Eight Sir Alexander Mackenzie School athletes travelled to Langley to compete in the track and field provincials June 8 and 9, many achieving some great results.
Danny Legault came ninth out of 34 for javelin and threw 38.91 for discus, putting him in the top 15, and was a personal best for him. He also competed in the relay.
It was his first year competing in discus and javelin.
He will also be competing in the National Indigenous Games later this summer.
Thompson Beloin competed in hammer throw, weighing five kilograms, achieving 24th and a personal best.
He also competed in the 100 metre hurdles.
Owen Renehan competed in the 1,500 metre race-walk achieving a personal best of 10:40.
“I got to meet a Olympic bronze medal race-walker - Evan Dunfee. He was there as a volunteer and a mentor,” Owen said.
From Dunfee he learned to take shorter strides and keep his arms down lower.
“Once your leg comes to your waist your leg has to be completely straight and one heel has to be on the ground at all times,” he explained.
Morgan Hedges competed in the javelin, coming ninth in the first heat and 12th overall.
“For Grade 8 it was excellent,” said his coach Alex Boileau. “Out of 24 he was 12th.”
Ryder Provost competing in the AWD category achieved sixth in the 100 metre, eighth in the 400 metre, ran the 200 metre and did shot-put.
“The best part was when I won my first heat for the 100 metre.”
Boileau said Ryder got a personal best in that heat, running the 100 metre in 16 seconds.
Tristan Sellars did the 2,000 metre steeple chase and four-by-one relay.
“I was running the steeple chase and there are five laps,” Tristan said. “In the second lap I was jumping over the hurdle and a guy fell down in front of me to the side a bit. We were both in the air, we bumped and as I landed I rolled my ankle.”
Undeterred he kept racing and managed to place 30th.
“He never quit and ran a decent time,” Boileau said.
His ankle had healed within a few weeks and on Friday, June 23, he said “it was good.”
Describing the start of the steeple chase, Tristan said it is congested at the beginning and each athlete is competing to get out in front.
He was below seven minutes in the first lap and within the top 10 competitors.
Tristan, Kyle Doiron, Chandry Evans and Danny were part of the four-by-100 relay.
“We almost beat our school record of 49.30 and got 49.90. I felt like we did good. We got fifth.”
Kyle Doiron came fifth overall, best ever placing for SAMS in high jump, senior boys. He set a school record earlier of 1.86 and at provincials jumped 1.80 in the rain and wind.
“It was a brutal competition, with nasty conditions and he jumped well,” Boileau said. “He also did the four-by-one triple jump and was 15th and was our anchor for the relay.”
Kyle Fehr did shot-put, placing in the top 20 and Morgan Boileau had a personal best in the steeple chase and got 11th, she ran the 1500 m and got 30th and in the 3,000 m had a personal best, running it in 11:40 and coming 20th.
Chandry did the shot-put, discus and relay.
“He did extremely well in all those events,” Boileau said.
Boileau thanked Nathaniel Schooner, who helped as the junior team manager, and the Northern schools’ coaches, School District 49 and the bus garage for all its support.
“Thanks to Natasha Provost who came along as a chaperone,” Boileau said.
It was a great season for the students, Boileau added.
“They all improved and grew and experienced personal bests. They met a lot of cool people. That’s what these provincials are all about.”
READ MORE: Bella Coola athletes shine at regional and local track meets
monica.lamb-yorski@wltribune.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
