BY IAN THORPE
Track season came to end for local elementary students this month, as the annual Nanaimo District Elementary School Track and Field Championships were held at Rotary Bowl stadium. Seven new district records were set.
One of those came in the youngest group, the tyke girls born 2008-09. On the track, Larissa Bonnet from McGirr broke a 28-year-old record in the 100-metre dash, with a time of 14.72 seconds. Katie Tomkins from Frank J. Ney was second and Irelyan Wear of Park Avenue third. Wear earned first place in the 200m event, outracing Pauline Haarer’s Charlotte Wiggers and Charlotte Shepherd from McGirr. Amaya Carli of Mountain View took first in the 600m race. Layla Walker from Cedar Elementary was second, and Bella Birchett from Uplands Park took third. In the 1,200m, first to the finish line was Amariah Zult from Pauline Haarer. Desirae Parker of Frank J. Ney was the runner-up, and Ava Gauthier from MountainView was third.
In field events for tyke girls, Karlin Korkowski from Mountain View was first in long jump. Hammond Bay teammates Lia Russell and Jennifer Zou were second and third respectively. Grace Leischner of Park Avenue won the softball throw. Bayview’s Lilah Karlsson was second, and Alexis Ruelle from Pleasant Valley third.
Competition on the track for peewee (born 2006-07) girls produced a double winner in the form of Avery Harrison from McGirr, who finished first in the 100m and 200m. Dayna Nickolet from Quarterway and Lucy Russel of Gabriola were second and third in both races. In the 600m, Hammond Bay’s Avery Henderson set a new district record with a time of 1:56.84. Mountain View’s Aynsley Norman took second place in the 600m, and was first in the 1,200m event with a record time of 4:19.51. Katelyn Putz from Cinnabar Valley placed second in the 1,200m. Third place in both 600m and 1,200m went to Katelyn Myint of McGirr.
McGirr’s Avery Harrison was also a winner in field events, winning the long jump ahead of Quarterway’s Haley Martin. Cassidy White representing École Océane took third in long jump and was first in the triple jump. Second and third in triple jump went to Avery Shepherd from McGirr and Lydia Paris of Hammond Bay.
With throwing events for peewee girls, top three discus throwers were Scarlette Anderson of Quarterway, Ava Senini Russell from Cilaire, and Katelyn Putz of Cinnabar Valley. In shot put, Keasha Barr from Forest Park was first, Jessica Burdock of Park Avenue second, and Maddy Barnfield from Forest Park third. Tops in the softball throw was Rock City’s Angelina Joughlin, followed by Mercedes Johnson of Ladysmith Intermediate, and Dayna Nickolet of Quarterway.
For bantam (born 2004-05) girls, Mountain View runner Meadow Work was fastest on the track in both the 100m and 200m races. Valerie Kurylowich from North Oyster was second in the 100m, with Mountain View’s Kallista Younessi third. Second and third in the 200m were Emmily Wildman of Cedar and Jenna Oates from Frank J. Ney. In the longer distances, McGirr’s Samantha Jones won the 600m in a record time of 1:53.66, and was also third in 1,200m. Sophia Ledingham from Pauline Haarer won the 1,200m race and placed third in the 600m. Second in 600m went to Natasha Kaktins from Mountain View, with second in 1,200m going to Mountain View’s Keira Murphy.
In bantam girls’ field events, Mountain View teammates Natasha Kaktins and Meadow Work claimed first and second in long jump, with Quarterway’s Montanna Stewart third. Top three triple jumpers were Mikayla Gaboury from Park Avenue, Emma Kirk of Mountain View, and Erika Fay from Randerson Ridge. Mountain View’s Emma Kirk was also first in discus and second in shot put. The shot put event was won by Kiana Cooper of Park Avenue, with Anya Nickolet from Quarterway third. Second and third in discus were Autumn Vaninni from Gabriola and Niamh Gibbons representing Hammond Bay.
In the tyke (born 2008-09) division, Archer Irving from Rutherford was first in the 100m dash, followed by Riley Steen from Ladysmith. Fairview Enam Pobbee was third, and also placed second in the 200m. First in 200m was McGirr’s Tyler McWhinnie, while Sullivan Berry from Pauline Haarer was third. A new record was set in the 600m, with Kyle Williamson of McGirr posting a time of 2:03.71 minutes. Brody Finstad from Forest Park came second, and Fairview’s Preston Marleau third. Winner of the 1,200m race was Hammond Bay’s Jordan Puckering. Ladysmith’s Riley Steen was second and Jaxson Clark from Pleasant Valley third.
With field events, Alex Cho from McGirr was tops in long jump, Jayse Bissenden of Mountain View was second, and Dylan Legrow from Pleasant Valley third. Jackson Peters from Cilaire won the softball throw, with Mountain View’s Jayse Bissenden second and Ethan Gordon of Hammond Bay third.
Turning to peewee (born 2006-07) events, Parker Long from Randerson Ridge was a double winner on the track, claiming both the 100m and 200m titles. David Blom of McGirr finished second in 100m and third in 200m, while Aiden Davis from Pleasant Valley was third in 100m and second in 200m. Frank J. Ney athlete Aidan Gutierrez set a new peewee boys’ record in the 600m with a time of 1:52.13. Kynan Shurniak from Mountain View was second in 600m and took first in the 1,200m event. Third in 600m was Ty Augustine from Rock City, while second and third in 1,200m went to Evan Young from Mountain View and Arron Boulding of Rock City.
Peewee boys’ field events saw Frank Ney’s Aidan Gutierrez win the long jump, outleaping Matt Wilson from Coal Tyee and Joe Madill of Cilaire. Kynan Shurniak of Mountain View won the triple jump, with Julian Wyllie from Cedar second and Ashton Wolfe of Hammond Bay third. Top three in shot put were Cilaire’s Marco Schwager, Cedar’s Ryler Dalton, and Pleasant Valley’s Aiden Davis. In the discus event, Seth Lynch from McGirr was first, Sam Smith of North Oyster second, and Evan Menard from Cilaire third. Cohen Cadieux representing Chase River won the softball throw. Second was Arman Moshrefzadeh from Georgia Avenue, with Keane Taylor from Ladysmith third.
Track events for bantam (born 2004-05) boys saw Quarterway’s Finn Valdez win the 100m sprint and finish third in 200m. Robi Bollinger from Cedar was first in 200m and second in 100m. Zac Burton from Park Avenue was third in 100m, and North Oyster’s Michael Hopps took second in 200m. Park Avenue’s Patrick Canning won both the 600m and 1,200m races, setting a district record in the 1,200m with a time of 3:50.26. Dylan Barberie of Quarterway was second in both events, and Toby Russell from Gabriola was third in both.
In field events, Jason Jung from Departure Bay won the long jump and was second in triple jump. Second and third in long jump were Manav Kandola from Frank J. Ney and Finn Valdez of Quarterway. Benedek Horvath from Rock City was the best in triple jump, with Noah McCallum from Quarterway taking third. Throwing events had Gabriola athlete Marshall Steward first in shot put and third in discus. Oliver Tulk from Chase River was second in both events. First in discus was Solly Yeung from Quarterway, while Dominic Scott from Ladysmith was third in shot put.
Based on total points earned by all athletes, the top three small schools in the district meet were Frank J. Ney, Cinnabar, and Pauline Haarer, while the top three large schools were Mountain View, McGirr, and Quarterway.
Whatever your sport, a reminder in closing to play your hardest, play fair, and show good sportsmanship.