Moose Jaw's Hunter Bosch went toe-to-toe with the best runners in the country last weekend in Ottawa.

Bosch won a silver medal in the Under-20 Men's 400-metre dash, finishing with a time of 48.96 seconds.

It went pretty well for the most part, in the final there was some really good runners, a lot of depth, so I knew I'd have to kill it in order to get a medal, said Bosch.

The Regina Cougars track team member entered the final in the third position after posting a time of 49.09 seconds during the preliminary race. He ended up beating the two runners that finished ahead of him in the prelims, only trailing Regina's Vaughn Taylor by 0.42 seconds in the final.

"There was a wind on the back stretch, which definitely slowed done some times, but there was a good push on the home stretch, which I definitely took advantage of," said Bosch.

Heading into the final at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility, Bosch said he had the adrenaline pumping and was confident that he could perform well enough to capture a medal.

"At these kind of meets, it just really brings the best out of you," said Bosch. "Even if your time isn't your best, it's about how you run the race."

Bosch is coming off a strong freshman season with the Cougars, finishing sixth in the 300-metre and 4x400m relay at the Canada West Championship in February and picking up an eighth place finish in the relay at the U Sports Championship in March.

The Vanier Collegiate grad said his year with the Cougars really helped build up his confidence that he can compete on the national level.

"It's kind of a culture shock going into the university and being a track athlete," he said. "I know with my coach Al, he's completely did a 180 with me, totally changed me as a runner and ended up knocking off a second off my time, which is huge."

Bosch added that he's excited about what the future holds.

"With the coaching and the support staff that I've got, it's setting you up to win and keep doing better," he said. "I told my goals to Al and what I want to hit and I know with his coaching and the guys that I train with, I'll get there."

Fellow Moose Jaw runner Ryan Botterill also attending nationals last weekend, placing 18th in the U20 Men's 100m and 23rd in the 200m.