The early training received by Olympic athletes Ethan Katzberg and Olivia Lundman from the Nanaimo Track and Field Club has been well documented. But let’s not forget the role that our local school system also played. It’s likely that some of their first exposure to track and field came at the elementary level. Granted, hammer throw and race walking were not taught, but basic skills were introduced and fostered. Some proof of that is provided by a Thorpe Report column dated June 25, 2015, which lists Lundman as finishing third in a peewee girls’ 1,500-metre race at the Nanaimo District Elementary Schools Track and Field Championships.
This past June, another large crop of promising young athletes took part in this year’s version of the event, and my thanks to coordinator Alana Lavery for sending along results…
In the tyke (born 2014-15) division, Park Avenue runner Colbie Burgess was first in the 100m dash and second in the 200m. Allie Mitchell from Frank J. Ney was runner-up in the 100m, with Leana Ruffell of Mountain View third. Winner of the 200m race was Kenley Korkowski from Mountain View and Forest Park’s Lian Garbo was third. In the 600m race, a new district record of 2:10:00 was set by McGirr athlete Hannah Jaworski, who also took first in the 1,200m. Aryana Yuen from Chase River placed second in 600m and Phoebe Allison of Quarterway was third. Second and third in 1,200m were Hudson Thomas of Pleasant Valley and Hammond Bay’s Sydney Leggett.
With field events for tyke girls, top three long jumpers were Clara Chan from Seaview, Mountain View’s Laina Romanik and Isla Prichard of Quarterway. In the softball throw event, Simone Collerat of École Oceane was first, Gardiner Willow from Cinnabar second and Aisha Walker representing Syuwen’ct third.
Competition on the track for peewee (born 2012-13) resulted in a 100m title for Elsie Feagan of Hammond Bay, who finished ahead of Nnadi Virtue from Georgia Avenue. Makena Racher from Quarterway was third and also third in 600m. Amelia Switzer from Hammond Bay won the 200m, with Hayden Esleyer of Syuwen’ct second and Departure Bay’s Alexis Haggarty third. Lia Maughan of Chase Record set a new record for the 600m distance with a winning time of 1:56:00. Allison McBride from Randerson Ridge was the runner-up. Top three in the 1,200m were Rebecca Mann of Pauline Haarer, Quarterway’s Rena Wren and Grace Power from Pleasant Valley.
In addition to her 100m win, Hammond Bay’s Elsie Feagan was first in both long jump and triple jump for peewee girls. Second and third in long jump were Amelia Switzer from Hammond Bay and Hayden Esleyer of Syuwen’ct. Olivia Counts from Syuwen’ct took second in triple jump with Sunny Baille from Departure Bay third. In throwing events, Cedar’s Aizlynn Roine was first in shot put and third in discus, while Seaview’s Taylor McFarlane was second in discus and third in shot put. Quarterway’s Bailee Higgs earned second in shot put, while the discus title was won by Abigail Johnson from Departure Bay. Top three in softball throw were Juno Zummack from Ladysmith Intermediate, Alexis Haggarty of Departure Bay and Talia Swanson representing Seaview.
For bantam (born 2011) girls, Beth Linder of Frank J. Ney was a triple winner, claiming first place in 100m, 200m and triple jump. Runner-up in 100m was Quarterway’s Merryn Prichard, who was also third in 200m. Third in 100m was Reynolds Lennox from Park Avenue, while second in 200m was Serena Chapman. In the longer track distances, three athletes dominated. Brynne Reilly from Hammond Bay was first in 600m and 1200m. Second in both races was Katie Hill from Quarterway, and third in both events was Quarterway teammate Ember Vaitekunas.
Top three long jumpers were Merryn Pritchard of Quarterway, Alexis Onuszkanzcz from Chase River and Maggie Fleming from Gabriola. Avery Ostle was second in triple jump, with Mountain View’s Lucy Gauthier third. Shot put saw Lauryn Legary from Frank J. Ney take first, Norah Box of Quarterway second and Audrey Palmer from Pauline Haarer third. In the discus event, Ladysmith athlete Lila Jeffries claimed first, Marissa Craik from Chase River was second and Aleah Hamblin of Ladysmith Intermediate third.
