Sisters Brianna and Michaela Kane are tearing up the indoor and outdoor tracks this season for the Simon Fraser University (SFU) Clan.
Brianna, in her third year at SFU, was joined by her sister Michaela in September at the Burnaby campus, and both have put in stellar campaigns.
The Kanes, who call Roberts Creek home and who both graduated from Elphinstone Secondary School in Gibsons, rode a strong indoor track season all the way to the NAIA championships in Johnson City, Tennessee in March.
The girls each received two All-American awards, with Brianna finishing second in the 600m in a time of 1:33.00, while Michaela finished fifth in a time of 1:35.24 out of 32 regional qualifiers.
Brianna's 4x800m relay team finished first in their race, and Michaela's medley relay team also finished first, setting achampionship meet record. Both girls were ecstatic with their results, and began preparing for their outdoor seasons, which began on April 5 with the SFU Track and Field Open.
In the 800m, Brianna and teammate Angela Shaw of Langley each qualified for the NAIA National Championships, set for May 27 to 29 in Indiana, posting times of 2:11.71 and 2:12.42 to finish first and second respectively.
The 4x100m relay team of Michaela, Jane Channell, Liza Whitehead and Andrea Abrams achieved the 'B' standard for the nationals, posting a time of 49.58.
"Considering the cold, we had some very good times for this early in the season," said SFU head coach Brit Townsend.
Up next for the Clan was the Ralph Vernacchia Meet in Bellingham, WA April 11 and 12. Michaela and Brianna teamed up with Ali Hudson and Helen Crofts on the 4x400m relay team, winning in a time of 3:51.85. Overall, the Clan women's team finished second at the meet that was won by the host team from Western Washington.
Walnut Grove, Calif. was the next stop for the Clan last weekend at the Bryan Clay Invitational, hosted by Azusa Pacific and congruently at the Mount SAC relays.
Brianna posted a personal best in the 800m with a time of 2:10, while she posted a time of 2:09.75 in the 800m, competing in the Olympic Development Section of the Mount SAC relays. The finish was the first time in her career that she posted a time under 2:10. With that result, she is now ranked third in the NAIA behind Clan teammates Jessica Smith and Crofts.
The Clan are off to the University of British Columbia on Sunday, April 25, for the 2010 Achilles Cup hosted by the T-Birds.
