Local athletes went the distance at the B.C. Club Track and Field Championship Jamboree in Coquitlam.
Members of the Mid-Island Distance Club, as well as locals who run unaffiliated, put in a great performance, according to coaches Kim and Randy Longmuir.
The meet was the midget (ages 14-15) and youth (ages 16-17) trials for the Royal Canadian Legion Nationals to be held in Brandon, Man., Aug. 11-13, and also the championships for junior and senior athletes.
Fraser Van Allen paced the local club, finishing fifth in the midget 800-metre run in 2:02.02 and landing the bronze medal in the highly competitive 1,200m, crossing the finish line in 3:17.12 to improve his personal best time in the event by eight seconds.
Van Allen, who is ranked in both events in Canada in his age group, earned a spot in the nationals and will be the club’s sole representative in Brandon.
Other mid-Island athletes who placed well and set personal bests include Spencer Bradbury, who finished eighth in the 300m in 40.68, a personal best (PB), and 11th in the 300m hurdles in 46.26. Emily Friesen came in seventh in the 800m in 2:29.12, besting her PB by two seconds. Shelby Bell finished eighth in the 2,000m in 7:48.67, which is eight seconds faster than her previous PB.
In the youth events, Linden Kaps, who just came back from a long injury, was seventh in the 800m in 2:02.65.
Rhiannon Terpstra shattered her PB by 11 seconds when she finished 12th in the 1,500m in 5:25.79.
Jackson Isnor competed in both the 800m and 1,500m, but had a tough weekend, which was disappointing for him, said Kim, after having medalled in 2016.
Van Allen, Kaps, Isnor and Bradbury joined forces in the youth 4x400m relay and, despite having two midgets in the team, they came close to landing a medal when they finished fourth.
The other athletes from Parksville Qualicum Beach who are not members of Mid Island Distance Club that did well included Libby Elliott, who won a bronze in the discus with a solid throw of 31.33 m.
Serena Woolnough set a personal best by almost five metres in the hammer when she threw 45.26 m to finish in fourth place. She was seventh in the discus (26.59 m).
Alena Woolnough also did well in the hammer, ending up in sixth place with a personal best throw of 33.06 m