It’s back to the track this week, as we catch up on more results from the Nanaimo District Elementary School’s Track and Field Championships. Following are the top finishers in each event for the three separate age categories of boys’ competition, which featured three district records being tied or exceeded…
Two of those records came in the tyke (born 2014-15) division. Quarterway’s Milo Worden tied the 100m record with his time of 14:13, and also raced to victory in both the 200m and 1,200m. Zachary Wolf from Park Avenue was second in 100m, with George Olfert of Cedar Intermediate third. Second and third in 200m were Kai Ellis from Ladysmith Intermediate and Koen Tiwana from Frank J. Ney. A new record time of 2:01:00 was set in the 600m race by Pleasant Valley athlete Kamryn Whittaker. Quarterway’s Chase Newstone was the runner-up, and also took third in 1,200m. River Capadouca from Mountain View claimed third in 600m and second in 1,200m.
Tyke boys’ field events saw Departure Bay’s Will Dost win the long jump, outleaping Chase Newstone of Quarterway and Lerenzo Minter from Frank J. Ney. Top three in softball throw were Leo Slade of École Oceane, Jacob Bryce from Mountain View and Kahlon Munjhoat of Randerson Ridge.
Turning to the peewee (born 2012-13) division, Liam Kosowan from Departure Bay was first in 100m, while Gavin MacDonald from Uplands Park won the 200m race. MacDonald also placed second in 100m, with Pleasant Valley’s James Thorpe third. Second and third in 200m were Kei Fennell of McGirr and Riki Metcalfe from Mountain View. In the longer distances, Departure Bay’s Curtis Gross was first in 1,200m and second in 600m. Mountain View’s Grant Tee won the 600m, with Ben Blight from Departure Bay third. Second and third in 1,200m were Rylan Havelaar from Pleasant Valley and Cooper McEachen representing Cinnabar Valley.
In field events, Departure Bay’s Kailo Grain won the triple jump and was second in long jump. Kai Belanger from Gabriola was the best long jumper, with Kade Fiddick from Ladysmith Intermediate third. Second and third in triple jump were Kye Stranberg of Seaview and Cinnabar Valley’s Austin Lessard. Clark Bryce from Randerson Ridge won the shot put competition, ahead of Cris Chierchio of Pleasant Valley and Mountain View’s Owen Jeffs. First in the discus event was Whistler Payne of Hammond Bay, followed by Quarterway’s Jacob Liem and Dom Wesley-Atleo from Cedar Intermediate. Top three in softball throw were Mason Walsh from Randerson Ridge, Kade Fiddick of Ladysmith Intermediate and Grant Tee from Mountain View.
Competition among bantam (born 2011) boys was highlighted by the triple-gold performance of Baraka Gibson. The Cinnabar Valley athlete was first in long jump, first in 200m and first in 100m where he posted a record time of 12:09 – breaking a record that had stood since 1992.
Mountain View’s Severin Klingsat placed second in 100m. Third place went to Archer Mah from Quarterway, who was also second in 200m. Third in 200m was Cooper Sayers from Frank J. Ney. Emmett Higginson-Trotter of Quarterway owned the longer distances, winning both the 600m and 1,200m events. Ronan Gow of Mountain View and Reggis Lucas from Fairview were second and third in 600m, with Jasper Arbutus from Quam Qwum and Jacob Brennan of Randerson Ridge second and third in 1,200m.
Field events saw Departure Bay’s Finn Olson second to Baraka Gibson in long jump, with Quarterway’s Archer Mah third. Top three triple jumpers were Declan Lane from Pleasant Valley, Max Medley of Mountain View and Ladysmith Intermediate’s Austin Jones. Ronan Gow of Mountain View won the discus event and was runner-up in shotput. Finn Olson of Departure Bay and Marchel Butcher from North Oyster were second and third in discus. Quarterway’s Malone Mann won first place in shotput, with Mateo Salazar of Seaview third.
Based on total points earned by participants at the district meet, top place in school standings went to École Quarterway, with Departure Bay second and Mountain View third.
Whatever your sport, a reminder in closing to play your hardest, play fair, and show good sportsmanship.
