Biggar's Katie Foss the boss of the track again as she starts 2018 in brilliant fashion

Katie Foss sprints towards the finishing line as she leaves rivals in her wake to clinch the Scottish Schools under-16 300m crown (Submitted pic)

The 14-year-old Biggar High School pupil became under-16 300m champion at the recent Scottish Schools Indoor Athletics Championships in Glasgow’s Emirates Arena.

Among friends and family watching on was Katie’s proud mum Hazel who said of her winning run of 41.48 seconds: “Her performance was phenomenal.

“She showed true grit when winning her heats and semi-final.

“We didn’t know if she would have anything left for the final but she produced a brilliant display again and it was amazing to watch.

“She ended up winning by a few metres.”

To make the meeting a hugely successful family affair, Katie’s cousin Leah Keisler, also an S3 Biggar High pupil, won a bronze medal in the long jump with an amazing personal best leap of 5.31m.

“There is only four weeks between them and they have teamed up at athletics competitions since they started at age nine,” Hazel said.

“They are both in the 4 x 100m relay team at Biggar High, previously medalling at the Scottish Schools in 2016 and 2017.

“Leah was also the Scottish Schools outdoor 300m champion last year.”

Both Katie and Leah are members of Law and District Amateur Athletics Club, for whom they continue to impress at competitions on a regular basis.

Katie’s outstanding start to 2018 has followed on from a brilliant 2017 campaign in which she became both West District and Scottish National champion.

To gain extra experience, Katie also travelled down to the 2017 English Championships in Bedford, where she was the only Scottish under-15 girl to reach the final, in which she recorded a PB.

This fine performance meant that, at the time, Katie had the best time of any female Scottish under-15 athlete.

Last year also saw her land a Scottish National Championship indoor bronze medal.

“It is Katie’s dedication and training that is helping her achieve all these things,” Hazel added.

“She has also gained from the coaching of Mike Love, a Level 4 UKA Performance Coach.

“He has been coaching her for the past three years and I have noticed a real improvement in her since he started.

“When Mike took over the role, he thought she had the speed and endurance for the 300m.”

And it seems that further success beckons in 2018.