are that we can get points, too. I don't think anyone expected us to get this far -- and we're here."

Slegers, 14, was just as surprised by her own performance. "I knew I was good but I didn't think I'd do this well. It's just clicking now that if I really push myself, I can get times just as good as the others."

Holy Cross head coach and athletic director Pat Moran, formerly at John Paul II and Regina Mundi in London, said the team's efforts -- Van Aert also qualified for regionals in midget girls' shot put while Kevin Roeklands is moving on in the midget boys' 300 hurdles -- are beyond his most optimistic expectations.

"My dream was to get an athlete to regionals," he said with a laugh. "I told the kids, 'I went to school for five years with people who never got past conference, so you've all done something great in your first year.' "

He said recruiting for the track team started early. "I started in September. If I saw a kid throwing a football, I said, 'You're coming with me.' If a kid ran cross-country, I said, 'You're coming with me.' "

Moran said he is getting invaluable assistance from Forest native Bruce Faulds, a longtime athletic director and track coach at Belleville Centennial who has retired to Strathroy.

As well, the school shares a new eight-lane Mondo track with adjoining Strathroy district collegiate, which is a strong inducement.

There's been but one drawback, Moran said.

"Because our school is so small, some of the kids were torn between soccer and track and field," he said, adding that the girls' soccer team wasn't able to finish the season.