High school and elementary school athletes are putting in solid results after several successful meets in the Lower Mainland.
Chat put in a strong showing, qualifying three athletes for the zone championships after the preliminary meet in West Vancouver May 5.
Michael Fryer was second in 800 m senior boys in a time of 2:12.
"Michael ran a smart race, going out hard in the first 400 and maintaining speed at the finish," said Chat coach Lexa Pomfret.
Madalyn Reid was second in the 100 m junior girls (13.5), Terrence Tang was seventh in the bantam boys long jump (4.00 m), and Wendee Lang and Dan Bevan ran personal bests in the 100 m.
"Both Chatelech and Elphinstone have former students coming back to help with the track programs and it's really paying off this year," Pomfret said. "Anthony Estey is back from the University of Victoria and helping Chat out with pacing in interval training and Kree Girard is helping with jumping at Elphinstone."
The Elphi squad won big at the South Fraser Invitational as 20 members of the team travelled to Bear Creek Park in Surrey April 23. At the end of the day, the team amassed a total of 16 medals, 37 top eight finishes, numerous personal bests and one meet record. Medal winners included Candice Veale, second in 100 m and third in 200 m; Kendra Pomfret, first in both the 400 and the 3000 m; Kim Doerksen, third in long jump; Claire Fearnley, third in both discus and javelin; Rachel vanWersch, first in shot put and second in javelin; Ari Paulson, second in 3000 m; Philip Klippenstein, third in 200 m; Patrick Swadden, third in long jump; and Tyrell Dempster, third in hammer.
The junior girls four by 100 relay team, consisting of Rachel, Brianna Kane, Kim Doerksen and Grade 8 athlete Candice Veale, also earned the silver medal, placing second in a time of 52.59 seconds. "Brianna continued to prove she was one of the top 400 metre runners in the province this year, easily winning the race in a time of 57.95 seconds to set a new meet record as well," said coach Tom Daniels. "This time ranks her in the top five high school runners in the province and one of the top 10 youth (15 to 17) in Canada. Brianna also placed third in the 200 m." The team is heavily in the middle of North Shore qualifying meets, as they competed at Handsworth Secondary School on May 5 and 10 and were at West Van Secondary on May 12 for the throws preliminaries.
The top eight finishers in each age category advance to the North Shore finals on May 17 at Swangard Stadium.
After the first day of preliminaries (May 5), 23 of the 27 members of the track team have qualified in either an individual event or as a relay team member for the zone finals. The four remaining athletes are throwers only and will most likely be joining their teammates after the throws preliminaries, as they too have proven to be among the best on the North Shore, added Daniels.
"This is a young team, primarily grades 8 through 10, with only three seniors," said Daniels. "If we had the numbers and depth of such large schools as West Van, Handsworth and Argyle and if we had a track on which to train, we could be making a run at the top track and field team on the North Shore. We certainly have made an impression. Our senior girls four by 100 relay team (consisting of Grade 10 athletes competing as seniors rather than juniors) is definitely the team to beat on the North Shore and will be one of the top teams again in the province."
Langdale trackOne of the favourite track and field meets for Langdale Elementary School athletes is the Powell River Elementary meet held each year at Gordon Park, and it's easy to see why.
Building on the success of last year's team, this young squad came away with numerous top six finishes, many personal bests and four of the 10 individual aggregate awards.
Each year, the Powell River Track and Field Club awards an aggregate trophy, sponsored by the Powell River Legion, to the top male and female athlete in each age group. Langdale athletes brought home four of the aggregate awards, while Jason Talbot of Gibsons Elementary earned another, to bring the total aggregate winners to five for the Lower Sunshine Coast. Gurveen Clair took the 1992 girls award, winning the high jump, discus, 100 m and shot put.
Gurveen was pushed hard in her events by Langdale teammates Natasha Wells and Falynne Wagman. Michelle Wells, for the second year in a row, was the 1994 girls' aggregate winner with outstanding results in the 400 m, 800 m, high jump and discus.
Michelle's high jump of 1.23 metres was a new personal best for her, well over her previous best of 1.10 metres. New Langdale track team members Cailin Parry and Evan Sorensen enjoyed first year success, bringing home the award for the 1995 girls and the 1996 boys respectively.
Cailin had first place finishes in the 100 m, 400 m, shot put and high jump, while Evan won the 100 m, 400, shot put and long jump. Coaches Terry Daniels and Ken Sorensen were obviously pleased with the overall success of the team.
"I started helping out and working with these athletes because my son really wanted to join," said Sorensen. "I've been really impressed with their ability, willingness to train, the focus and team support they show at the meets." "Ken was a top athlete himself at Chatelech way back when, and to have him working with the kids now is a real bonus," added Daniels. "I too am impressed how the entire team gets out and supports each other and pushes themselves to do their best."
