Maeva Scipio has come a long way in a short period of time.

The 14-year-old Franco-Niagara student went from being not sure if she would be able to compete this year to winning a medal at OFSAA.

The Welland native ran a personal best time of 46.76 to take home the bronze in the novice girls 300-metre hurdles at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations meet in Windsor earlier this month.

“For someone who was not even going to do high school track this year, to see her come away with an OFSAA medal is a great end to that chapter of her track story,” Thorold Elite coach Steven Fife said. “We will have to see what Grade 10 brings.”

Scipio, who also placed fifth in the 80-metre hurdles at OFSAA, was thrilled with her performance.

“I wanted a medal for at least one of them but I didn’t know if it was possible,” she said. “I was really happy.”

Scipio has the distinction of winning the first OFSAA medal for her school.

“A lot of people thought I was going to do well so it was kind of scary,” she said. “I was really happy. It was fun and everyone was congratulating me.”

Scipio chalks up her success to hard work.

“It was definitely the training I had because I was ready. When I was going into the finals for the 300 hurdles I was first so I thought it was possible.”

Scipio was happy she was able to more than hold her own against the top talent in the province.

“The first two girls were really, really good and the rest of the girls were really tight,” she said. “Now you now you’re actually capable of winning.”

Click here to read the full article on BP Sports Niagara.